Day 1

WELCOME TO BUCHAREST!

Arrival at Bucharest Otopeni airport. Meeting point for transfer – exit to the right, after baggage recovery. Transfer to your hotel 4* in Bucharest. Accommodation and dinner to the hotel.

Day 2

BUCHAREST – CURTEA DE ARGES – SIBIU- SIBIEL • (340 KM/5H)

Departure to Curtea de Arges, former capital of Wallachia a veritable open-air museum of Romanian feudal art. Visit of Curtea de Arges Monastery – masterpiece of sacred architecture of the 16th century, and necropolis since 1914, of the Romanian kings. Lunch in a local restaurant.

Continuation to Sibiu, one of the oldest towns in Transylvania – formerly Hermannstadt – founded by Saxon settlers. Guided walking tour of the medieval center, where are located the Grande Place, The Evangelical Church, The Liars Bridge, etc.).

Departure to Sibiel – a small village in the mountains, which has kept its authenticity. Dinner with typical dishes (stuffed cabbage, meatballs, cheese, organic vegetables and fruits, aperitif – brandy and local wine). Overnight homestay 3*, an opportunity to share and get to know their traditions and customs.

Day 3

SIBIEL – BIERTAN- SIGHISOARA –TARGU MURES – BISTRITA • (280 KM/4 H)

Breakfast.

Departure twards the heart of Transylvania through the Saxon villages. En route, visit the fortified Biertan Church (UNESCO sites), one of the most beautiful fortresses from Romania, in Gothic and Renaissance style. Arrival in Sighisoara – UNESCO site, the only medieval citadel from Europe still inhabited. Walking tour of the citadel, recognized worldwide as the birthplace of Dracula Count; the Clock Tower, the Venetian House (which dates from the 16th century and and inspired by the Venetian Gothic style), Vlad the Impaler House (seems being the oldest civil stone construction in the city), The House of Deer (so named because of the deer’s head attached to the corner of the building.; it is a specific building of Renaissance Transylvania, dating from the 17th century). Lunch free (not included).

Continue to Targu Mures. Short walking tour through the elegant city centre. Drive on to Bistrita a medieval city with Germanic influences, a real domain of Dracula, and the place where supposedly Jonathan Harker – Bram Stoker’s hero spent the night before arriving at Dracula’s Castle. Dinner and overnight in Bistrita, 3* hotel.

Day 4

BISTRITA– CÂMPULUNG MOLDOVENESC –MOLDOVITA -VORONET – GURA HU- MORULUI/SUCEAVA • (245 KM/5H)

Departure to Bucovina –the “upper land” with the unique painted monasteries, belonging to the UNESCO World Heritage. After crossing the land of Dracula (wonderfully depicted in Bram Stocker’s novel “Dracula”) through the Tihuta pass, we arrive in Bucovina.

Stop in Campulung Moldovenesc and visit of the Wood Art Museum, founded in 1936, the museum preserves the only ethnographic collection in Romania dedicated exclusively to wooden objects that have been part of the Romanian people.

Lunch on the route.

Continuation the road. On route visit to a painted eggs workshop, Letitia Orsivschi Painted Egg Museum, in Vama village. Visit the Moldovita Monastery (UNESCO site) – a symphony in red purple and a medieval art treasure. The monastery rebuilt in 1532, has a beautiful icons and exterior frescoes representing the siege of Constantinople by the Persians and the Avar.

Continuation and visit one of the jewels of Bucovina: Voronet Monastery, a genuine touristic attraction, called “the Sistine Chapel of the East”, whose fresco of the “Last Judgment” with a dominant blue color is famous. Free dinner.

Accommodation in Gura Humorului/ Suceava, 3* hotel.

Day 5

GURA HUMORULUI/ SUCEAVA – NEAMT MONASTERY/ AGAPIA MONASTERY – BICAZ – LACUL ROSU – BRASOV (370 KM / 6 H)

Breakfast.

Road to south of Moldova, through typical villages. Stop in Tarpesti for visit the house of Nicolae POPA – popular creator of traditional masks. One of the reference names in Romanian naïve art, who in 1919 collected throughout his life a considerable collection of masks, pieces of traditional art, icons, popular paintings, stone and wood sculptures.

Visit the Neamt/Agapia Monastery and crossing the Bicaz Gorges on foot (depending on weather conditions) continuation to Red Lake.

Lunch at a local restaurant local. Lacu Rosu – formed around 1838 when an earthquake followed by a landslide. Felled fir tree whose dry branches have a reddish color gave the lake its name.

Arrival in Brasov, installation at the 3* hotel for 2 nights. Dinner free (not included).

Day 6

BRASOV – HARMAN – BRAN – BRASOV (90 KM/2H)

Brasov, medieval city built by the Saxons. During the city tour, you will visit the old fortifications, the Black Tower (15th century), the Weavers’ Bastion (16th century), the Council Square, the Ecaterina Gate (1559) which has preserved the ancient emblem of the city, the Black Church (exterior), the largest church between Istanbul and Vienna, built between 1384 and 1477. Also visit the St. Nicholas Church, one of the oldest Orthodox churches in Transylvania, where you will admire the beautiful frescoes of the side chapels as well as the small school museum.

Departure for Harman and visit the fortified church which is listed as a UNESCO Heritage Site.

Drive on to Bran and visit to the famous medieval castle ‘Dracula’s’ Castle, built as a fortress for the citizens of Brasov in 1377, as a defense to the city. Surrounded by an aura of mystery and legend, Bran Castle owes its reputation to its unique charm and to the myth created by the writer Stocker around Count Dracula.

Lunch in a local restaurant.

Return to Brasov. Leisure time. Overnight in Brasov. Dinner free (not included).

Day 7

BRASOV – SINAIA – BUCHAREST (180 KM/4H)

Breakfast.

In the morning, crossing the Carpathians, departure to Sinaia, one of the most beautiful climatic resorts nicknamed the ‘Pearl of the Carpathians’. Visit the fabulous Peles Castle, former residence of the royal family, which houses a collection of arms and armor unique in its richness and diversity.

Continuation towards Bucharest by Royal Road. Panoramic tour of the city of Bucharest, with its buildings, its great avenues Kiseleff and Victoria, museums and monuments that testify the intense cultural activity. Mentioned for the first time in 1459, considered in the 30’s “Little Paris”, Bucharest is today a modern city.

Lunch in Bucharest.

Continuation with visit of the Palace of the Parliament, the most famous and controversial monument in Bucharest. Known as the “House of the People” until 1990, it is the largest administrative building in Europe and the second largest in the world after the Pentagon with an interior surface of 262 000 meters.

Farewell dinner in a lovely brassiere, keeping immortal the old spirit of Bucharest at the end of the century. Overnight in Bucharest, 4* hotel. Dinner free (not included).

Day 8

BUCHAREST- AIRPORT

After breakfast, time at leisure depending on your departure flight. Transfer to the airport for your return flight.

The ‘musts’ of the program:

UNESCO Sites

• The famous monasteries of Bucovina: Voronet and Moldovita
• The Medieval Citadel ‘The upper town’ of Sighisoara
• The fortified churches of Transylvania: Biertan and Harman

EUROPEAN Cultural Sites

• Sibiu, the European Capital of Culture in 2007
• The Romanian Athenaeum (exterior)
• The Church of Curtea de Arges

Included Services:

• Welcome at the airport – meeting point, on the
• right hand side of the exit gate
• Transportation and transfers with minibus for 1-6
• pers or bus
• English/ Hebrew speaking guide (or bilingual) at your disposal for the whole tour
• (driver- guide for 1-6 pax)
• 7 nights’ accommodation: 6 nights in 3*/ 4* hotels + 1 night in local pension Sibiel, 3* each room
• with its own bathroom (National classification)
• Meals mentioned in program
• Entrance fees to museums and sights mentioned in
• program
• Tourist assistance 24h/7h.

Excluded Services:

• Flight tickets
• Hotel extras (telephone, mini bar, etc.),
• Photographing /filming fees;
• Personal expenses,
• Tps for guide (30 EUR/pax recommended), driver (15 EUR/pax recommended) & restaurants.