CASTLES & PALACES OF WALLACHIA AND TRANSYLVANIA TOUR

CULTURE, FICTION AND HISTORY ON A COMPREHENSIVE SIX DAY TOUR

Itinerary: Bucharest City Tour – Curtea de Arges – Sibiu – Biertan – Sighisoara – Brasov – Bran Castle – Sinaia – Bucharest
Duration: 6 Days
Day 1: Bucharest
Arrival to Coanda International Airport in Bucharest. Upon arrival you’ll be met by your English speaking tour guide. Transfer to your downtown Bucharest hotel. Check in and vicinity walk. Time at leisure until the evening when you will enjoy a typical Romanian Welcome Dinner and Folklore show.
T D Accommodation in Bucharest at Hotel Berthelot **** (centrally located boutique hotel)

Palace of the Parliament – the second largest building in the world.

Day 2: Bucharest City Tour – Curtea de Arges – Sibiu
Hot buffet breakfast at hotel. Begin you day a panoramic city tour of Bucharest including a walk in the Old Quarter. Visit Manuc’s Inn, an original 1808 caravanserai and the ruins castle1of the Princely Court. Later tour the Palace of the Parliament – the second largest building in the world. After lunch, tour the beautiful Cotroceni Palace, the main Bucharest former royal residence. Leave Bucharest on the way to Transylvania.

Drive on one of the most scenic routes of the country, the Olt River Valley. Stop at Cozia Monastery, get acquainted to the Brancovan architecture and decoration. This monastery features an excellent late 17 century Last Judgment fresco on the western façade. Cross the mountains into Transylvania and enjoy dramatic views of the Olt River and spectacular Middle Carpathians. Reach Sibiu, one of the most important medieval Saxon towns. Orientation tour including the fortifications and guild’s towers.
B Accommodation at Imparatul Romanilor Hotel **** (in the Great Square)
Hotel Imparatul Romanilor, located in the old part of Sibiu near the main square, in a 16th century building built in traditional Transylvanian Renaissance style, a former merchant’s hall transformed into hotel in the 18th century, with many famous guests: Emperor Franz Joseph II, composers Franz Liszt, Johann Strauss as well as Prince Charles and many others.

Day 3: Sibiu – Biertan – Sighisoara
Hot and cold buffet breakfast at hotel. Begin your day with a leisurely walking tour of Sibiu, the chief city of the Transylvanian Germans. Visit the old surrounding defense walls and the remaining guild towers. Except for the Great Square with its “sleepy eyes”dormers another of the landmarks of Sibiu is the Bruckenthal Museum assembled by Baron Bruckenthal, governor of Transylvania at the beginning of the 19th century. The Evangelical Cathedral was completed in its actual shape in 1520, but inside, there is an exquisite fresco of the Crucifixion on the north wall of the choir dating from 1445. View the Passage of Stairs linking the Upper town to the Lower town, the 1859 Liar’s Bridge and the Byzantine style Orthodox Cathedral, a replica of St. Sophia in Constantinople. End you tour with a visit to the original Pharmacy Museum. Sibiu is a pleasant towm where residents relax at cafés along streets lined with handsome buildings. Lunch on your own. Before departing Sibiu stroll in the bustling open air market, then drive to the picturesque village of Biertan to visit the 1516 fortified church, the seat of the Lutheran Bishops until 1867. Biertan is part of the World Heritage List. Later in the afternoon, reach Sighisoara. Today a World Heritage Site, Sighisoara is probably one of the best well-preserved medieval towns across Europe. Hotel check in time at leisure. Dinner on your own.
B Accommodation at Sighisoara Hotel *** / House with Antler *** (in the Upper Town)

Brasov is one of the most important destinations in Romania

Day 4: Sighisoara & Brasov
Hot and cold buffet breakfast at hotel. Before starting your walking tour of old Sighisoara attend a lecture on Vlad the Impaler – Dracula, what is truth and what fiction. Sighisoara is one of a kind. A World Heritage Site, this is the only still inhabited medieval citadel in Europe. It was developed by the German settlers as of late 12 C. It stands on a network of tunnels and catacombs and, according to one version of the myth; this is where the Pied Piper brought the children of Hamelin after their ungrateful parents refused to pay him his due. Walking tour includes the two squares of the Citadel (Upper Town), the Scholars’ Staircase, the Ducklings’ Square, the Tinsmiths’ Tower, the House with Antler, the Tower with Clock (climb up for a great view), the Torture Chamber and the Weapon Museum. Sighisoara is the place where the famous Vlad the Impaler Dracula was born in 1431. The Birthplace is today a restaurant and one of the main tourist attractions. In the afternnon drive thru the scenic Transylvanian Plateau with its quaint villages, fortified churches and old fortresses such as Saschiz. Arrive to Brasov, take an orientation tour. Then check into your centrally located hotel and enjoy the lovely pedestrian area of Old Brasov around the Council Square.
B Accommodation in Brasov at casa Wagner ***

Day 5: Brasov – Bran Castle – Sinaia
Hot and cold buffet breakfast at hotel. The day begins with a panoramic city tour takes you to the best sites: the Gothic Black Church with its 4000 pipe organ and its amazing collection of the 16th and the 17th centuries Anatolian prayer rugs; then the Weaver’s Bastion and St. Nicholas Orthodox Church and the First School in Romanian. Lunch on your own. In the afternoon drive to 14th century Bran Castle, known as Dracula’s Castle, one of the best preserved medieval castles of Transylvania, originally built by the Teutonic Knights. Time for souvenir shopping. Late afternoon arrival to Sinaia mountain resort. Named after St. Catherine Monastery on Mount Sinai, Sinaia became the unofficial capital of the Kingdom of Romania towards the end of the 19th century. Orientation tour of the resort including a view of the famous Casino, inspired by the one in Monte Carlo. Once the famous Orient Express train use to regularly call here and it still does once a year on its way from Paris to Constantinople.
B Accommodation in Sinaia at Palace Hotel ****

Peles Castle, the most famous royal residence in Romania.

Day 6: Sinaia – Bucharest
Hotand cold buffet breakfast. In the morning take an extended guided tour of one of the most important and most visited tourist attractions of the country: Peles Castle and Gardens in Sinaia, the royal residence of King Charles I of Romania and known as one of the most beautiful summer royal residences across Europe. With a mixture of interior decoration styles from Florentine to Moorish, this wonderful castle may be worth your entire trip to Romania. Time permitting stop at Sinaia Monastery built in the 1690s in the Brancovan style. After the visits drive to Bucharest Coanda International Airport for your flight back home. The ride takes approximately 1:30 hours OR take our
BULGARIA EXTENSION OR THE BLACK SEA & DANUBE DELTA EXTENSION (CLICK HERE)

Your price includes:

• 5 nights at three and four star hotels (best available and centrally located)
• fully insured sedan/minivan with climate control, for the entire distance
• fuel & parking fees included
• all sightseeing tours & cultural connections
• exclusive “Vlad the Impaler – Dracula” lecture in Sighisoara
• 6 meals: 5 breakfasts, 1 dinner
• a Tours Of Romania professional English speaking guide (driving) to accompany you throughout
• guide’s expenses
• all transfers
• admissions to museums, sites, churches as per itinerary
• porterage (except for customs areas)
• VAT and local tax
• detailed map of Romania.

You’ll visit 3 UNESCO World Heritage Sites:

• Biertan Fortified Church
• Historic Center of Sighisoara
• Historic Center of Sibiu

Not included:

• Other meals than stated
• Alcoholic beverages
• Photo/video fees at sites and museums.