Romania is the country that the Ceaușescu built and the Romanians are undoing: the 1970s–1980s, the systematisation, the demolition of the 7,000 villages, the relocation of the 900,000 people, the concrete apartment blocks, and the “House of the People”, the Palace of the Parliament, the second-largest administrative building in the world after the Pentagon, the 1,100 rooms, the 3,500 tonnes of the crystal, and the most visible legacy of the dictatorship. The Romania of the 2026 is the rediscovery: the Transylvania, the mountains, the medieval towns, the Saxon villages, and the most beautiful walking region in the eastern Europe, and the towns, the Brașov (the Black Church, the Council Square, the view from the Tâmpa, the mountain above the city, the 1-hour walk, and the best view in the Transylvania), the Sibiu (the “Hermannstadt,” the Saxon city, the eyes, the dormer windows that look like the eyes, the most beautiful city in the Romania, and the European Capital of the Culture 2007), and the Sighișoara (the most beautiful medieval citadel in Europe, the birthplace of the Vlad Țepeș, the Dracula, and the best-preserved Saxon town in the Transylvania). Here is your guide to walking the towns of the Romania.

Rediscovering Romania, Walking the Towns

• The Transylvania, the essential walking region: The Transylvania, the “Land Beyond the Forest,” the mountains, the forests, the bears (the Carpathian brown bears, the 6,000, the largest population in Europe outside the Russia), the Saxon villages (the fortified churches, the Biertan, the 16th-century, the 3 concentric walls, the UNESCO, and the most beautiful Saxon church in the Transylvania. ~€5), and the walking, the Transfăgărășan (the 90 km of the road through the Făgăraș Mountains, the 2,042-metre pass, the most beautiful road in the world according to the Jeremy Clarkson, and the essential drive in the Romania. The road is the open from the June to the October, the closed by the snow in the winter), the Carpathian trails (the Retezat, the Ciucaș, the Bucegi, the mountains, the lakes, the alpine meadows, and the best walking in the eastern Europe), and the town walks, the Brașov (the Black Church, the 14th-century Gothic, the largest in the eastern Europe, and the most beautiful church in the Romania. ~€12), the Râșnov Fortress (the 13th-century, the view of the Carpathian Mountains, and the best view of the Brașov plain. ~€12). More Romania →
• The essential towns: The Sibiu: the most beautiful city in the Romania, the upper Town (the Piata Mare, the Large Square, the Brukenthal Palace, the oldest museum in the Romania, the 1817, and the best art collection in the country. ~€8), the Lower Town (the Piata Mică, the Small Square, the Liar’s Bridge, the 1859, the first cast-iron bridge in the Romania, and the legend: the bridge will collapse if you tell the lie on it), and the Council Tower (the 13th century, the 100 steps, and the best view of the Sibiu. ~€3). The Sighișoara: the 12th-century Saxon citadel, the medieval, the colourful, the clock tower (the 14th century, the museum, the best view in the Sighișoara. ~€5), the house of the Vlad Țepeș (the birthplace, the 1431, the Dracula connection, and the restaurant, the “Casa Vlad Dracul,” the essential Dracula-themed lunch. ~€15 for the typical Romanian meal), and the covered staircase (the 1642, the 175 steps to the Church on the Hill, the most beautiful Saxon church in the Sighișoara). The Brașov: the Council Square, the Black Church, the Rope Street (the narrowest street in the Romania, the 1.32 metres at the narrowest point), and the Tâmpa (the mountain, the 1-hour walk, the Hollywood-style sign, and the best view of the city)
• The essential practicalities: The train (the CFR Călători, the Romanian railway, the slow, the beautiful, and the essential for the journey from the Bucharest to the Brașov, the 3 hours, the mountains, and the most beautiful train journey in the Romania. ~€15), the language (the Romanian is the Romance language, the cousin of the Italian, and the essential phrases: the “bună ziua”, the good day, the “mulțumesc”, the thank you, the “cât costă”, the how much), and the safety (the Romania is the safe, the bears in the mountains are the real danger, not the people. The essential rule: the walk in the Carpathians is the with the guide or the experienced, the noise, and the bear spray)