Romania & Moldova

     Welcome to Bucharest, the capital of Romania, the city formerly known as the Little Paris due its beautiful architecture resembling the French capital. We transfer you from the airport, assist you checking-in and after a break take you in an exciting tour of the city.

     Our sightseeing experience will include a drive on the Victory Avenue, a central axis of the city displaying monuments of unique importance such as the Royal Palace, the Athenaeum Concert Hall, The Officers’ club or the Savings Bank Palace. From classic we will continue to modern driving around but also stopping at the Palace of Parliament, the 2nd largest building in the world for whose construction, a surface of the city that equals the one of Venice was demolished and cleared.

     Fortunately, not all historical town was affected so we will stroll in a nice pedestrian section of the city, where the mid and late XIX century atmosphere can still be felt among many hidden treasures of the city that await to be discovered by us

     In the morning we will visit the 2nd largest building of the world, situated in the heart of Bucharest, the Palace of the Parliament. Built in the last years of Communism as a Testament of an extinguished era, the Parliament initially called the House of the People was meant to be a large construction surpassing any other alike in Europe.

     We then continue to the open-air Village Museum, according to many, the nicest one of Bucharest, where authentic houses, some of which 3 centuries old, were brought from all over the country. We will have lunch in a restaurant on the lake Herastrau.

     Leaving Bucharest behind, we will head to Sinaia, visiting the Peles Palace, the summer residence of the Romanian royalty, a wonderful display of various architectural and interior styles and modern equipments for its time. Peles is the pearl of Romanian Interior Arts heritage, mostly because of its unsurpassed woodworks masterpieces done by Karl Liman, a Czech artist.

     In the late afternoon we will check-in our hotel in Brasov and have an info stroll in the historical downtown. Brasov is a Transylvanian city known for its genuine Town Hall Square, the Black Church, the largest Gothic construction East of Vienna, the beautiful Synagogue and the narrowest street in the country, the Rope street

     Besides the Transylvanian fortified cities, a particularity of this region was the peasants’ fortifications among which Saschiz occupied an important role. In the morning we will visit it on the way to Sighisoara, the best preserved Transylvanian citadel.

     Sighisoara is one of the only European fortresses where people still live inside of the fortifications, a beautiful sample of medieval German architecture in the Romanian lands. Walking through the fortified town will reveal unique stories and let us fell the spirit of the astonishingly colorful citadel dating back to the Dark Ages.

     In the afternoon let us be surprised by a less know city, Tirgu Mures, having a balanced ethnical mix of Romanian and Hungarians, with neat buildings and nice provincial town atmosphere, where we will walk & drive before having a delicious dinner in a local restaurant.

     Just an hour away from Tirgu Mures lies the salt mine of Praid, a pride of the locals, with a long history, nowadays offering a genuine experience that starts with a old Communist bus driving down the galleries, continuing with seeing the salt sculptures, the wine collection and other underground attractions.

     Among the four Romanian sites listed in the famous book “1001 natural wonders you must see before you die” two of them are to be checked this morning. The Ceahlau massif but mostly the Bicaz Gorges, a narrow and deep canyon carved into pure rock are our major morning attractions. A brief stop at the Red Lake, a natural lake created after a curious mountain slide will complete our experience and the beautiful route through the mountains. By the lake we will also have lunch.

     In the afternoon we will drive along the shores of Izvorul Muntelui Lake, a mountain lake of rare beauty just to reach Tirgu Neamt, a small town where we have another local dinner scheduled.

     The Neamt County is a mountainous Moldavian land where the spirituality and the long lasting traditions were kept better than anywhere else. Connected to its spirituality and history, we will visit the Neamt Monastery, where we will learn more about the monks and their lives and later in the morning, we will visit the Neamt fortress, located on a peak of the mountain dominating the whole area.

     In the afternoon we will arrive in Iasi, the capital of Moldova, where we will have a local and traditional lunch in the most famous Iasi restaurant, Bolta Rece founded in 1786 that still keeps the spirit of old Moldavians inns.

     We will walk the historical centre situated between the exquisite neo-gothic Palace of Culture, the landmark of the city, the Viennese neo-classical National Theatre, the largest Orthodox cathedral in the country and the Union Square where the Eiffel Company build hotel Traian lies.In the evening you will have free time to discover more of the city.

     In the morning we drive towards the border of Romania with Republic and Moldova and we reach the capital city of Chisinau in few hours. A capital of a former Soviet Socialist Republic is always a highlight to discover. We will start with a culinary experience in a local restaurant, after this we will tour the city of Chisinau observing the 60’s and 70’s Communist administration and cultural buildings alongside the early XX century architecture still visible in many parts of the city and also featuring a visit of the special Ethnographics & Anthropology museum and a visit to the Central Farmers’ Market.

     In the afternoon you will have free time and suggestions on where to walk and how to mingle and get to know the locals better

     Today we will push the discovery series even further through a trip to a very uncommon place for travelers, the Republic of Transdniestr, an entity having de facto independence but still struggling for its international recognition. As travelers we are less interested in politics and more focused on what is there to see. Tiraspol was considered by many a corner of ex-USSR where time froze by preserving much of the old look, the pioneers’ organization or other Soviet era institution. Still, a new face of this city emerges nowadays with modernism symbols such a new restaurant, fancy clubs or top sports teams. We will witness all these and more

     In the afternoon we will visit Milestii Mici, the largest world’s underground wine cellars as stated in the Guinness Book of World records. Let’s drive along Pinot Noir Boulevard, turn right on the Chardonnay avenue and listen to the secret stories of the Underground city.

Drive back to Bucharest