TRANSYLVANIA EXPLORER TOUR

Πρόγραμμα

• 1 Day 1: Bucharest – Sinaia – Brasov Morning drive from Bucharest towards Transylvania. While crossing the Southern Carpathians, we stop in Sinaia to visit one of the most beautiful castles in Europe – the famous Peles Castle, a masterpiece of German New-Renaissance architecture, commissioned by King Carol I in 1873 and completed in 1883. Its 160 rooms are adorned with the finest examples of European art, Murano crystal chandeliers, German stained-glass windows, walls covered with Cordoba leather, Meissen and Sevres porcelains, ebony and ivory sculptures. Drive to Brasov via the village of Bran. Once arrived in Bran, visit Dracula’s Castle, the place where Dracula was imprisoned before he was taken to Budapest. Bran Castle is home to a rich collection of Romanian and foreign furniture and art items from the 14th-19th centuries. It sits atop a 200 ft. tall rock, overlooking the picturesque village of Bran. Drive to Brasov where Dracula was betrayed here by the rich merchants of Brasov and because of this betrayal he ended up to be imprisoned for 12 years in Pesta and Visegrad by his cousin – Mathias Corvinus, King of Hungary.
• 2 Day 2: Brasov – Viscri Village – Sighisoara Hot and cold buffet breakfast at the hotel. Start your tour in Brasov with the Town Hall Square, where you can admire the colourful painted and ornate baroque structures. Visit the Black Church, the largest gothic church in Romania. Continue your visit and see Catherine`s Gate erected in 1559, the only original gate that still survives since medieval times. Visit The Weavers Bastion, the largest medieval bastion in Brasov and the best-preserved among the seven original watchtowers constructed around the city walls. On your way to Sighisoara you will visit Viscri fortified church. The VILLAGE OF VISCRI is a unique reason to visit Transylvania and might as well be one of the main reasons why Prince Charles of Great Britain fell in love with Romania.
• 3 Transfer to Sighisoara. Explore the OLD TOWN OF SIGHISOARA with cobbled streets, burgher houses and ornate churches. Start your tour along the medieval street and visit the Clock Tower known as the Council Tower, built in the second half of the 14th century and expanded in the 16th century. Continue our tour with the Venetian House, built in the 16th century. Visit Dracula`s house where Vlad Tepes was born in 1431 and lived with his father until 1435 and enjoy a walk on the covered stairs to the Church on the Hill. Accommodation in the Upper Town of Sighisoara at the House with Antlers**
• 4 Day 3: Sighisoara – Biertan – Sibiu Hot and cold buffet breakfast at the hotel. Transfer to Sibiu, with a stop in Biertan, UNESCO site and one of the first German settlements in Transylvania. This fortified church, surrounded by three rows of fortifications, was built by the German peasants in Transylvania and was used for nearly 300 years as the residence of the Transylvanian Archbishop. A room in the citadel was used for a long time as a reconciconnection point for couples about to divorce (hear the full story on site). The name "Biertan" was first ratified in 1283. It had the status of a municipality.
• 5 Before noon, we arrive in Sibiu: the main city of the Saxons of Transylvania. Take a leisurely walking tour of Sibiu, visit the old surrounding defensive walls and the remaining towers each belonging to a specific guild. One of the landmarks of Sibiu is the Brukenthal Museum which was assembled by Baron Brukenthal, governor of Transylvania in the late 18th century. The Evangelical Cathedral was completed in its original form in 1520, but inside there is an excellent fresco of the Crucifixion on the north wall of the choir dating from 1445. See the passage of steps connecting the Upper and Lower Towns, 1859 Liar Bridge and the Byzantine Orthodox Cathedral, a replica of Hagia Sophia in Constantinople.
• 6 Day 4: Sibiu – Curtea de Arges – Bucharest Leave Sibiu and cross the mountains into the Olt River Valley, one of the most spectacular valleys that cross the Southern Carpathians. See TRANSFAGARA EXTENSION (June to September). Visit Curtea de Arges, the first capital of Wallachia with its old princely court and monastery – the place where three of the four Romanian Kings of the Hohenzollern dynasty are buried. Drive to Bucharest.