Tourism in Romania

UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Romania

• Churches of Moldavia – The eight Romanian Orthodox Churches of Moldavia are located in Suceava County, northern Moldavia, and were built approximately between 1487 and 1583.
• Dacian Fortresses of the Orăștie Mountains – The six fortresses that formed the defensive system of Decebalus were created in the 1st centuries BC and AD as protection against Roman conquest, and played an important role during the Roman-Dacian wars.
• Historic Centre of Sighișoara – It is an inhabited medieval citadel that was built in the 12th century by Saxon colonists under the Latin name Castrum Sex and it is the birthplace of Vlad III the Impaler also known by the name of Count Dracula.
• Danube Delta – It is the second largest river delta in Europe and best preserved on the continent.
• Monastery of Horezu – It was founded in 1690 by Prince Constantin Brâncoveanu in the town of Horezu, Vâlcea County, Wallachia, Romania and it is considered to be a masterpiece of "Brâncovenesc style", known for its architectural purity and balance, the richness of its sculpted detail, its treatment of religious compositions, its votive portraits, and its painted decorative works.
• Villages with fortified churches in Transylvania – They are seven villages founded by the Transylvanian Saxons. They are dominated by fortified churches and characterized by a specific settlement pattern that has been preserved since the late Middle Ages.
• Wooden Churches of Maramureș – They are high timber constructions with characteristic tall, slim bell towers at the western end of the building. They are a particular vernacular expression of the cultural landscape of this mountainous area of northern Romania. These churches are: Bârsana, Budești, Desești, Ieud, Plopiș, Poienile Izei, Rogoz, Șurdești.
• Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe

Activities

• Swimming at the Black Sea resorts : Năvodari, Mamaia, Constanța, Eforie Nord, Eforie Sud, Costinești, Olimp, Neptun, Jupiter, Cap Aurora, Venus, Saturn, Mangalia, 2 Mai and Vama Veche.
• Skiing in the mountain resorts: Sinaia, Bușteni, Semenic, Azuga, Straja, Păltiniș, Rânca, Cavnic, Arieșeni, Predeal and Poiana Brașov.
• Cultural cities of Bucharest, Timișoara, Sibiu, Brașov, Cluj-Napoca, Oradea, Arad, Alba Iulia, Sighișoara, Târgu Mureș, and Iași.
• Rural tourism, which mainly revolves around the folklore and traditions of Banat, Maramureș and Bukovina. Given their more isolated, mountainous character and diversity of the population, the inhabitants of these two northern Romanian regions have kept old traditions such as painting Easter eggs, painting houses and in some parts have even kept the old local architecture alive.
• Rural tourism in Transylvania along the Via Transilvanica, a long-distance hiking and cycling trail which includes attractions such as the villages with fortified churches or the Dacian Fortresses of the Orăștie Mountains.
• Hiking in the Carpathian Mountains with many Mountain huts available
• Spas and health resorts: Băile Herculane, Băile Felix, Buziaș, Sovata, Călimănești, Moneasa and Techirghiol
• Museums
• Travel with Mocănița steam-powered locomotive trains in the mountainous areas of Banat, Maramureș, Transylvania, and Bukovina.
• Travel the water channels of the Danube Delta, stay in traditional villages that can only be reached by boats such as Sfântu Gheorghe.

Major tourist attractions

• Many medieval castles and fortifications
• Fortified Transylvanian Saxon medieval cities: Brașov, Râșnov, Rupea, Sighișoara, Sibiu, Cisnădie, Mediaș, Sebeș, Bistrița
• Scărișoara Cave and Bears' Cave, both located in Apuseni Mountains
• Sphinx and Babele, both situated in Bucegi Mountains
• Cheile Nerei-Beușnița National Park, Domogled-Valea Cernei National Park, Semenic-Caraș Gorge National Park, Iron Gates in Caraș-Severin County
• Ceahlău Massif and Vânători-Neamț Natural Park in Neamț County
• Cheile Bicazului-Hășmaș National Park
• Piatra Craiului Mountains
• Berca Mud Volcanoes, in Buzău County
• Merry Cemetery, in Săpânța, Maramureș County
• Palace of the Parliament, Bucharest, one of the largest buildings in the world
• Lipscani street, in the old town of Bucharest, the most important commercial area of the city and of the Principality of Wallachia from the Middle Ages to the early 19th century
• Transfăgărășan road
• Transalpina road
• Via Transilvanica
• Turda Gorge
• Turda Salt Mine
• Praid Salt Mines
• Iron Gates
• Hațeg Island, Hunedoara County
• Sighișoara, a medieval fortified city in southeastern Transylvania
• The old town of Timișoara
• Bigăr Waterfall: according to The World Geography, Bigăr waterfall is a unique waterfall worldwide.
• Cozia National Park, with mountains, ancient ruins, and medieval castles
• Danube Delta
• Romanian Black Sea resorts
• Ancient ruins, Murfatlar Cave Complex, Măcin Mountains in Dobrogea

Festivals

• George Enescu Festival, in Bucharest
• EUROPAfest Jazz festival in Bucharest
• Gărâna Jazz Festival in Caraș-Severin
• Revolution Festival in Timișoara
• Peninsula / Félsziget Festival in Târgu Mureș
• Golden Stag Festival, in Brașov
• Callatis Festival, in Mangalia
• Electric Castle Festival, in Bonțida Bánffy Castle near Cluj-Napoca
• Transilvania International Film Festival in Cluj-Napoca
• Untold Festival, in Cluj-Napoca – Romania's biggest music festival
• Rockstadt Extreme Fest, in Râșnov largest metal festival in Romania
• Neversea Festival, in Constanta
• SAGA Festival, in Bucharest
• International Theatre Festival in Sibiu
• Sighișoara Medieval Festival

Statistics

Foreign visitors by country

Facilities for disabled travellers

Industrial and creative tourism

Primary attractions

• the national and regional technical and ethnographic museums: the Dimitrie Leonida National Technical Museum and the Aviation Museum in Bucharest, the mining museums in Brad, Petrosani, Rosia Montana, a technical museum in Iasi, the tram museum in Timișoara, the Oil Museum in Ploiesti, the astronomic observatories in Bucharest and Bacau, the village museums from Bucharest, Pitesti, Sibiu, Cluj, Timișoara, Valcea, Suceava;
• the railway tourism on the recently rehabilitated narrow gauges from Brad, Abrud, Covasna, Moldovita, Agnita, Vaser, the Oravita – Anina mountain railway opened in 1864;
• the power plant museums from Cernavoda, Iron Gates, Sadu, Sinaia, Grebla – Resita ;
• factory tours: exception making some food factories which provide visits for school children, there are no important companies to promote such tourist visits. However, some reference enterprises may accept visits at special requests. A remarkable visit program, started in October 2013, offers the Timisoreana brewery, a factory founded in 1718, with very valuable heritage;
• industrial heritage: even if valuable, a large majority of the monuments are still abandoned by their owners. However, a few exceptions could be mentioned;
• motorsports: despite the missing of an international standard infrastructure like raceways, there are national federations organizing events for many categories and racing schools offering participatory courses;
• the salt mines from: Turda, Praid, Cacica, Slanic Prahova, Ocnele Mari, Ocna Sibiului are equally famous for their tourism interest as well as therapeutic exploitation
• traditional crafts: wood carving, weaving, pottery, glass, embroidery. Many craftsmen preserved the traditions in some village areas from Moldavia, Transylvania and Oltenia. The majority are only selling their products on local markets, but they begin to organize and a few open their workshops to the tourists too;
• wineries: some vineyards have incredible landscapes and the wines produced here have a well established and long tradition. Wine tourism provides presentations of the technologies and the storage caves, and is well developed in Romania. Famous big wineries: Murfatlar, Cotnari, Dragasani, Recaș, Prahova Valley, Odobesti, Husi, Cricova

Infrastructure