Your flight will bring you to Bucharest where we will be transferred directly to your hotel with the balance of the day at leisure. 4*+Hotel, city center (2 nights). Dinner in a traditional Romanian restaurant, Old Town.

Highlights of our full-day tour will include a walking tour of the old city center, and visits to the Palace of the Parliament, perhaps better known as the People’s Palace. It is the second-largest building in the world and the symbol of the Ceausescu era. Completed in 1989 it is constructed of the best materials and craftsmanship that Romania could provide. We continue with the Ceausescu family residence: “Spring Palace”. Our other highlight visit will be to the Village Museum (Muzeul Satului in Romanian), an open-air museum located in the Herãstrãu Park, showcasing traditional Romanian village life. The museum contains 272 authentic peasant farms and houses from all over Romania.

Our journey begins as we drive north into the Carpathian Mountains to the ancient center of Curtea de Arges, possibly dating from 500 BC but definitely from the 14th Century, when it was a Royal capital. The principal site in the city is the Cathedral, built in a Byzantine style with Moorish designs. We continue to a most picturesque setting in the Carpathians to visit Cozia Monastery, one of Romania’s most valuable monuments of medieval art and architecture. The church contains one of the richest collections of old art and literature in the country. This afternoon we arrive in Sibiu, at one time the capital of Transylvania and more recently the European Cultural Capital (2007). 4* Hotel (2 nights), (City center). Dinner at the hotel.

Sibiu is a treasure trove of historic buildings, mostly centered on the two Town Squares, logically called Piata Mare and Mica (large and small). Explore this delightful center on our morning walk, viewing the Council Tower, Gates and Stairs, the important churches and Liar’s Bridge. In the village of Christian, we tour a 13th century Saxon fortified church, with 5 towers, including the famous “bacon tower” that used to be the village winter storage in medieval times. Lunch will be in the nearby Sibiel Village, set like a jewel on the Sibiel River surrounded by low mountains. At Casa Andrei a Shepard s family for 3 generations will present to us their traditional costumes, flute singing, food and dancing. The highlight of our visit will be the Museum of Glass Icons, Zosim Oancea, where we shall see a wonderful collection of glass, wood, pottery and much more. Free time in the afternoon to enjoy the lovely old town of Sibiu.

Founded by German craftsmen and merchants known as the Saxons of Transylvania, Sighisoara is a fine example of a small, fortified medieval town which played an important strategic and commercial role on the fringes of Central Europe for several centuries. It sits on a small hill overlooking the Tarnava Mare River and is reputed to be the birthplace of Count Dracula. We will tour the Old Town (still partially surrounded by walls), including the Clock Tower, the History Museum and the Torture Chamber. The multinational traditions and the coexistence of several religious beliefs create a particular Transylvanian spirituality which sets this town apart. Lunch in Casa Wagner Sighisoara. This evening we are in Cluj, the largest city in the northern region of Transylvania. 4* Hotel (1 night).

This morning we shall explore the city, seeing the Botanical Gardens, the Orthodox Church, the house of Matei Corvin (Gothic in style from the 15th Century), the Justice Palace, the National Theatre and the Romanian Opera House. Heading north we shall enjoy the scenic countryside as well as seeing a number of traditional wooden churches, characteristic of this region. Our next two nights will be in the town of Baia Mare, the regional capital of Maramures County, which borders both Hungary and the Ukraine. Its medieval history is retained in the town square, Piata Libertatii, by houses dating back to the 14th Century. 4* Hotel (2 nights). Dinner at the hotel.

In the village of Sapanta we will visit the Merry Cemetery, particularly noted for the colourful carved crosses. The dead are remembered and portrayed in a most important moment in their lives. Sighetu Marmatiei is noted most for the horrors of the communist regime. Here we find a prison which during the Communist era was used to hold many important Romanian leaders as well common people who spoke up against the rulers of the time. We visit home of Elie Wiesel, awarded the Nobel Prize for peace. Along with some 38,000 other Jews he was placed in Nazi Concentration Camps where he wrote many books about what they endured. Lunch in Sighet.

We journey across the northern reaches of Romania today, admiring the beautiful rural scenery and the many quaint villages. This is the region of the UNESCO Painted Monasteries for which Romania is justly famous. Our first visit will be to Moldovita, founded in 1532. Prior to the current structure, there was a fortified stone church erected by Alexander the Kind-Hearted between 1402-1410 (its ruins are still visible).Built on safer ground in the valley of the Moldovita River, the monastery consists of a quadrangular structure with fortified towers, thick walls and a brawny gate – inside is a magnificent painted church.Next is Voronet, considered by many to be the ‘Sistine Chapel of the East’, due to its incredible frescoes, painted on the west wall (take note of the very unique Voronet Blue obtained from Lapis Lazuli). Lastly, Humor, a monastery which was only reopened in 1993 (founded in 1523). Humor is also noted for its exceptional frescoes and its tranquil setting by the Humor River. Our next two nights will be in Gura Humorului, in the region known as Bukovina, home to the UNESCO World Heritage painted monasteries. 4* Hotel, buffet dinner at the hotel. (2 nights).

Our day is devoted to exploring a number of the world-famous Painted Monasteries. Sucevita Monastery, the most recent construction, is the largest and finest of the painted monasteries of Bucovina. ‘A Poem in Green and Light’, it has its thousands of painted images on a background of emerald green. The fortress legacy of these mountain monasteries is nowhere clearer than inside and outside the massive walls at Sucevita. Set in a beautiful green valley, it is a square-shaped fortified citadel with watchtowers at its four corners, surrounded by a wall of 100 meters on each side, six meters high and three meters thick. Putna Monastery is a Romanian Orthodox monastery, one of the most important cultural, religious and artistic centres in medieval Moldavia. Stephen the Great is famous for building dozens of churches and monasteries across Moldavia (allegedly, he founded a religious edifice after each important military victory). The Putna Monastery houses the tombs of Stephen (a place of pilgrimage) and several of his family members. The icon veils and tombstones are held as fine examples of Moldavian art in Stephen the Great’s time. Dating from the 1500s, we will visit Marginea Ceramics, a well-known brand characterized by its black colour. Surrounded by forests, blessed by great clay soil and the Sucevita River, the region is ideal for the production of exquisite ceramics. In the village is located an ethnographic museum where we can admire traditional costumes from Bucovina.

Today our road slices through the Bicaz Gorges (Cheile Bicazului), one of Romania’s most scenic routes. The gorge twists and turns steeply uphill for 5km, cutting through sheer, 300-metre-high limestone rocks. At one point, the narrow mountain road runs uncomfortably beneath the overhanging rocks in a section known as the ‘neck of hell’ (Gâtul Iadului). One of the deepest gorges from Carpathians – Bicaz Gorges is a rock-climbing paradise, with huge walls over 300 metre high. We shall stop by Red Lake (Lacu Rosu), the largest natural mountain lake in Romania. Its name comes from the reddish alluvia (iron oxides and iron hydroxides) deposited in the lake by the Red Creek. This evening we are in the Moldavian city of Piatra Neamt, delightfully surrounded by wooded mountains. We hope to visit the only wooden synagogue in Romania (dating the 17th Century), partially built below the ground. 4* Hotel (1 night). Dinner at the hotel.

Also known as the ‘Pearl of Moldavia’ Piatra Neamt was the city where Stephen the Great built his Princely Court and Church. Explore the city this morning before we continue our journey to Brasov. En route to Brasov we visit Prejmer a UNESCO World Heritage Site where we find an excellent example of a fortified Saxon church and fortress used by the early German settlers in Transylvania. Located in the central part of Romania, Brasov is surrounded by the Southern Carpathians and is part of the Transylvania region. The oldest traces of human activity and settlements date back to the Neolithic age (about 9500 BC) and research has uncovered continuous traces of human settlements since then. We shall explore the old city centre this afternoon, including a walk in the square and a visit to the Black Church, the largest Gothic church in South Eastern Europe. 5* Hotel, (2 nights). Dinner at the hotel.

Discover Bran Castle, a national treasure commonly known as Dracula’s Castle, for reasons that will soon become clear. It is the site typically associated with Bram Stoker’s Dracula. Enjoy the captivating legends, period furniture, and the small open-air museum showcasing typical peasant dwellings. Our final stop today will be in Sinaia, where we will visit Peles Castle, a former royal residence built in the 19th-century German-Renaissance style, which will enchant us with its diverse furnishings. Lunch will be in Bran or Sinaia.

After a leisurely morning, we will head back to Bucharest, making a stop en route at a winery in Azuga for lunch and a champagne tasting at Rheins Cellars. This evening, we will gather for our Farewell Dinner at “Caru Cu Bere,” featuring traditional dancing and music. 4*+ Hotel (1 night)

All too soon, our journey will close as we transfer you to Bucharest International Airport for your flight back home or Giurgiu for your Danube River Cruise.