Monuments to visit Romania

This summer residence of King Carol I and his wife Elisabeth has become one of the most visited places in Romania. It was built between 1873 and 1914, according to the rather crazy plans of Doderer and Schultz. Its first inauguration took place in 1883, after which it was enlarged under the direction of the Czech architect Karel Liman. At the cutting edge of modernity in its time, Peleș was the first castle in Europe to have electricity and central heating. Carol I died there in 1914. Under communism, the confiscated royal residence was used as a holiday resort by party cadres. Distinguished guests, such as foreign heads of state, were often welcomed. The effect of this tall building, perched in its green setting, is immediate on the visitor, astonishing the eye with its towers, spires and half-timbered houses. In the German neo-Renaissance style, it is also influenced by Italian, Oriental, French and Gothic styles. The 160 rooms in the building are characterized by rich wooden ornaments, which are also found on the facades. The abundance and diversity of statues, pottery, precious vases, weapons, stained-glass windows, tapestries and porcelain is impressive. Among the most beautiful rooms, you will visit the Hall of Honour, characterized by its beautiful carved walnut decorations, or the library, all in wood panelling, absolutely magnificent. In the reception room, wooden models of sixteen castles belonging to the Hohenzollern family (Carol I's family) are on display. The armoury displays collections of European and Oriental weapons from the 15th century onwards. The stained glass windows of the music room, the Florentine room with its gilded wood and marble decorations, the Moorish room with its marble-encrusted furniture, and the theatre where the country's first film projection took place in 1906, will also delight you. The estate of Peleș includes several other beautiful buildings, also built by Carol I: in addition to the castle of Pelișor or the many outbuildings converted into hotels or restaurants, there is the castle of Foișor, a hunting lodge used in its time by Ceaușescu. Today it is a ceremonial residence of the Romanian state, which is not open to the public. The park at Peleș can be visited for free. The Italian Renaissance style gardens, laid out on terraces, enhance the castle, which seems to have come straight out of a fairy tale, particularly well.

Its imposing silhouette stands on a rocky outcrop, at the bend of a valley winding between the Bucegi and Piatra Craiului mountains. Bran Castle, steeped in history and legend, is one of Romania's top tourist attractions. It attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors every year to discover Dracula's supposed castle, or at least that of Vlad Țepeș, the ^15th-century Wallachian prince on whom writer Bram Stoker is said to have based his vampire character. While it resembles the count's home described in Stoker's novel, the castle has no proven connection with Vlad Țepeș. In fact, it has much more to do with Queen Marie, adored by the Romanians, who left her mark on the place between the wars.

Built between 1377 and 1382 by the inhabitants of Brașov, by order of the King of Hungary, Bran Castle occupied a strategic position. Its function was to defend Transylvania against Ottoman attacks. It also acted as a customs post between Transylvania and Wallachia until 1836. The town of Brașov, which owned the site, donated it to Queen Marie in 1920, in gratitude for her commitment to the country in the First World War. On her death in 1938, the castle was bequeathed to her daughter Ileana. Confiscated by the Communists, it was finally returned to Ileana's heirs, the Habsburg family, in 2006.
The medieval castle, built in Gothic style, has undergone several changes over the centuries, as evidenced by its convoluted architecture. From a single tower, it now boasts four. The extensive restoration work undertaken in the 1920s by Queen Marie, in collaboration with Czech architect Karel Liman, significantly altered the premises, giving them a romantic feel.
Elegant reception rooms and comfortable bedrooms were created. All nooks and alcoves, the rooms are spread over four levels, accessed by staircases that form a maze, conducive to exploration. A secret passageway has even been uncovered in the former council chamber. From the loopholes transformed into windows, the view of the surrounding countryside is spectacular.
Queen Marie also laid out a beautiful park at the foot of the château. You can enjoy a meal in the queen's former tea house, now a pleasant restaurant. The elevator built in 1937 to link the castle and the park was restored in 2017. You have to pay extra to borrow it and enjoy an interactive multimedia exhibition: in our opinion, you can skip it. A visit to the torture chamber, which also costs extra (€4), isn't essential either.
Tourists who have come for Dracula won't leave empty-handed: a number of rooms are devoted to the vampire myth and the story of his inspiration Vlad Țepeș. You'll also learn more about strigoi, the undead of Romanian folklore.

Bran Castle may be a little irritatingly draculomaniac, but it's nonetheless an exceptional monument, full of soul. However, avoid peak periods in summer and on Sundays, or aim for the early or late hours of the day: the crowds can make the visit a real pain. Signs are in English and Romanian, but a French audioguide is available for a small extra charge.

The defensive system built by the craftsmen's guilds consisted of a wall almost 1 km long, fourteen defensive towers and five artillery bastions. Today, nine towers, two bastions and part of the surrounding wall remain.

Clock Tower(turnul cu Ceas). The town's landmark, it stands 64 meters high. Built in the ^14th century, many of its features have been altered or added to, such as its Baroque roof dating from 1677. The clock, the tower's most original feature, dates from 1648 and appears on both of its main facades. On the new town side, you'll recognize the executioner and the drummer, surmounted by seven wooden statuettes representing the days of the week. On the city side, you'll see the tambourine player on the right, in charge of the quarter hours; on the lower left, Peace, holding an olive branch and a trumpet; the female statues, holding a sword and scales, symbolize Reason and Justice; finally, two figurines represent day and night. Please note that the clock mechanisms are not in operation while the tower roof is being refurbished (reopening scheduled for 2025).

Tour des Bouchers(turnul Măcelarilor): from the Tour des Cordiers, the city wall descends northeast to the Tour des Bouchers. It dates from the ^16th century. The section of ramparts between the two towers remains intact.

Tour des Cordiers(turnul Franghierilor): probably dating from the ^13th century, this tower was also part of the original fortification of the hilltop. Note that it is still inhabited!

Shoemaker's Tower(turnul Cizmarilor): destroyed in 1676 and rebuilt in 1681, this hexagonal tower is the most impressive in the town.

Tower of the Tinners(turnul Cositorarilor): 25 meters high, square at the base, then octagonal. The roof is hexagonal.

Blacksmiths' Tower(turnul Fierarilor): built in 1631, this tower is set against the surrounding wall. Its role was to protect the church and monastery in the event of a siege.

Shoemakers' Tower(turnul Cojocarilor): a few meters from the Butchers' Tower, this small, simple structure dates from the ^15th century.

Tailors' Tower(turnul Croitorilor): this tower is impressive for its simplicity and solidity. It was probably built in the ^14th century. Like the Clock Tower, it protects an entrance formed by two vaulted corridors.

Tour des Tanneurs(turnul Tăbăcarilor): square in structure, with a simple roof, this is one of the town's oldest towers.

Archaeological studies seem to show that the first foundations of the German settlers were one-storey wooden houses supported by massive oak beams. The stone and brick houses were built in stages between the 15th and 18th centuries, especially after the great fire of 1676. The citadel (cetate) is not very big and you will not get lost in it. It is surrounded by old fortifications from the 14th century, of which mainly the towers added in the 15th century remain. The pretty Piaţa Cetăţii is the centre of the city.

This monumental building is the city's landmark. The Palace of Culture(palatul Culturii) reopened its doors in 2016, following a complete renovation. It was built between 1906 and 1925, in a flamboyant neo-Gothic, Romantic and Baroque style, by architect Ion Berindei. The rooms and galleries (of which there are over two hundred!) are vast and elegant. Their decoration went through two phases: austere neoclassical under Carol ^I, Baroque and Art Nouveau under Ferdinand. The Hall of the Voivodes, one of the most beautiful, features a portrait gallery of Moldavian rulers. The two central halls, on the ground and first floors, are impressive for their length, which matches that of the main façade. Note the circular mosaic and its Gothic bestiary. Built in the center of the medieval town, within the walls of the former ^15th-century princely residence, the palace served as both town hall and court for thirty years. In 1955, it became the Palace of Culture, a vast complex housing several museums. You can also explore its superb clock tower: tours take place every hour, from 10.45 a.m. to 3.45 p.m. In front of the building stands a large equestrian statue of the famous Moldavian voivode Ștefan cel Mare.

Art Museum

This museum has three galleries: one devoted to modern Romanian art (Grigorescu, Pallady...), another to contemporary Romanian art and the last to European art. You'll see a painting by Rubens and various representations of Moldavian landscapes.

Museum of Moldavian History

The oldest exhibit dates back to the Lower Paleolithic. The museum also boasts an impressive collection of Cucuteni ceramics, a rich Neolithic civilization. You'll also see ancient and medieval coins, ^17th-century parchments and precious objects that belonged to Moldavian or national personalities (swords, throne, etc.).

Ethnographic Museum of Moldavia

This museum presents the activities and customs of the Moldavian people through the ages. You'll see fabrics, pottery, furniture, carpets, etc. The collection of agricultural implements (wine, fishing, farming or hunting) is particularly rich and varied, as is that of folk costumes.

Museum of Science and Technology

Its main attraction is its vast collection of musical automata. Other exhibits include photographic and cinematographic equipment, computers, meteorological and telephone instruments.

This ^15th-century pink-brick fortress became an important princely residence in the ^16th century. Transformed into an Italian Renaissance castle by Transylvanian Prince Gábor Bethlen in the early ^17th century, it was used in the second half of the century as a meeting place for the Sejm, and much later, between 1948 and 1960, as a prison for opponents. Today, it houses the Ethnographic and Historical Museum of the city and its region, with a fine collection of icons on glass, ceramics, costumes...

The Babeș-Bolyai University of Cluj is the country's largest public institution of higher education, with 56,000 students and 111 specialties taught. It is named after two scientists: the Romanian bacteriologist Victor Babeș (1854-1926) and the Hungarian mathematician János Bolyai (1802-1860), as a symbol of the tumultuous history of the place. Following the revolution of 1848, the Minister of Education, József Eötvös, conceived the idea of a university in Romanian, Hungarian and German. Following his death, Emperor Franz Joseph did not pursue the idea. In 1872, the Franz Joseph University of Cluj was founded... with courses in Hungarian only. In 1919, following the incorporation of Transylvania into Romania, a Romanian-language university was founded. As a result, the Hungarian university moved to Szeged, Hungary. It returned to Cluj in 1940, following the annexation of northern Transylvania by Hungary. The Romanian university then moved to Sibiu and Timișoara. In 1945, it returned to Cluj and Franz Joseph University ceased operations. The authorities therefore founded another Hungarian university, János-Bolyai, and renamed the Romanian university Victor Babeș, before the two merged in 1959, hence the name Babeș-Bolyai.

Today, it is home to one of the largest university libraries in Eastern Europe, with 3.6 million books, as well as the world's only Emil Racoviță University Institute of Speleology and its museum, located strada Clinicilor.

This monumental sculpture, located near St. Michael's Cathedral, depicts Matei Corvin, King of Hungary between 1458 and 1490, on horseback, on a bastion of the city wall of Cluj, where he was born. The statue won a prize at the 1900 Paris Universal Exhibition, before being inaugurated in 1902. The end of a veritable marathon: the plans were approved in 1894, for an idea first mooted in 1882. The statue is the work of architect Lajos Pakei and sculptor János Fadrusz.

It's the landmark of Constanța. On the jetty by the Black Sea, this superb Art Nouveau building was designed by Swiss architect Daniel Renard and inaugurated in 1910. Its façade is adorned with a shell-shaped bay and its interiors are sumptuous. Confiscated by the Communists, the casino changed hands again and again after the revolution, until it fell into disrepair in the 2000s. After many ups and downs, a vast rehabilitation project was launched in 2020 and is due for completion in June 2024. You can already admire the restored façade.

This 23-storey, 80-metre-high tower was erected under Ceauşescu's regime in agreement with the American Intercontinental group. Its construction was launched when the dictator decided that a capital city needed a structure of this standing. The city's first tower, inaugurated in 1971, was featured on the cover of every tourist guide to Bucharest, as proof of its modernity. During the revolution, the tower welcomed many foreign journalists, who watched from its balconies as soldiers fired on the crowds.

Built by Prince Brâncoveanu in the early ^18th century, this palace has an eventful history. After the prince's death, it suffered extensive damage from fire and invasion, and was once used as an inn. Recently renovated, it now hosts seminars, exhibitions, concerts and a restaurant. Its balconies, arcades and ornamental sculptures are remarkable. The color of the stone and bricks and the architectural harmony of the whole are enchanting. The roof of the main building features curious chimneys.

In the center of the large pedestrian square that bears his name, you'll see the pensive statue of the Latin poet Publius Ovidius Naso. Born in 43 B.C., exiled in 9 A.D. by the Emperor Augustus, he died in Tomis in 17 or 18 A.D., leaving behind melancholy poems. His tomb has never been located. The statue, erected in 1887, was designed by the famous Italian sculptor Ettore Ferrari, who also created the statue of Abraham Lincoln in Washington. Surrounded by heterogeneous buildings, the square has been a gathering place since Antiquity.

Going up along the pleasant seaside promenade, you will see this lighthouse dating from the 14th century, renovated in 1860. It is also called the old lighthouse (farul vechi), as opposed to the new lighthouse (farul nou), which is very futuristic and which you may see on your way to the stations on the southern coast. Not far away, by the sea, is the statue of Mihai Eminescu, created by the sculptor Oscar Han in 1930. Further on, you will reach the marina of Tomis and, continuing along the sea, you will arrive at the grey sandy beach of the town.

This beautiful classical-style building, built in 1852, was purchased in 1874 by the Capşa family, who turned it into a highly reputed confectionery, before adding a hotel, restaurant and café. The establishment enjoyed its heyday in the 1930s, when it became a meeting place for writers, artists and intellectuals. Neglected under Communism, it was renovated and restored to its former refinement in the 2000s. As for the confectionery, it still exists: here you can sample the sweets and cakes that made the place famous.

One of the best preserved in Transylvania. Atop a hill, it offers breathtaking views. Built in 1335 to protect the village from possible attackers, particularly the Tatars, it was subsequently transformed several times. Its 5-meter-high walls included nine defensive towers. In 1690, during the city's last siege, the fortress was taken by the Turks. Damaged by fire in 1718, then by an earthquake in 1802, it served as a final refuge during the revolutions of 1821 and 1848.

Erected in 1922 on the Parisian model, it celebrates the victory of the Romanian army in the First World War, the proclamation of King Ferdinand and the unification of the three Romanian provinces. As the first version quickly fell into disrepair, it was destroyed, rebuilt and inaugurated in 1936. Under Communism, the royal representations were removed, then replaced after 1989. From its summit, the Arc de Triomphe offers a fine view of the surrounding parks. The small museum inside features photos of the old arch and plans of the city at the time.

Opposite the National Museum of Art, this superb 1895 building is the work of French architect Paul Gottereau. Built by King Carol ^I, it houses the city's oldest central university library. Seriously damaged during the 1989 revolution, the three-building structure was renovated. In 2010, an equestrian statue of Carol ^I was installed in front of the Foundation Palace, the original structure.

The National Theater and the Romanian Opera, founded in 1919, are housed in a Baroque and Rococo building constructed between 1904 and 1906. Cluj is one of the few cities in the world to boast a second operatic institution: the Hungarian Opera, founded in 1948, which shares the same building as the Hungarian Theatre, strada Emil Isac. Close to the National Theatre stands the Tailors' Bastion(bastionul Croitorilor), part of the ^15th-century fortifications.

At the entrance to the historic center, at the junction of Strada Lipscani and Bulevardul Brătianu, stands the Lupoaicei statue, a reproduction of the famous Roman she-wolf suckling Romulus and Remus. It was donated to the city by the Municipality of Rome in 1906, to mark the Latinity of Romanian culture. Similar replicas can be seen in other cities around the country, such as Timișoara, Alba Iulia or Târgu Mureș, donated by various Italian municipalities. In Bucharest, the she-wolf has changed location several times.