Things to see and do Piteşti

On the road to Bucharest, the former manor house(conac) of the Goleşti, a great boyar family, is well worth a stop. Built in 1640, it features interesting traditional architecture with oriental influences. Inside, the family's life is recreated. You'll also find an exhibition of history and folk art, a remarkable ^17th-century church (Sfânta Treime), Turkish baths dating from 1807, unique in Romania, and a 12-hectare open-air wine museum, which bears witness to local activity linked to orchards and vines.

West of Piteşti, this park extends beyond the gate of the World War I Heroes. This pleasant green space of almost 30 hectares includes an oak forest, a small zoo and a convent dating from 1699. Built at the beginning of the 20th century, it is still a popular place to walk, perfect for cycling and rollerblading. To reach it, you can opt for a walk from the centre, through the beautiful wooded areas, or take bus 2A or 5.

Close to the Gare du Nord railway station, the former prison, in operation from 1941 to 1977, is infamous for the atrocious experimental re-education-through-torture program that political opponents underwent here between 1949 and 1951. The same program, in which everyone was both victim and torturer, was later applied in the Aiud and Gherla prisons in Transylvania. A memorial was built there, and opened to the public in 2014. The premises have been left virtually untouched, with documents and testimonies. An emotional visit.

Founded in the 14th century, this monastery is considered to be one of the oldest in Wallachia. It was built by Radu I, prince from 1377 to 1383. It was then rebuilt by his son Mircea the Elder and renovated by Constantin Brâncoveanu in 1711. The site is quiet and pleasant. The old church is in the centre of the flowery courtyard. Its facade, partly made of brick, is beautifully decorated with small coloured ceramic discs. Wood is omnipresent, especially on the roofs. The monastery is also home to the oldest bell in Wallachia, cast in 1385.

Housed in the neoclassical former prefecture, the museum has several sections: one presents the history of the județ d'Argeș, from the Paleolithic to 1947. The museum also boasts a naive art gallery and a section dedicated to the natural sciences, with dioramas and stuffed specimens, as well as a fine mineral collection and a planetarium. The art gallery, housed in a handsome neoclassical building dating from 1886 (bulevardul Republicii, 33), exhibits paintings by leading local artists such as Grigorescu and Pallady.

Located in the center, at kilometer zero, the princely church(biserica domnească), also known as St. George's Church(Sfântul Gheorghe), was founded in 1656 by Constantine Șerban, Prince of Wallachia, and his wife. Remodeled in the ^mid-19th century after a fire, this handsome brick edifice was slated for demolition in the 1960s, but was finally restored in 1968. Its porch, unusual in Romania, makes it an interesting exception.