Romania is a destination for incredible scenery, delicious food, traditions kept untouched, wonderful castles and monasteries and peace of mind to be found in country life

ROMANIA AT A GLANCE

"Romania is the last wild corner of Europe... which gives you a sense of timelessness." (King Charles)

"No journey to Eastern Europe would be complete without paying a visit to Romania.Outstanding landscapes, a huge diversity of wildlife" (The Rough Guide)

"Romania has majestic castles, medieval towns, great hiking and wildlife…" (The Lonely Planet)

LOCATION

Romania is situated in the S-E of Central Europe and has a magnificent relief - nothing is missing:

  • Danube Delta is an UNESCO biosphere reservation which is an amazingly preserved habitat for rare species of plants and animals.
  • Black Sea, a continental sea with white sandy beaches.
  • Carpathian Mountains with its high peaks reaching up to 2,544 m and over 12,000 caves unique in the world, natural reservations – a great destination for outdoors activities like climbing, hiking, biking, tracking, skiing, river rafting, you name it!

HAVE YOU HEARD OF THESE FAMOUS ROMANIANS ?

Music
George Enescu – symphonic music composer, violinist, pianist
Angela Gheorghiu – soprano, performing at Met Opera NY, ROH London, La Scala Milan
Gheorghe Zamfir – flute artist (music soundtracks of Once Upon a Time in America, Kill Bill I)
Alexandru Tomescu – violinist, performing on a Stradivarius violin

Sport
Nadia Comaneci – gymnast, 1st woman to be awarded a perfect score of ten at Olympics
Gheorghe Hagi – footballer/soccer player (surnamed Maradona of The Carpathians)
Ilie Nastase, Ion Tiriac – tennis players

Art
Constantin Brancusi – sculptor, permanent galleries and exhibitions in MET New York and Pompidou Paris
Nicolae Grigorescu and Nicolae Tonitza – painters
Alexandra Nechita – cubist painter, surnamed "little Picasso"

Writers
Eugen Ionesco – play writer and dramatist
Mircea Eliade – historian of religions, fiction writer and philosopher
Mircea Cărtărescu (bestseller novel writer) și Matei Vișniec (playwright)

Films
Liviu Ciulei & Cristian Mungiu "Palm D`Or" – directors
Maia Morgenstern – actress known for her role of "Saint Mary" in Mel Gibson’s “The Passion of Christ”
Marcel Iures – actor known for his roles in “Mission Impossible”, “The Peace Maker”, “Hart’s War”
Ana Ularu - actress, famous for the West character in “Emerald City” and Vayentha in “Inferno”

DID YOU KNOW ?

  • The Palace of Parliament in Bucharest is the 2nd largest office building in the world after the US Pentagon
  • Voronet Monastery is also known as "The Sistine Chapel” of the East
  • King Charles has one of its favorites holiday’s estates in a Transylvanian Village Viscri which harbors a medieval fortress
  • Romania inspired famous novels like “The Castle in Carpathians” by Jules Verne and especially vampire Dracula is always a juicy subject - novel “Dracula” by Bram Stoker and movie “Dracula” by Francis Ford Coppola
  • The movies "Cold Mountain" and "Bruno" were filmed in Romanian villages
  • Insulin was discovered by a Romanian psychologist
  • Jet engines used by modern airplanes was invented by Henri Coanda
  • Timisoara is the first European city to have electric street lightening
  • The first anti-aging institute in the world was set up by Mrs. Ana Aslan, hosting an treating celebrities like Charles de Gaulle, J.F. Kennedy, Mao Zedong, Marlene Dietrich, Charlie Chaplin, Kirk Douglas, Salvador Dali.

TIPS

  • Travel medical insurance is always a good idea when traveling abroad, right?
  • Ask younger people for directions in English, most of them will know the language
  • You can get a taxi from the street, however you should ask about prices before riding. Or you can use BOLT or UBER
  • Bucharest is safe, but here’s the usual safety precautions: be aware of pickpockets and scam artists
  • Recommended tip is about 10%
  • You will find ATM cash machines frequently, no need to worry (especially in the city centers)