Painted Monasteries of Romania

Day 1 – Bucharest

Scheduled flight to Bucharest from your preferred airport – transfer with our tour manager in our private executive coach to the 4* Berthelot Hotel in Bucharest.

Day 2 – Guided tour of Bucharest

Guided tour of Bucharest taking in its wide Parisian style boulevards and fine pre-World War I buildings – Stavropoleos Church has an Arabesque façade while the interior is richly decorated with ornate carvings and colourful frescoes – the Royal Palace houses the National Art Museum including an impressive European gallery with works by Rembrandt, El Greco and Breughel – the open air Village Museum displays buildings from every region of Romania illustrating the diversity of its folk architecture – check in to the 4* Bella Muzica in Brasov.

Day 3 – Brasov

Full day in Brasov, a medieval town with ornate Saxon churches and townhouses – Brasov’s main square, Piata Sfatului, is one of the finest Baroque squares in Romania – the Lutheran Black Church’s soot blackened walls are from a fire started by the Austrian army that swept through Brasov in 1689 – the Orthodox St Nicholas Cathedral is easily recognised by its black spires – the Romanian School Museum displays some of the first textbooks written in the Romanian language dating back to the 16th century.

Day 4 – Prejmer & Bicaz Gorges

At Prejmer a five towered 12 metre high wall surrounds the 13th century Gothic church – travel north from Transylvania to southern Bucovina through the winding Bicaz Gorges, enjoying the spectacular scenery of the Eastern Carpathians – check in to the 4* Best Western Bucovina in Gura Humorului.

Day 5 – Painted Monasteries of Bucovina

The painted monasteries of Bucovina were painted in the 15th and 16th centuries and feature vivid mural frescoes created to educate and entertain the illiterate soldiers and peasants – Moldovita Monastery, with its wonderful frescoes dating from 1537, was founded by Prince Petru Rares and his original throne and his portrait are on display – the massive monastery at Sucevita is covered with delightful frescoes, although the western wall is bare, as legend claims that the artist fell from the scaffolding and died and work was halted immediately – the monastery at Voronet, founded in 1487, is often dubbed the ‘Oriental Sistine Chapel’ with the magnificent ‘Last Judgment’ fresco probably the finest single composition among the painted monasteries.

Day 6 – Bistrita & Culture Palace, Târgu Mures

Travel through stunning mountain scenery and the dramatic Borgo Pass for Bistrita, a small market town in the Bârgau Valley in the heart of ‘Dracula land’ – at Târgu Mures the splendid Culture Palace boasts the beautiful stained glass ‘Hall of Mirrors’ and a modern art gallery – check in to the 4* Cavaler Hotel in Sighisoara.

Day 7 – Sighisoara

Sighisoara is a beautifully preserved medieval town – the medieval UNESCO World Heritage listed citadel dominates the New Town from its rocky massif – from the gigantic 13th century Old Clock Tower each day a different wooden figure emerges from the belfry on the stroke of midnight and a drummer strikes every hour – the interior of the Gothic Saxon Church of the Dominican Monastery has stark whitewashed walls, hung with colourful tapestries – check in to the 4* International Hotel in Sinaia.

Day 8 – Peles Castle

The 19th century Peles Castle in Sinaia, built for Romania’s first monarch, King Carol I, has over 100 rooms richly decorated in ebony, mother of pearl and leather – transfer to Bucharest for our scheduled flight back home.