Romania, Bulgaria & Greece
Grand Balkans Tour Day 1. Homeland - Bucharest Arrival at the airport Bucharest. Meeting with the English - speaking guide. Our trip leader will take us to explore Romania’s capital, Bucharest. We visit many of the older parts of the city to discover the architecture that earned it the reputation as the ‘Paris of Eastern Europe’ such as the striking columned facade of the Romanian Atheneum concert hall and the Royal Palace of Bucharest. We will also see the exterior of the Palace of Parliament, which is the second largest building in the world. We will make a visit to the fascinating Village Museum where we can see a collection of old wooden churches, windmills and peasant dwellings from different regions. Transfer to the Hotel. Day 2. Bucharest - Sinaia - Poiana Brasov In the morning we drive toward north along the Prahova Valley to Sinaia. In Sinaia we will visit the Peles Castle, the summer residence of the Royal Family. The year 1866 marks the beginnings of the Hohenzollern-Siegmaringen dynasty in Romania, when the first king from the Hohenzollern family came into this country and decided to build a castle in Sinaia on the Peles river shore in the German Renaissance style, to remind him of his homeland. Not very far you can find the Sinaia Monastery that was built by orthodox monks, who came from the Sinai Mountain. Afterwards we drive to Poiana Brasov where you will have a traditional Romanian dinner. Day 3. Poiana Brasov - Brasov - Bran Rasnov - Poiana Brasov In the morning we drive to Brasov, city tour with visit of the Town Hall, the hidden Orthodox Church and the Black Church, the biggest Gothic sacral building in the Eastern Europe. Afterwards you will visit the Bran Castle, also known as Dracula’s Castle after the legend of the bloody prince. In the afternoon we will go to the Rasnov Citadel, where the medieval atmosphere is even nowadays present, after 500 years of existence. The rustic fortresses were part of a defending system of the Transylvanian places that were exposed to invaders’ attacks.
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Day 4. Poiana Brasov - Sighisoara - Biertan - Sibiel - Sibiu This day is about the culture of the Transylvanian Saxons. The first stop we will be in Sighisoara. Sighisoara is the most beautiful and best preserved medieval building in the rural Gothic Renaissance and Baroque style from this side of Europe. Here you will visit the Church on the Hill, the Clock Tower, the house where Count Dracula was born and also the Saint Mary Church. Then we drive to Biertan, to visit the biggest Transylvanian-Saxon fortified church. Here was until the end of the 19th century the residence of the Evangelical bishops from Transylvania. Then you will go to Sibiel to visit the Glass Icon Museum. Afterwards traditional dinner at the farmers in Sibiel. Day 5. Sibiu - Ramnicu Valcea In the morning city tour in Sibiu. During the city tour you will you will see the most important sights of the city. The Big and Small Square, the Lair’s Bridge and the Evangelical Cathedral. In the Evangelical Cathedral you can see the tomb stone of Dracula’s son, Mihnea the Bad. Then we will drive to the South to Ramnicu Valcea, on the way stop at the Cozia Monastery, one of the oldest in Romania, built by the Wallachian prince Mircea the Old, grandfather of Vlad Tepes. Day 6. Ramnicu Valcea - Sofia Today we will drive firther to the south, after crossing the Romanian – Bulgarian border we will drive to the capital of Bulgaria – Sofia. The city is at the foot of Vitosha Mountain in the western part of the country. Being in the centre of the Balkans, it is midway between the Black Sea and the Adriatic Sea, and closest to the Aegean Sea. Day 7. Sofia After the breakfast city tour in Sofia. Sofia is a dynamic Eastern European capital, distinguished by its unique combination of European and Communist-style architecture as well as many beautiful orthodox churches. Here you will visit the Alexandr Nevski Cathedral, the Roman Rotonda, the Roman ruins etc. In the evening festive dinner with folklore program in a traditional Bulgarian Restaurant.
