How Long You Should Stay in Romania's Most Popular Towns

Romania’s capital, Bucharest is a city of contrasts. You can easily spend five to seven days here if you are interested in uncovering all its gems. But if you don’t have that much time, you can see the essentials in two days.

Start with a walk in the Old Centre, filled with gorgeous buildings, cafés, bars and terraces. Nearby, the new centre comes with an array of squares and beautiful churches such as Domnița Balașa, as well as the second biggest administrative building in the world, the Palace of Parliament. It can be visited upon reservation and also houses the National Museum of Contemporary Art. You can spend your afternoon in the Cișmigiu Gardens or wander through Cotroceni, one of Bucharest’s most charming neighbourhoods.

A dynamic and young city, Cluj-Napoca is luring more and more travellers to discover what was in 2015 the European Youth Capital. The city centre, the territory of Cluj’s old medieval citadel, is brimming with lively restaurants, cafés and terraces. To discover the city’s history, join a free guided tour and let your guide take you on a journey back in time. The city centre, with its Art Museum, Pharmacy Museum and Ethnography Museum can be discovered in one day, if you move fast.

You can dedicate one more day to uncovering the fascinating art scene in the city, wandering in the open-air Ethnography Museum or surrounding yourself with lovely scents in the Botanical Garden.

One of Romania’s most romantic cities, Sibiu is the perfect place for a romantic escape. Its stunning Old Centre is brimming with Renaissance, Baroque and Gothic buildings, beautiful squares and lovely terraces. Depending on your interest, you need one or two days to explore it. If you prefer just wandering around and seeing the main spots, then one day should be enough.

Yet, Sibiu its renowned for its captivating museums and art galleries ,and there are no less than ten, including the very first in Transylvania, the Brukenthal Museum, and the second biggest open-air museum in the world, the Astra Museum of Folk Civilisation. So if you are a history buff, then plan two, if not three days in Sibiu.

What’s so great about Brașov is that you have plenty of places filled with history as well as the fantastic Carpathian Mountains encircling the city. Brașov definitely deserves two days devoted to exploring its two citadels, discovering its museums and escaping in its surroundings for a nature break. On your first day, stroll in the Old Centre, tracing the medieval citadel’s walls and visiting the first Romanian school or just taking a free guided tour. If you are photography aficionado, you will be happy to know that Brașov has plenty of spots to capture superb views of the city.

Use your second day to discover Poiana Brașov, a great place to get out of the city, breath some fresh air and, why not, hike in the mountains, or if you go in winter, ski, snowboard or snow tube. But if you are more the thrill-seeker type, then Aventura Park is just what you need. The biggest adventure park in Europe is sprinkled with high-adrenaline routes. If you want to do both, then you’ll need to prolong your stay in Brașov.

The cultural capital of Moldova, Iași is a city of poetry. Its awe-inspiring Palace of Culture is a must, and you can easily spend half a day discovering its 298 rooms, housing the exhibitions of the Ethnography, History, Art and Science museums. The next half-day you can spend uncovering its Orthodox churches, mainly the impressive Church of the Three Hierarchs, featuring more than 30 unique decorative patterns, or get lost among the pages in the Gheorghe Asachi Library, a wondrous and unique library.

If you are a romantic, you can spend one more day in Iași, in Copou Park, the place that inspired Mihai Eminescu’s poems and in the Botanical Garden’s Rose Garden, among seductive rose fragrances.

One of the hotspots of the seaside, Constanța is home to the biggest port on the Black Sea, sprinkled with architectural marvels. You will need at least one day to see the fabulous architecture, unearth the Roman heritage of the old Tomis citadel and visit the exquisite Grand Mosque, a testimony of the city’s multiculturality.

Constanța also has plenty of interesting museums, such as the Romanian Navy Museum, the History Museum or Folk Art Museum. You can visit some of them on the same day or devote a full day to them. But what surely deserve a second day are the beautiful parks and lakes in the city, together with the Aquarium, Planetarium and Dolphinarium. And still, a third day will never be too much if you want to enjoy the sun, the sand and the sea on one of Constanța’s beaches.