Day 1:
Budapest - Oradea
Your tour starts in Budapest, where you
will be picked up by our guide from your hotel or your requested location.
At 10 AM, you will leave Budapest and
take a 4-hour trip to Oradea. Once in Oradea, you will have free time for
lunch, and then you will check-in at a centrally located hotel.
Although it is almost one thousand years
old, Oradea is marked by the Vienna Secession art movement, which influenced
most of the main buildings of the city throughout the 18th century. The
historical center was completely restored, and you will visit the Black Eagle Palace, built in the
early 20th century, and the Moon Church, who got its name from a golden sphere which tells the phrases
of the moon.
You will also take a trip to the Episcopal Palace, the Moskovits Buildings, and the Oradea Fortress, an impressive star-shaped medieval defense point.
At night, you will take a walking tour
through the city center and its public gardens. (1 hour)
Accommodation: Overnight in
Oradea.
Day 2: Oradea - Turda Salt
Mine - Cluj (Breakfast)
After a delicious breakfast, you will
head towards a beautiful town in Transylvania, Cluj-Napoca. But on your way there, you will stop at one of
the most impressive underground places in the world, the Turda Salt Mine. In
the last 2000 years, over 3 billion tons of salt was extracted, but now the
mine was transformed into an underground theme park where you can take a boat
ride on the lake, play mini-golf, tennis, and much more. (1 hour)
Your next destination is one of the
best-preserved traditional villages in Transylvania, Rimetea, the place where
the sun rises twice. (1 hour)
You will then head to Cluj, one of the most dynamic cities in Eastern Europe. Its history
can be traced back to more than two thousand years ago when the Romanian
people laid the foundation for a municipality. Your Cluj city tour starts
with Saint Michael’s Church, built in the 15th century by Matthias Corvinus,
one of Hungary's most important kings.
After that, your sightseeing tour will
continue with other symbolic buildings from the Cluj Old Town, such as Banffy
Palace, the Opera House, and Mirror Street. Overnight in Cluj.
Accommodation: Overnight in
Cluj-Napoca.
Day 3: Cluj-Napoca - Alba
Iulia - Sibiu (Breakfast)
Your guide picks you up in the morning at
your hotel you will be leaving Cluj-Napoca at 09:00 and head out of the city
towards the south of Transylvania. The drive to Alba
Carolina is a little over an hour. Alba Carolina
was built in the early 18th century, as part of a fortification system
created by Prince Eugene of Savoy to provide defense for the newly conquered
provinces of the Habsburg Empire. Besides its cleverly designed architecture,
Alba Carolina does not seize to impress through its attractiveness. Italian
and Austrian artisans built the whole complex in 23 years. The walls,
slightly oblique, are made out of brick and stone by a technique without
unevenness, to cause the cannonballs to ripple. From Alba Carolina, you will
head towards Sibiu. (1 hours)
Your day will end in Sibiu, former
European Cultural Capital in 2007, and one of the best-preserved
Transylvanian cities. Your city tour includes the Main Squares, together with
the Metropolitan Cathedral and the Bridge of Lies. (1
hour)
Your guide will take you to your hotel
and the rest of your day is at leisure. Overnight in Sibiu.
Accommodation: Overnight in
Sibiu.
Day 4: Sibiu - Hunedoara -
Timisoara (Breakfast/ Lunch)
Yesterday’s visit to Alba Carolina was a
perfect introduction to the defense mechanisms of the Transylvanian
fortifications.
Your guide will pick you up from your
hotel in Sibiu, and drive you to Corvin Castle. Corvin Castle is one of the most impressive in Transylvania
and a Gothic masterpiece. Its name derives from the name of the one who
ordered its construction, John Hunyadi, and his son, Matthias Corvinus, the
King of Hungary between 1458 and 1490. Corvin Castle is split into 3 broad
areas: the Knight’s Hall, which was used for feasts, the Diet Hall, which was
used for ceremonies, and the circular stairway. All of the halls have a
rectangular shape, and their walls are beautifully decorated with marble. (1 hour)
Your day will end in Timisoara, the city which will be Romania’s European Capital of Culture
in 2021. The city located in western Romania, near Serbia, is known as
"Little Vienna” because of the abundant cultural life, the historical
remains, and buildings dating from the 18th century. Here you will walk
through the Timisoara main squares as Union, Freedom, and Victory. You will
visit the Orthodox Cathedral, a Neo-Moldavian architectural masterpiece, and
Theresia Bastion, one of the old gates of Timisoara fortress. (1 hour)
Accommodation: Overnight in
Timisoara.
Day 5: Timisoara - Budapest
(Breakfast)
On this day you will be transferred from
Timisoara to Budapest. End of the tour.