Romania: Explore the Carpathian Garden

Situated in the south-eastern part of Central Europe, Romania shares borders with Hungary to the north-west, Serbia to the south-west, Bulgaria to the south, the Black Sea to the south-east, Ukraine to the east and to the north and the Republic of Moldova to the east. Romania has always enchanted the travelers with the great diversity of its nature (mountains, hills, plains, sea, and delta) and cultural monuments. Architectural historians have described the monastery churches, some shaped like gnomes in slouch hats, as Byzantine churches built with Gothic hands.

The old Romanian towns have an almost "Viennese" ambience, with their baroque buildings painted in the so-called Hapsburg yellow, with wide-open and breezy squares, patchwork pavements often crowded for concerts on summer nights, and always full of youthful energy in its surrounding cafes and restaurants. Though Bucharest, the capital of Romania, used to be called Micul Paris (Little Paris), the architecture is more varied than the City of Light’s, and long boulevards like Victoriei and Dacia offer photo-worthy sights on every corner.

The country can be full of contrasts: some cities are truly Western Europe-like while in some villages locals live as they did a few centuries ago. Romania offers a rich tapestry of tourist attractions and vacation experiences unique in Central-Eastern Europe: medieval towns in Transylvania, the world-famous Painted Monasteries in Bucovina, traditional villages in Maramures, the magnificent architecture of Bucharest, the romantic Danube Delta, fairy-tale castles, the Black Sea resorts, and the majestic Carpathian Mountains, spas and much more.

The country history has not been as idyllically peaceful as its geography. Over the centuries, various migrating people invaded Romania. Romania's historical provinces Wallachia and Moldova offered furious resistance to the invading Ottoman Turks. Transylvania was successively under Hapsburg, Ottoman or Wallachia rule, while remaining an autonomous province. Foreign visitors consider Romanians among the friendliest and most hospitable people on earth. Romanians are by nature fun loving, warm, hospitable, and playful, with an innate sense of humor.