DURATION: 2 days, one night.
DISTANCE: 525 KM
GUARANTEED DEPARTURE: ALL YEAR ROUND. /Mind that the Peles Castle is closed on Monday in summer and on Monday and Tuesday in winter. Also, museums are usually closed during official public holidays.

HIGHLIGHTS:
DAY ONE:
In BUCHAREST: tour of the main sights connected to the Romanian Royal Family: the Royal Palace, now the National Museum of Arts; the Central University Library “Carol I”; visit of Cotroceni Palace (former residence of the first Royal Couple).
In SINAIA: Peles Castle, built at the end of the 19th century by the first King of Romania as a summer royal residence.
In AZUGA: Lunch and wine tasting at the Rhein Wine Cellar, Supplier of the Royal House of Romania.
Arrival in BRASOV in the afternoon. Walking Tour of the medieval city of Brasov. O/N in Brasov. Dinner on your own.

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DAY TWO:
In BRAN: Visit of the Castle:
A (HI)STORY NOT TO BE MISSED:
— Early history: built in the early 13th century by the Saxons as a fortress against the Ottomans; rebuilt in the 14th century as a stone fortress. Vlad the impaler, upon whom the legend of Dracula was partially based, used the castle during his reigns;
— until early 20th century, the Castle was disputed amongst Wallachia, Transylvania and Hungary, being settled at the border between provinces, and established as customs village.
— after WWI, in 1918, Transylvania united with Wallachia and Moldova, and finally Bran village was no longer under Hungarian jurisdictions.
— in 1920 the Castle becomes the property of the Royal Family of Romania. The people of Bran donated the Castle to Queen Maria of Romania as a sign of gratitude for her contribution to the Great Union of the three Romanian provinces. Upon her death, the castle was inherited by her youngest daughter, Princess Ileana, who married Archduke Anton of Habsburg.
— In 1948, after king Michael’s forced abdication, the Castle became the property of the Romanian State, now a Republic. It reopened to the public in 1956 as a Museum of Medieval History and Arts. In 1987 it was closed for massive restoration and it reopened again, after the fall of communism in Romania, in 1993.
— present history: in May 2006, after six years of long trials, the Castle is remitted to the members of the Habsburg Family – Princess Ileana’s children!! For the next three years, the State administered the Castle on a transitory basis. The Romanian Ministry of Culture moved all the exhibits to the Customs Museum. In order to reopen the Castle as a museum for the public, the Habsburg family refurnished the Castle with objects from their private collections, twice as many as in the previous State Collection.
— the new reopening took place in June 2009. Since then, the Castle has been visited by even more tourists than before! Visitors of Bran Castle will be surprised how lovely this supposedly evil place is.

— LUNCH IN BRAN —

THEN PASS THROUGH RUCAR – BRAN PASSAGE FROM TRANSYLVANIA TO WALLACHIA…

In CURTEA DE ARGES: Visit of the Cathedral, built in the 16th century and restored in the 19th century during Carol I’s reign, the burial place of the Kings and Queens of Romania.

Back to Bucharest via Pitesti – A2 highway. Arrival in the evening.

INFORMATIVE QUOTE: 145 €/ PERSON/ TOUR

The quote covers:
– transportation and professional driver;
– fuel and parking fees;- guiding fees

The quote does not cover:
– museum admissions fees;
– meals, drinks…
– accommodation in Brasov at 3* – 4* – 5* hotels at your choice.