Top 10 best cities to visit in Romania – Traveling to Romania

I chose to write about the top best cities to visit in Romania for multiple reasons. One of them is that it’s a very beautiful country to visit, with lots of things to see. Another reason is that Romania has everything: from mountains to beaches, history and great people. It’s a very cheap country, I’ve put it in my other article here about 10 cheap countries you can visit. In general, Eastern Europe is way cheaper than Western Europe. Therefore, you can combine Romania with other countries too in the same trip. This is a trick I usually use and one of the 20 tips I gave on this article (link) to travel cheap. Now I will go on with the top best cities to visit in Romania, in my opinion.

1. Sibiu

One of the best cities to visit in Romania for experiencing medieval style

Sibiu amazed me every time with its medieval style, friendly people and good vibes. So, for me, it well deserves the first post in the top 10 cities to visit in Romania. There are multiple things to see in this wonderful city, including:

1. Big Square
2. Council Tower (climb it)
3. Bridge of Lies
4. Small Square
5. Lower Town
6. Brukenthal Museum

Other than those, there are many more things to do. I would recommend just taking some full days and exploring Sibiu on foot. Romanian culture is very interesting and people from Romania are very kind and friendly. You can get into a bar or use Couchsurfing to meet other people. The cuisine is also very interesting! I would recommend trying multiple restaurants and try as many dishes as you wish. It’s for sure one of the best cities in Romania for all these reasons.

2. Brasov

Beautiful city in the middle of mountains

The second one on the list of top cities to visit in Romania is a Transylvanian one too. Not a surprise though, the area is full of beautiful nature, interesting history, and great medieval style. Other than the city, exploring the nearby is great too! There are lots of castles, beautiful roadtrips, and incredible landscapes. You can see one of the most beautiful roads in Europe too, called Transfagarasan.  Other things to see outside brasov are Peles Castle Bran Castle, Fagaras Fortress and Cetatea Rupea. If you don’t know yet about Dracula’s stories, it’s time to read about them! As for Brasov, here are the best places to view in the city:

1. Council Hall
2. Council Square
3. Black Church
4. Mount Tâmpa
5. Rope Street
6. White Tower
7. Poiana Brasov
8. Solomon’s Rocks

You can arrive in Brasov easily by train from Bucharest or from Sibiu, the number one of the list of best cities in Romania. I would highly recommend combining them both in the same trip as they are very close to each other. Between them, there is also the Transfagarasan road, which is a must see in Romania! The best way to see all of this is to rent a car and go around. 🙂

3. Sighisoara

One of the most beautiful, unique and best cities to visit in Romania

Sighisoara, Sibiu, and Brasov. They make a great triangle right in the middle of Romania. I really believe those three deserve their place in top places to visit in Romania. Thousands of years of history, ancient churches, and medieval styles, it’s as beautiful as it can be. I had to think a little bit if it’s fair to put all cities in the top 3 from Transylvania. Honestly, it was a hard decision, but they totally deserve it. Transylvania is one of the most visited areas of Romania, full of history and interesting things to see. Another great thing about those three cities is that you can see them all on one trip only. That is they’re not very far from each other. The best things to do in Sighisoara would be:

1. The Scholars’ Stairs
2. Casa Vlad Dracul
3. The Clock Tower
4. Lower Town

I would honestly recommend to walk around the city and just explore everything. The city is so colorful and full of life so you won’t get bored easily by just walking around it. Sometimes the best places you can find aren’t planned before. You could find your favorite spot in Sighisoara by just randomly walking to it, without reading about it on any blog post. Also, I would recommend staying at least one night and not resume to just a day trip. Most of the people visit it on one day only, which means by evening it won’t be crowded anymore. This way you can go out in the evening too for a little bit and explore without any crowds.

4. Campulung Moldovenesc

Great for hiking, if you’re a mountain lover

It’s not the city itself that I recommend, but the entire area. Bucovina is a very beautiful area, a great place for nature lovers. Personally, I cycled all around this area and it was my favorite place to go to. The cities with mountains around, the fresh air, beautiful nature, everything was so beautiful. Bocovina is one of the best places to go to Romania and I will always recommend it for nature lovers. Another great thing is that it’s not crowded (usually) and there are not many tourists because it’s not that popular. Some of the best places to see in Bucovina are:

1. Rarau Mountain
2. Palma roadtrip
3. Suceava Citadel
4. Cacica Salt Mine
5. Calimani National Park
6. Rodna Mountains
7. Sucevita Monastery
8. Moldovita Monastery
9. Voronet Monastery
10. Dragomirna Monastery
11. Putna Monastery

Not all of these are close, so the best way to explore everything is to rent a car. As you can see in the list, there are lots of monasteries. Bucovina is an area full of lots of beautiful monasteries. So, if you are interested in them, you should for sure check all of them! 

5. Iasi

Explore the biggest city of northern Romania

Iasi is one of the biggest cities in Romania. I consider it as being in the top best cities in Romania because it has lots of beautiful things to see. People are also very friendly, there are lots of young people because Iasi has many popular Universities. Therefore, the nightlife is also very active for travelers seeking for it. Some of the best places to see in Iasi are:

1. Bucium viewpoint
2. Palace of Culture
3. Copou Park
4. Rapa Galbena (Elisabeta Esplanade)
5. Botanical Garden
6. Ciric Lake

Even though I consider it one of the best places in Romania, there’s no need to stay for more than 3-4 days. Unless you want to experience the local lifestyle, you can easily see everything in some days. However, if you want to stay and enjoy the city for more time, it’s very easy to know new people! People are very open, most young students speak English very well. If you’re visiting Iasi, I would also recommend you to combine it with Bucovina. You can easily get on a train from Iasi to Suceava and from there to rent a car. 🙂

6. Cluj

One of the best cities to visit in Romania for young people

Cluj is another great city full of young people, again, because of Universities. It’s one of the best cities in Romania and it’s also one of the biggest ones. A very famous festival is also held in Cluj every year, called Untold. Therefore, if you’re going around the beginning of August to Cluj, make sure you check the dates for Untold. It can be a great experience if you love festivals or if you’d just like to attend one. The best things to do in Cluj are:

1. Botanical Garden
2. Central Park
3. Cetatuia viewpoint
4. Saint Michael Church
5. Art Museum

Other than those, you can enjoy some of the best places in Romania outside Cluj too. For example, the Turda Salt Mine or Vadu Crisului Cave. The nightlife in Cluj is also great thanks to so many young people.

7. Constanta

Traveling to Romania isn’t just mountains and history…

Are you a sea lover? If yes, Constanta is the best place in Romania for you to visit! Right next to the Black Sea, you can choose between many beaches. Constanta is usually very crowded with tourists, but there are also lots of young people. So, if you’re a party lover, it’s another great reason to visit it and have fun! Some things you can highlight in your trip to Constanta are:

1. The Casino
2. The beaches 
3. The Grand Mosque
4. The Aquarium
5. Tabacariei Lake
6. The Dolphinarium

If you are a festival lover, you can attend to Nerversea. It’s a great festival that usually takes place at the beginning of July in Constanta. You should also try to avoid busy periods, like May 1st or the entire month of August. 

8. Timisoara

If you want to see a more western style

Timisoara is one of the most modern cities in Romania. This actually also makes it one of the best cities to visit in Romania. Some of the best things to do in Timisoara are:

1. Victory Square
2. Roses Park
3. Union Square
4. Casa Brück
5. Historic Center
6. Theresia Bastion
7. Botanic Park

Timisoara is one of the biggest cities in Romania that is also full of history. For example, this is the city where the 1989 anti-communism revolution started. This is also a city with many young people, so if you’re open to meeting locals, just go for it. As in the other big cities of Romanian, most young people know very well English.

9. Piatra Neamt

One of the best cities to visit in Romania for many reasons, but the main one is the incredible mountains

There are so many things to do around Piatra Neamt! It’s a zone around the mountains, so nature is just great. If you rent a car (which I highly recommend), you can combine it with #4 (Vatra Dornei). They are not too far from each other and they’re both very beautiful. The best things to do in and around Piatra Neamt are:

1. Neamt Fortress
2. Mihail Sadoveanu Memorial house
3. Neamt Monastery
4. Ceahlau National Park
5. Cheile Bicazului
6. Lacul Rosu

If you’re a hiking lover, you’ll enjoy the Neamt area (or Bucovina) a lot! The mountains and landscapes are so beautiful. You can also take a boat ride on the Red Lake (Lacul Rosu). Obviously, that is in the spring or summer. If you’re going in the winter, it’s still one of the best places to visit in Romania. I’ve been there both in winter and summer and I enjoyed them both. Though, be aware that it gets very cold and there is lots of snow in the winter.

10. Bucharest

Explore the capital of this beautiful country

It would be impossible not to put the capital in the top best cities of Romania. Bucharest, a city full of life, has so many beautiful things to see, including:

1. Palace of Parliament
2. Herastrau Park
3. Cismigiu Park
4. Izvor Park
5. Old town
6. Revolution Square
7. Romanian Athenaeum

From Bucharest, you can go to other beautiful cities easily, by train. For example, it takes just around two hours to get to Brasov. You can also get the train to any other city like Cluj, Constanta, Iasi, Sibiu. A trip to Iasi would take around 8 hours by train, so be prepared. Traveling by train is a great way to explore Romania and Bucharest is the ideal city from where to start.