Sinaia

Its star attraction is Peleș Castle, a fairy-tale neo-Renaissance palace built for King Carol I, with richly carved interiors and beautiful terraced gardens decorated with statues. Nearby stands the smaller Pelișor Castle, built for King Ferdinand and Queen Marie, with Art Nouveau interiors. Guided visits lead through rooms rich in carved wood, stained glass and collections of arms and art.

The Sinaia Monastery, founded in the late 17th century and named after Mount Sinai, gave the town its name. Inside its walls stand a small old church and a larger great church. In the town below are the Sinaia Casino and the historic railway station on the line between Bucharest and Brașov. A cable car leads up into the Bucegi plateau for hiking in summer and skiing in winter.

Sinaia lies on the road between Bucharest and Brașov, an easy stop on any tour of Transylvania. On our East Balkans: Albania to Romania in 14 Days tour, it is visited together with Brașov before the return to Bucharest.

Sinaia is about two hours from Bucharest by road or train. Summer brings mountain walks and cool air, autumn colours the forests around the castles, and winter turns the town into a ski resort. Weekends and holidays can be busy, so an early start helps at Peleș Castle.

Gallery photos: Myrabella (CC BY-SA 3.0), TiberiuSahlean (CC BY-SA 3.0 ro), Cristian Bortes from Cluj-Napoca, Romania (CC BY 2.0), Jorge Franganillo (CC BY 2.0), Jocelyn Erskine-Kellie from London, UK (CC BY-SA 4.0), Andrei Stroe (CC BY-SA 3.0) · Wikimedia Commons