Transylvania & Bucovina'S Painted Monasteries - 6 Days

In the morning we will departure to Cozia Monastery,  built by Mircea the Old in 1386 and decorated also in the "brancovenesc" style, a unique romanian architecture. Following we will arrive in Sibiu, the city which was chosen as The European Capital of Culture in 2007 along with the city of Luxembourg. After lunch enjoy a visit of the old town with its amazing squares. Overnight in a 3* hotel in Sibiu.

Breakfast at the hotel and departure to the city of Sighisoara. This citadel is the best preserved in Europe and, extraordinary, it is still inhabited. Since 1999 the historic center of Sighisoara is a UNESCO heritage site. Here we will admire the church on the hill, reachable after a wooden staircase called the schoolchildren’s ladder. We will also see the statue of the famous Hungarian national poet Petofi Sandor, testifying to the fact that in Sighisoara the Magyar community was in the past numerically important.  Next to the statue is the beautiful Catholic church, reserved for the Hungarian community, and the tower of the shoemakers. Lunch at the house where Vlad the Impaler was born (not included) and in the late afternoon arrival at Targu Mures, a city in which the baroque style predominates. Targu Mures is dominated by the beautiful Palace of Culture, symbol of the locality, an extraordinary baroque palace. In this transylvanian city, the Hungarian community is still numerous and the architects who have worked on the design of historic buildings are all Hungarians. Towards evening I arrive at the city of Bistrita, whose main monument is the Lutheran church, built in the fourteenth century in Gothic style but remodeled with Renaissance elements in the second half of the sixteenth century. Overnight in a 3 * hotel in Bistrita.

After breakfast at the hotel departure towards Bucovina, the northern part of the Moldavia region, magical place thanks to the presence of internally and externally frescoed monasteries, also UNESCO monuments. Stop in Borgo Pass, the mysterious place where the vampire legend Dracula comes to life. Later we arrive at the monastery of Voronet, nicknamed the Sistine Chapel of the Carpathians, founded by the great prince Stephen the Great and characterized by a beautiful blue color, inimitable and unique in the world. Next, we will have some free time and then continue with a visit to the Moldovita monastery, another famous religious monument, founded by Pietro Rares in the 16th century and whose interior and exterior frescoes enchant the visitor. The last of the painted monasteries that you will have the pleasure of admiring is the Sucevita monastery, founded by the Movila brothers in the seventeenth century. Like the previous two, too, it presents Gothic and Byzantine elements, which merge to form the fascinating Moldovan architectural style. The frescoes on the northern façade of this monastery have remained visible thanks to the protective walls that have never been demolished here. We continue with a visit to the local artisans of Marginea, who perform excellent work with the famous black ceramic, here you will have the opportunity to enter the workshop to closely observe the various working phases of ceramic pots, but you can also buy items typical of Bucovina. At Marginea you can buy not only ceramic vases, but also beautiful painted eggs and decorated with the traditional Romanian technique. Overnight in a 4 * hotel/pension in Gura Humorului or Suceava.