Sinaia

If you are the kind of person who loves the mountains, then Sinaia is the perfect destination for you. It is situated in a breathtaking mountain scenery and certainly has a lot to offer to tourists. It is located on the Prahova Valley, really close (about 50 km) to the beautiful town of Braşov, and at about 120 km from Bucharest. It is considered to be the ``Carpathian Pearl``. If you are wondering what could you do in this ``Carpathian Pearl`` here` s a list of things you can do :

Firstly, you can explore the beauty of the mountains through hiking. Don't be afraid to go into the deep forest, the hiking routes are well marked and in good condition, there are easier routes as well as harder ones, you can choose according to your taste and physical strength. If you are not fond of hiking you can take the cable car, which is open all summer. For the panoramas you will see this place is definitely worth visiting.

One can't think of Sinaia as of a simple resort, it is more than that, it is a place full of history, which you can see through its buildings. Perhaps the most interesting place to visit is the Peleş Castle, being one of the best- preserved royal palaces in Europe. This palace served as the summer residence of Carol I, the first king of Romania. You will be amazed by the beauty of this palace, both the interior and exterior is decorated with wood carvings as well as paintings from Wagner operas.

From Sinaia you can reach many other destinations, as I've mentioned before, Braşov is easily reached, but if you want to visit castles, the Bran castle is only at a distance of 60 km. Believe me, you don't want skip the Bran Castle from your journey, it is considered to be Dracula's Castle, representing a very important part of the country's history. The Râşnov fortress is also very close and it is the oldest fortress of the Braşov area.

If you still have the time and energy to go and visit some places you can go to the George Enescu memorial house or visit the train exposition, which is very close to the railway station.

All in all, I think that Sinaia should be on the list of anyone who wants to know more about the places and history of Romania. In order to fully enjoy it and take advantage of the beautiful surroundings I would advise you to visit this resort in the summer, starting from June (if you can), because starting from this period it gets a little warmer, otherwise you should be prepared for really cold weather, after all it is in the mountains.Less