Sibiu and the Fagaras mountains (Sibiu)

Member Name: REALTRAVELLER

Product:	Sibiu
Date:	18/10/09 (31 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great city and mountains

Disadvantages: No taxis at airport at night

I have been to Sibiu 3 times, and each time I arrived with the evening flight from Bucharest and then rented a car in the afternoon to go to Brasov.

The reason for visiting Sibiu was business. Sibiu is a city in Romania, in the region of Transylvania. It has been European Capital of culture recently and has a compact old centre which can easily be visited on walk.

I went there for a project with Banca Carpatica and did not have too much time to visit. Arriving at Sibiu airport with the latest flight of the day from Bucharest was a bit of a shock the first time. The airport is very small and there were no taxis by the time I came out!

Luckily the centre of town is only 10 minutes away and I called the hotel and they sent one. I stayed at the Ramada Hotel the first time, and the other 2 times at the Hilton. Both are very modern and I will review them separately. The room they gave me at the Ramada was actually an apartment, I guess,like some time happens with Hotels, because it was the first time I visited.

I only managed to visit the city in the evening.

Within the walled part of the city there are 3 nice little squares, actually one is not so small, Piata Huet, Piata Mica (small square) and Piata mare(big square). There is an evangelical church and a bit further down an orthodox church. It is nice strolling in the old part of town. I visited in March, May and August and I was surprized by the fact that there were not many people around, even in summer (it was extremely cold in March).

Romania is a great country, and the road from Sibiu to Brasov is a very scenic one,it is about 150 km long and by car it will take you at least 2 hours since it is all national road and you pass through villages. Going from Sibiu to Brasov, you have high mountains on your right.

I will review this separately too, but at some point you can take the route in the mountains (they are called Fagaras) which goes up to lake Balea. It is a great road, the scenery is very much alpine and there is a lake at the end of it, you arrive at around 2200 metres. The road is closed from October to May,but in summer when I went there in August was really warm and pleasant.

I recommend Sibiu as a great city to visit and also a trip to the Fagaras mountains.

Summary: Recommended