Attractive Romania – history, tradition, nature

Attractive Romania’ is the first nationwide EU-funded programme to support historical and cultural tourism.

Daniel Onea, 01.01.2026, 14:00

‘Attractive Romania’ is the first nationwide EU-funded programme to support historical and cultural tourism and forming part of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan. It was first launched in May 2024 and is coordinated by the ministry for investment and European projects, the government body in charge of attracting EU funds to Romania. Dragoș Pîslaru, the minister for investment and European projects told RRI about the scope of the project:

“The project proposes 12 themed culture tourist routes, which cross the entire country. After Via Transilvanica, which is known to everyone, we are now proposing Romanian and foreign visitors 12 routes that bring together over 700 different tourist attractions, as well as a multimedia platform allowing them to discover them. Basically, we find these wonderful places across Romania, included in 12 themes, and we propose them to tourists visiting the country. The programme consists of 275 major sites 450 adjacent sites. All of them have their own life, their own promotion and related events. Let’s take the Castles Route, for example. This route is important because it features well-known tourist attractions, such as the Corvin Castle, the Apafi Gergely Castle, Teleki, the Ion Ghica Mansion, and the Ugron Castle. Basically, some of these sites have been restored as part of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan. So, on the one hand, we are promoting them, and on the other hand, we help renovate these sites of national tourist and cultural interest, which are brought to the attention of tourists.”

The central element of the programme is the dedicated mobile application, available free of charge in several international languages. It transforms the simple visit of a tourist site into an immersive experience. Tourists do not only receive dry historical data, but also have access to legends, local stories and digital reconstructions of some of the structures.

“The most important thing is to understand that today we are no longer just talking about heritage sites, but that each such place has a story in itself. In the application that we made and in the content that we created, we simply say: «In the footsteps of the knights, a legendary journey through the castles of Romania». We have the stories of each castle, through which we describe both the architectural part and the stories through which you can imagine what it was like during the time of the counts or noble courts in Romania. The Castles Route basically creates a kind of circuit, so that tourists can spend several nights, find an extra reason to visit the country and not just go to a city, stay one night and then leave.”

One of the secondary, but vital, objectives of the program is to de-congestion of the conventional tourist areas, such as the Prahova Valley or the Romanian Black Sea coast, and redirect visitor flows to rural areas or to more remote communities. By including niche objectives, such as fortified churches, local gastronomy and handricraft workshops, “Attractive Romania” can stimulate small local economies, as we learn from Dragoș Pîslaru, the minister of investments and European projects:

“As these objectives are promoted, a potential influx of tourists will naturally lead to the emergence or development of local areas that are not necessarily among the most visited. I will give you an example: in Argeș County, in Aninoasa, we promote gastronomic traditions. We do not only promote heritage buildings. We can find offers related to local customs, crafts, or elements related to religious tourism. In the Moldova area, for example, there is already a visiting pattern, but we are now structuring the information, making it available, so that everything is in one place. We contribute to supporting local ecosystems to develop small businesses, whether we are talking about the culinary area or accommodation, using this wealth that Romania has.”

Apart from the application, the project has an essential physical component: the installation of road signs and information panels for the 275 main sites. This infrastructure is complemented by an impressive digital archive, which includes virtual tours and 3D animations providing access to the heritage sites even to those who cannot travel in person.

“Before getting to visit the places, potential tourists have at their disposal over 2,000 multimedia materials, including texts, photos, videos, guides, 3D animations, and virtual tours. For the 275 main tourist attractions, there will be road signs as part of dedicated road infrastructure that crosses no less than 35 counties. The other day, I was at the launch of the E-heritage project, a project of almost 30 million euros, in which we are practically digitizing all of the Romanian cultural heritage. So, on the one hand we build or rehabilitate castles, on the other hand we promote these tourist attractions.”

The “Attractive Romania” platform has already reported impressive figures, with over 300,000 active users and increased interest from tourists from Germany, Hungary, Italy and France. In conclusion, Minister Dragoș Pîslaru launches a direct invitation to all those who want to see another face of Romania:

“My invitation to all Romanians and to all potential foreign tourists is a very simple one. We have a country that is truly wonderful. We are now using European money to increase accessibility through this application, Attractive Romania. Download the application, have a look at it and if you feel inspired, go and see these beautiful places, because they will enrich your heart and give you a little more hope to truly believe that Romania is developing in step with the times.”

The “Attractive Romania” program is worth approximately 7,155,000 euros, and the main beneficiaries are local authorities, but also tourists, both Romanian and foreign. Holiday ideas can be found on the romania-atractiva.ro website or in the Attractive Romania application, available for Android and IoS mobile platforms.