Our destination today is recognized among mountain sports lovers, but also among history buffs. Located only 140 km from Bucharest, also called the Pearl of the Carpathians, Sinaia is perfect for relaxation, but also for active tourism, regardless of the season. But, first of all, we must remember the fact that Sinaia was for a good period of time the second capital of Romania, says Paul Popa, director of the National Center for Tourist Information and Promotion. It was the summer residence of Romanias royal family from 1887 until 1947. During this time, four generations of kings and queens passed through here.
“The construction of the castles and the entire royal domain meant a great deal to the city of Sinaia, and greatly aided its development. We have to start with two fundamental landmarks of the city: the Peleș and Pelișor museums, two masterpieces from our point of view, and not only ours. The vast majority of visitors, over 600 thousand a year, say the same about these two jewels. Now, the new management of Peleș Castle has decided to open the entire castle for visiting. Anyone who would like to somehow go through the entire history of the castle can visit the castle from the ground floor to the attic. The attic was closed for 47 years for various reasons, and was not open to the public. The tourist will see very important and unique things, a place a little different from the rest of the castle, a little more intimate, and where the ladies and ladies-in-waiting of the queens spent their days. King Mihai, in his childhood, had there an apartment. The drawing room was there, where the queen and her close friends spent part of the day, during the drawing lessons and classes held by the king in the castle.”
Pelișor Castle has remained as it was, continues Paul Popa, director of the National Center for Tourist Information and Promotion. Queen Marie embraced the Art Nouveau style and left her mark on the castle, which, although it looks very similar to the Peleș Castle from the outside, inside tells a completely different story.
“It is the only completely Art Nouveau castle in Romania. The queens heart was also brought here, as she wished, to stay close to the people she loved so much. Queen Maries heart is placed in the room that the queen liked the most, and entirely created by her, in the Golden Hall of Pelișor Castle. It is covered by the flags of Romania and Great Britain, recalling the British origin of our queen. Somehow, the visit to Pelișor Castle will change the image that the visitor has, going somehow through styles, from the German Neo-Renaissance of Pelișor Castle to the Art Nouveau style, through a lot of styles and eras, which is a delight.”
Sinaia is an open air museum town. Many buildings were built during the citys heyday, when their royal majesties decided to set up their summer residences here. Thus, a lot of personalities from the high society of the time wanted to have summer homes here and to be close to the queen and the king.
“We inherited a whole series of extraordinarily beautiful buildings, on which the most important architects of Romania worked, some of them even having summer homes here. You can see them through the open air tours that you can go on around the city. They are not all museums, they are parts of the built architectural heritage of Romania, which help the visitor to create an image of the city. Lets not forget the monastery as the fundamental landmark, from which we have the name “Sinaia”, its founder being Prince Mihai Cantacuzino. It was erected in the 1600s and is, of course, yet another fundamental landmark of the city. The monastery was the first building to appear in the city. It gave its name of the future town, and from here the whole story started. We have a lot of very interesting artifacts there as well. We even have a UNESCO listed artifact. The first museum of religious art in Romania is also there and, somehow, completes the visit. In the city, there is also a History Museum that was created soon after, at the initiative of all the townspeople, in order to have a landmark in the city. It was created in one of the oldest buildings in the city, in the Știrbei Palace.”
On the other hand, Sinaia remains a mountain resort. The Bucegi Mountains are the perfect destination for winter sports lovers, says Paul Popa, director of the National Center for Tourist Information and Promotion.
“We have 25 ski slopes, a very good alpine ski area, at a good altitude for what it means to preserve snow, because climate change brings a lot of changes. We are with our slopes at 2,125 meters attitude, and are served by a lot of cable installations. We have two gondolas, two cable cars, three ski lifts, three chair lifts. The 25 slopes are for everyone. If you are a beginner and have put your skis on your feet for the first time, there is a special slope for you, so that you dont get scared, and that you fall in love with this sport. If you are a professional athlete, you will have at your disposal pistes, including black ones. The color codes say something about the difficulty level of the slope. The black slopes are the most difficult. We also have three black slopes for those who are really masters of this sport, and who descend at 100km per hour. Then we have the red and blue slopes, for the vast majority of skiers, and which are of different lengths. They start from two, three km, and reach up to eight km. There are tobogganing and tubing slopes for those who still dont master skiing, or maybe dont want to do that, and then try to do something else.”
And, after a day of intense activity on the mountain, Sinaia awaits its tourists for relaxation. Whether you want a quiet evening or a lively one, there is a place for everyone.
“The ski day ends at some point, and when the evening comes, the town starts its engines, if we can use that term, and tries to cover all the needs of those who relax after a day of skiing. After days of skiing and relaxation spent here, you can return to work in a different state of mind. Thus, we have clubs, we have right at the base station of the Gondola, at altitude 1000, a very nice place that holds parties until late at night. We also have live bands there. The atmosphere is very lively, and people are willing to spend as much time there as possible. We have spa areas throughout the city. All important hotel structures have a dedicated area for relaxation with water, through massage, with all kinds of therapies. There are specialized staff who provide these services.”
Sinaia is very well connected to Bucharest. Thus, from Henri Coandă International Airport, you will find many transfer services, the average duration of travel being two hours.