This post is also available in: Deutsch (German)

Have you ever considered going on vacation in Transylvania? We spent a wonderful Whitsun holiday here and since I am so excited about this beautiful country, I will now rave about it with great pictures and lots of information – I bet that after this report Romania is also on your bucket list!
Today we are talking about Sibiu, a magical city in Transylvania.

 

Transylvania – where is that?

Transylvania is located in the southern Carpathian region, in the center of today’s Romania. It belonged to Hungary for a long time, then to Austria and from 1918 to Romania.

 

Sibiu – like Venice without water

During our vacation in Transylvania we lived in Hermannstadt. There aren’t too many flight connections there, but with Wizz-Air you can, for example, fly directly from Dortmund to Sibiu. With the rental car you need about a quarter of an hour from the airport to the center.

Sibiu was the European Capital of Culture in 2007 and the city center has been beautifully restored.

 

 

Piata Mare – The big ring

In the main square of the old town, the ‘Big Ring’, called Piata Mare in Romanian, many concerts and events take place. It is surrounded by the Bruckenthal Museum, the Catholic Church, the baroque town hall and many more or less well-known, but all very beautiful buildings.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I found the ‘eyes’ in the roofs of the houses to be very unusual. I had never seen them anywhere else in the world before!

 

 

 

But you shouldn’t go out to eat at this place. There are only tourist restaurants with high prices and small portions – maybe we overlooked something, of course I can’t rule that out – unfortunately we had this experience.

Better go through the gate in the council tower to get to the small ring, Piata Mica, with many beautiful, delicious restaurants.

 

 

For 2 lei per person (around 0.5 USD) you can also climb the tower. Inside you pass the hangman with the opportunity to take photos – our children thought that was very cool – and then you have a fantastic view of the entire city.

 

 

 

Piata Mica – The Small Ring

On the Small Ring, partly surrounded by arcades, there are many nice restaurants and cafes and there is always something going on.

 

 

 

 

 

I can absolutely recommend Café Einstein for breakfast. The menu is quite small, but the food is excellent, the coffee is world class and the service is very good.

 

 

 

You will definitely find something to eat at this square, or you can go to the ‘Weinkeller’. To reach this restaurant, you go over the Bridge of Lies and then turn right on the stairs to the lower town. The restaurant is quite small, but with its vaulted ceilings it is very rustic and we really liked the delicious Transylvanian cuisine!

 

 

 

For dessert or just in between, you should definitely eat an ice cream at the ice cream stand in front of Café Lily’s on the Piata Mica. It’s delicious.

 

 

In the evening you can drink tasty cocktails in a beautiful ambience in the ‘nod’ bar, which you can also find on the Piata Mica.

 

 

 

 

The Bridge of Lies and the Lower City

Over the wrought-iron Bridge of lies you come down from the Piata Mica to the lower town, which is much smaller than the upper town, but just as charming.

 

 

 

 

A short anecdote about the Bridge of Lies: It is said that it collapses with people who walk over and have lied before – but since it only applies to those who have really only lied once so far, it is still intact and place.

The lower town:

 

 

 

 

 

Piata Huet – Huet Square

In Sibiu there is a third very well known place, the Huet Square, Piata Huet. Here you will find the Protestant parish church, the Samuel von Bruckenthal National College and on one side the Café Wien. When the weather is nice, you can sit on the terrace of the café and enjoy a beautiful view over the lower town – often with musical accompaniment.

 

 

 

In addition to the churches on the Piata Mare and Piata Huet, the Orthodox Church is particularly worth a visit. It is also beautiful from the outside and very impressive on the inside.

 

 

 

If you leave the city center, the houses are still very beautiful, but often also very dilapidated.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sibiu is different from what I expected – a beautiful city that will be remembered for a long time! By the way, one of my sons said: Sibiu is like Venice – only without water!

Of course you don’t just stay in Sibiu for four days, so in my following articles I will tell you about great excursions and other highlights from our wonderful vacation in Romania, such as

• Brasov, the city with the Hollywood Hills of Romania
• the Transfagarasan, the No. 1 highway in the Carpathian Mountains
• Medias, colorful villages, stork nests and the ruins of the Stolzenburg

There is of course also a blog post about the beautiful Astra apartments in Sibiu, in which we lived during our time in Transylvania!

As always, this is an unsponsored post!

You can find beautiful hotels, apartments and B&B’s in Sibiu here:

 

 

 

 

 

 

And other highlights for a successful holiday in Transylvania, I have compiled for you here: