Sinaia

Sinaia lies right on the Bucharest-Brasov railway, about 110 km northwest of the capital, so the easiest way to get there is by train - the station is in the city itself. By car, this is the DN1 route through the Prahiv Valley; from Brasov only about 50 km to the south.

The main star is the Peles Castle, the summer residence of King Karol I at the end of the 19th century, and the smaller Pelishor is nearby. The second must-see is the Sinai Monastery of 1695, named after the biblical Mount Sinai, which gave its name to the entire city.

A cable car (telecabina) leads from Sinai to the Bucheji plateau with intermediate stations Kota 1400 and Kota 2000. From the bottom, in a few minutes, you find yourself among alpine meadows and rocks, from where the paths diverge to the famous remains of Baba and the Sphinx.

In winter (approximately from November to April), it is a full-fledged ski resort with dozens of pistes and reliable snow at altitude. In the summer, people go here for the cool Buceja hiking trails and castle tours, when the queues are shorter than in the peak season.

The city stands at an altitude of about 800 m, so even in the summer evenings are cool, take a warm layer of clothing. Peles Castle works according to the schedule and on weekends, so you should specify the time of the visit in advance, and it is better to buy tickets for the cable car in the morning on a good weekend.