Bucharest - Bucovina 450 Km -6h

Humor Monastery - Humor Monastery is one of the religious masterpieces of Bucovina, a region best-known for its many churches and monasteries. Part of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites, alongside the painted churches from Voronet, Sucevita or Moldovita, Humor Monastery is almost 500 years old. Its Byzantine frescoes remain, nonetheless, rare and precious until today.Built in 1530 on the premises of an older church, the monastery of Humor has several particularities that differentiate it from other painted churches, including its smaller size and the absence of a steeple from its cross-shaped roof. These distinctive elements indicate the position of its founder who was a rich first rank court official, but was not a prince.

Still, the name of Prince Petru Rares appears alongside the name of the founder, Toader Bubuiog, on the inscription placed above the church entry.

Manastirea Voronet - Also known as the ‘the Sistine Chapel of the East’ due to its splendid frescoes, the church of the Monastery of Voronet was built in just a couple of months, in 1488, by Stephen the Great, the most popular prince of Moldavia, after one of his victories against the Ottoman armies. This was a common practice of the prince who promoted an architecture known as the Moldavian style. Many of the churches built this way are still preserved until today in the regions of Moldavia and Bucovina.

Of small, but well-balanced proportions, the church of Voronet Monastery is representative for the Moldavian style, having also Gothic and Byzantine-inspired elements. It was from the very beginning more than a religious edifice. Its frescoes highlighted the moral stories of the Bible for the illiterate villagers of the time, persuading them to act according to the Christian norms.

Exquisite testimonies of their painters’ talent, the frescoes of Voronet conserve a centuries-old secret. The distinct ‘Voronet blue’ color is unique in the world, and its composition is almost impossible to replicate today.

The 15th and 16th-century frescoes are the main attraction of the church, a masterpiece of Byzantine art.

Bucovina , Gura Humorului - Moldovita -Sucevita

Moldovita Monastery - Moldovita Monastery is one of the eight painted churches included on UNESCO World Heritage Sites, all masterpieces inspired by the Byzantine art of the 15th and 16th centuries. Their distinctive element – the external walls covered with frescoes representing complete religious cycles – makes them unique in the myriad of churches built anywhere in the world in that time.

Continuing the work of his father, Petru Rares founded Moldovita Monastery in 1532, very close to where his great-grandfather had built a church more than a century before. Surrounded by fortification walls with four corner towers and a solid gate tower, the monastery combined the religious and defensive elements, a common practice of a time when enemy attacks often took place.

Built on the typical triconch plan, using the Moldavian vaulting system, the church from Moldovita also has a burial room between the narthex and the nave and a small hidden niche used for storage in case of an attack, elements that appeared before at Humor Monastery.The paintings from Moldovita Monastery are among the most impressive from the eight UNESCO churches. The dominant colors are red, yellow and green, while the background is mainly white and dark blue. The multitude of religious characters is precisely and skillfully painted, conveying both their emotion and importance, the main purpose being moral and religious education.

Sucevita Monastery - Sucevita Monastery marks the end of an era, a time in which medieval religious art reached new levels of innovation and creativity in this part of Romania.The history of the monastery starts with the story of the Movila brothers, the great-grandsons of Moldavia’s most beloved prince: Stephen the Great. One of them, Gheorghe, converted to monastic life and eventually became the Metropolitan of Moldavia while the other two, Simeon and Ieremia, became princes of the same historical region.

Built and painted with the financial and cultural support of the three brothers in the last two decades of the 16th century, this is the last church with painted exterior walls from the region.At a first look, the monastery has the appearance of a medieval stronghold. In a time when the Ottoman Empire ordered the Moldavian state to destroy its fortresses, local princes fortified monasteries to use them as a safe retreat in the darkest times.

Similar to the nearby Moldovita, Sucevita Monastery also preserves its original strong precincts, a massive square rectangle of walls six meters tall and three meters thick and five towers equipped with firing holes. Even a princely palace that hosts today the monastery’s museum was included in the original fortification walls, marking the potential defensive role of the religious monument.

Ceramica neagra Marginea - We will vist Black Ceramics of Marginea .We will visit the workshops where ceramic objects are produced. You will admire the craftsmanship of the local craftsmen and you will be able to try this craft .

Sucevita - Gura Humorului - Bicaz Gorges - Red Lake - Brasov

Arbore Monastery - Arbore Monastery was built between the 2nd of April and the 29th of August 1503, by Luca Arbore, in the village of Soloca, that he owned. He was one of the important boyars of Stefan cel Mare, being since 1486 the gatekeeper of Suceava. He had defended bravely the Suceava Fortress in 1497 against Polish attacks. Five month later, he erected the monastery, next to his private residence, meant as a family chapel and cemetery. Luca never saw the paintings of his monastery completed because he was beheaded along with two of his sons, having been falsely accused of treachery. The monument was dedicated to Saint John the Baptist.

The monastery, with it’s rectangular shape,was built of brick and stone extracted from the quarries in the region.

Bicaz Canyon - The area around Bicaz Gorge - Red Lake is the perfect destination for those who want to relax in an amazingly beautiful landscape and want to enjoy the silence and the fresh air. The passing from Moldavia towards Transylvania is done through this nature’s .wonder, the Bicaz Gorge. You can imagine that the gorge was carved inside the mountain by a giant and strong water, but the truth is that the responsible for the most beautiful gorge in the Oriental Carpathathians is the small and whirling river, Bicaz. The impressive gorge is 6 kilometres long and runs between the Red Lake and the place called Bicazul Ardelean (Western Bicaz). The road is really breathtaking , made of many hairpin bends which prepare the passing to higher altitudes. If you suffer from car sickness, I recommend you to admire these beauties on foot; you will see wonderful sights !

In the Gorge, the road narrows as you come closer to the stone giants, and then it winds along the stone mountain wall. The sight widens when the amazing and extremely beautiful hairpin bends, a real challenge for drivers, begin to show. You can reach the famous tunnel through the stone walls, whose crossing makes you think of the most terrible scenarios. You finally feel relieved when, after a few seconds, you take a glimpse of the mountians peaks and the wooden cross on the Altar Rock, which reminds of all the climbers who dared to climb the steep vertical mountain walls.

The Red Lake (Lacul Rosu) was formed almost 200 years ago and its name is derived from the red sandstone, transported by the streams, which has painted in purple-red the soils and the surroundings up to the lake. The sight which flows and reveals itself before the tourists’ eyes is spectacular; you can admire a forest, once sunk in the lake, of which the fir-trees tops can be seen here and there.

Brasov Historical Center - We will take a small tour of the old center of Brasov .

Viscri-Sighisoara-Biertan

Viscri Fortified Church - Your first stop is the 14th-century village of Viscri, built by Saxon colonists.It is one of the most beautiful and old fortified churches in Transylvania .Wander the rustic streets of the village and visit its UNESCO World Heritage-listed church We will socialize with the peasants, taste the palinca ( Brandy ) made in the village, you will buy the products made by hand by the peasants in the village, and we will cool with the delicious fruit syrup “Socata”

Centrul Istoric Sighisoara - Sighisora is considered to be the most beatiful and well preserved inhabited citadel in Europe , with an authentic medieval arhitecture .Is one of the few fortified towns wich are still inhabited .Vlad Tepes, alias Dracula, was born in this city in 1431 and we will visit the house where the mysterious print was born.Central Sighisoara has preserved in a exemplary way the featuress off a small medieval fortified city ,it is been listed by the UNESCO as a World Heritage Site .

Biertan Fortified Church - We will visit Biertan village built by Saxon colonists In the middle of the village is the largest and most imposing Saxon fortified church in Transylvania.It was built in the late 16th century in the late Gothic style.

Prejmer - Poiana Brasov - Rasnov- Bran - Moieciu

Peasant Fortified Church at Prejmer - Included in the UNESCO World Heritage Patrimony, the fortified church of Prejmer dates from the 13th century. It was enlarged and strengthened in the following centuries with 12 meters high enclosing walls, tall towers with loopholes and machicolations and almost 300 rooms to shelter the villagers in time of sieges.

Its church preserves one of the most valuable and oldest Gothic altars in Romania.

Rasnov Citadel: Garden and Panoramic View - The Rasnov fortress has a very stratigical positioning the fortress was protected by its tall walls that are still standing even after almost 700 years. The fortress had the roll to protect the villagers in chase of attacks. Here you will be able to see the ruins of a catholic chapel, the defence towers and also the ruins of the aprox 80 houses, the school and the water well that was dug by 2 prisoners and is 146 m deep.

Bran Castle (Dracula’s Castle) - The Bran castle also known as the Dracula castle, build in the 14 century and made famous by the Irish writer Bram Stoker. Legends,spirits, ghosts and many mysteries will be encountered at Draculas castle .Bran castle will take you back to the 14th century when times where much simpler.Here we will encounter the gotic architecture of the castle. Build on a bolder in a valley having the roll to look over the border and protect the entrance into Transylvania.Tall walls, cold,robust towers, rooms surrounded in mistery offer the perfect ambience to take you back to the medieval times when the castle was patrolled by guards and where Dracula tortured thousands.

Brasov - Azuga- Sinaia - Snagov - Bucharest

Pensiunea Rhein - We will visit the Royal Rhein Cellar , built in 1859. We will see the method of producing the sparkling wine made here. We will taste 3 kinds of sparkling wine accompanied by tasty cheese.

Peles Castle - The Peles castle- summer residence belonging to the royal family of Romania, build in the 19th century by Carol the First. It is the most beautiful castle of Romania and maybe of Europe.The castle if build predominantly in a german renaissance manor. It has 160 rooms and 30 bathrooms.The main caracteristic of the castle is its detailed woodwork made by Bernhard Ludwig from Vienna .

Snagov Monastery - Located on a small island outside Bucharest, Snagov Church is considered to be one of the most important religious monuments in Southern Romania. The church, originally part of a monastery, enjoys this status since the medieval centuries when local princes endowed, strengthened and enlarged it in their effort of supporting the Orthodox Church.

Strongly connected to the time of Vlad the Impaler who over the centuries inspired more or less accurately the myth of Dracula, Snagov Church was supposedly built on an ancient Dacian site. The religious monument was, however, mentioned for the first time in the second half of the 14th century when a local prince donated an entire village to the monastery.

This practice was not unusual at the time, and more documents indicate even more donations in the next century from medieval princes like Mircea the Old or Vlad Dracul.

The monastery’s church went through many changes over the centuries and it’s one the few parts of the monastery still standing today. The original frescoes done by Dobromir the Young in 1563 are only preserved in the narthex, the rest of the paintings dating from the 19th century.

The importance of the medieval frescoes, beyond their artistic value and richness of detail, is enhanced by the large gallery of local princes painted on the walls of the church, this ensemble being one of the most beautiful in Southern Romania.

Besides the church, only the belfry, the fountain and some ruins still stand today from what was once the powerful Monastery of Snagov. Built in a Byzantine style with local influences, the church has four towers, two above the altar, one above the nave and one above the narthex. The exterior of the church still has its original brick decorations, while some of the authentic decorative religious objects are exhibited today at the National Art Museum from Bucharest.

The church of Snagov is also part of the many legends surrounding Vlad the Impaler. Although never proved, this famous medieval prince was supposedly buried here by the monks who found his body and kept the secret afraid of the Ottomans’ revenge. A symbolic tomb of the prince is placed inside the church, in front of the altar.

True or not, the church is still one of the most beautiful places near Bucharest, its frescoes and scenic location on Snagov Lake making it a perfect destination for a trip outside the capital.

• Private tour
• ‘Skip the line’ access at Bran Castle and Peles Castle ticket offices
• Dinner included
• Professional English-speaking guide
• Breakfast included
• Free Wi-Fi in private car
• 5 nights’ accommodation in 3-star hotels
• Transport in a luxury Mercedes V-Class van or similar

• Entraces fees
• Lunch and other meals