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Best of Romania and Bulgaria Tour
2008

11 Days 
Friday Departures All Year Around

From Bucharest, the "Little Paris" to Sofia, the "City of Wisdom" experience a magnificent tour of two Balkan countries with so much in common, yet so different

Day 1: Arrive Bucharest,Romania.                                                                                                                  
 Though there is some reference made to a settlement on the site of modern Bucharest as early as 1368; it was in 1459 that Prince Vlad Tepes, (the Dracula), first called it Bucharest. You arrive in Bucharest and transferred to your hotel. Enjoy dinner at a local restaurant. Accommodation in Bucharest (D)

Day 2: Bucharest- Piatra Neamt  (380km) 
Get acquainted with the Romanian capital, once nicknamed "Little Paris". During the tour you will visit the Parliament Palace, the second largest building in the world after the Pentagon and the open air Village Museum. Listen how the Romanian people finally succeeded to topple the last communist dictator in eastern Europe in the Revolution Square. Your tour will bring you also to the Romanian Athenaeum, the Opera House, the National Military Club, the Military Academy and the Triumphal Arch. You are going to enjoy lunch and then drive on to Piatra Neamt.Dinner and accommodation in Piatra Neamt .(B,L,D)

Day 3: Piatra Neamt –Bucovina-Piata Neamt (200 km)
Today get ready for the full-day tour of the famous painted monasteries of Bucovina: Humor Monastery with the best preserved inside frescoes, Voronet Monastery known as the "Sistine Chapel" of Eastern Europe so famous for the blue colour used by the artist as background for its frescoes, Moldovita Monastery where the Golden Apple-award given to the monastery in 1975 by UNESCO affiliated journalists organisation- is to be seen and Sucevita Monastery - the best preserved of them. All of them have imposing walls and defensive towers.In the village of Marginea you will stop to admire the beautiful black pottery.Lunch in Sucevita.Drive back to Piatra Neamt for dinner and accommodation. (B,L, D)

Day 4: Piatra Neamt- Sighisoara (300 km)
After breakfast you leave Piatra Neamt behind and head on to Sighisoara- the birthplace of Vlad the Impaler, driving through the Bicaz Gorges, one of the most spectacular limestone formations in Romania.On the way you will stop for lunch.Arrival to Sighisoara,a Saxon medieval fortress - town, part of the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage as the best preserved and continuously inhabited earlymedieval citadel in Eastern Europe.You will proceed on a walking tour of the town,visit the famous Clock Tower Museum with its Torture andWeapons Rooms and stop in the house in which Dracula (Vlad the Impaler) was born in 1432. Dinner and overnight in Sighisoara . (B,L,D) 

Day 5: Sighisoara –Biertan - Sibiu- Sighisoara(50 km)
In the morning you will drive to the Saxon village of Biertan where you’ll visit the fortress church that is one of the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Sites. The church hosts the largest wing altar in Romania and was used as the residence of the Lutheran bishop of Transylvania for over 300 years. You will arrive in Sibiu where you will enjoy lunch and a comprehensive walking tour of the town. Here you’ll see arcaded medieval shops and houses and visit the Cathedral, where the son of Vlad the Impaler (another of Dracula’s monikers) was assassinated. You also stop at the Brukenthal Art Gallery before continuing to the Small Square and the Council Tower through a narrow door and stairway.Then you’ll pass on the Liars’ Bridge which is spanning over the street making the connection to Huet Square.Huet Square is dominated by the Evangelical Church, built in 1520 on the place of an old Romanic basilica from the 12th century. With its five pointed towers it is one of the most impressive building in Sibiu.In the afternoon you will return to Shighisoara for dinner and overnight.(B,L,D).

Day 6: Sighisoara-Brasov-Bran-Sinaia (330 km)
In the morning, our first stop is in Brasov, a fairytale town founded in the 12th century by the Saxon settlers to begin our city tour. Brasov today still preserves its beautiful medieval atmosphere created by many Middle Age buildings. The highlight of your sightseeing is surely a visit to the world-famous Black Church. The church is the largest gothic church in Southeastern Europe and it took almost 100 years to be built (1383 – 1477). The walls of the church are covered by ottoman prayer rugs dating from 16th-18th centuries. We then leave for Bran, a small village that is home to the spectacular Bran Castle – made famous by Bram Stoker’s novel as the residence of the vampire count. The castle that today is popularly referred to as the “Dracula’s Castle.” ,was built on top of a steep rock by the prince Mircea the Old in 1377. to protect the border between Valachia and Transylvania. Inside this formidable fortress there is a museum of history and medieval art that displays Romanian and foreign furniture and rich collection of decorative art from the 14th – 19th centuries. After enjoying a traditional lunch you continue to Sinaia, the mountain resort known as the "Pearl of Carpathians". Accommodation and dinner in Sinaia.(B,L,D).

Day 8: Veliko Tarnovo- Arbanassi- Etara- Kazanlik - Plovdiv (250 km)
After breakfast this you’ll have a morning tour of Veliko Turnovo. See the medieval quarter of the town and the historical “Tsarevets” hill, where remains from the former capital’s glory can still be seen. Proceed to the picturesque village of Arbanassi. The village was originally founded by Albanians and it grew rich after Sultan Suleyman I gave it to one of his sons-in-law in early 1538, thus exempting the bustling town from the harsh Ottoman taxation. In this typical medieval Bulgarian town of stone houses and red tiles roofs, we visit the Church of Nativity, the most richly decorated church in Bulgaria. Its interior is completely covered with colorful frescoes painted in the first part of 1600s. there are over 3500 figures depicted in some 2000 scenes.Before continuing the trip you will have lunch.
Departure towards Plovdiv followed by a short visit of Etara open-air museum, representative for its architecture, the life style and the economic past of Gabrovo region during the Revival period. Cross the Balkan mountains through the Shipka Pass, famous for its historical significance. Later on you will stop in Kazanlik to see the UNESCO listed Thracian Tomb with its Hellenistic frescoes from the 3rd century BC.
Late arrival to Plovdiv for dinner and overnight. (B,L,D).

Day 9: Plovdiv- Sofia (200 km)
Morning tour of Plovdiv - the second largest city in Bulgaria. Have a walk in the old town with its cobbled streets and typical national revival architecture. Visit the Ethnographic Museum, inhabiting a rich merchant’s house from 19th c., The Roman Amphitheatre, the Church of St. Konstantine and Elena–one of the oldest churches in Bulgaria. Drive on towards Sofia, with a short lunch break on the way.Overnight and dinner in Sofia.(B,L,D).

Day 10: Sofia - Rila Monastery- Sofia ( 240 km)
After breakfast you’ll enjoy a city tour with visits to Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, St. Nicholas Russian Church and the Rotonda of St. George Church- the oldest building in Sofia, the National Theatre.Then drive to Rila Monastery – one of the greatest centers of scholarship and religion in Bulgaria during the National Revival Period. Founded in the middle of the 10th century it played a key role in preserving Bulgarian culture and language during the centuries. It is included in the UNESCO world heritage list. See the monastery church with its amazing frescos painted by the most famous Bulgarian finest artists from 19th c. and the monastery museum. After lunch proceed to Sofia for dinner and overnight (B,L,D).

Day 11- Transfer to the airportYou will be transferred to the airport for your flight back home.