Sibiu.
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Overview

Sibiu is a town in southern Transylvania, Romania, 280 km by road from Bucharest. The old town centre is very attractive. Sibiu is also a good base for exploring elsewhere in Transylvania.

Understand

Known in German as Hermannstadt and in Hungarian as Nagyszeben, Sibiu has been the centre of Transylvania's German minority since medieval times. Even today, it contains Romania's largest German community, and due to initiatives by the local government, the Germanic feel of the area has been maintained. Sibiu also has a Hungarian minority, remnants of Transylvania's past as part of the Hungarian Empire and, later, Austria-Hungary. Despite this, Sibiu is also distinctly Romanian (95% of the population today are ethnic Romanians) and manages to fuse these three cultures, as well as smaller minorities of Roma, Slovaks and Ukrainians into a city that is as wonderful as it is vibrant.

Today, Sibiu is one of Romania's cultural and tourism landmarks, attracting tourists due to its wonderful medieval charm, excellent views of the surrounding landscapes, great food, and stunning parkland. Sibiu today is also doing excellently economically, having an income per capita higher than the Romanian average.

Much of the city was reconstructed in preparation for being the European Capital of Culture in 2007. The people in Sibiu are much more relaxed and friendly than in Bucharest, and much of the city is pedestrian-friendly.

Get in

There are three trains a day from Bucharest, taking 5–6 hr. From Budapest there are two direct trains, departing around 09:00 and 22:30 taking 10 hr, plus indirect services taking 16 hr. It is about 5 hr by train from Sighișoara with a change at Mediaș (12.50 lei, Sep 2018).

Sibiu has buses to Bucharest (hourly, 5 hr, 50 lei) and Cluj-Napoca (hourly, 4 hr, 30 lei). There is also at least one direct bus per day to Budapest (11 hr, 150 lei). The main operators are Dacos, Fany and Transmixt—check times and prices on Autogari.ro. The buses are reliable, comfortable and cheap.

By road Romanian highways are mostly well-signed and in good repair—reckon 7 hours to drive from Budapest. Drive defensively of course, watching especially for horse-drawn carts—but the lunatic driver quotient is probably lower here than elsewhere in South Europe. Your main difficulty will be finding your way through the old town one-way system to your hotel, ask ahead for precise directions.

Get around

You need a bicycle (hire available), (rental) car (compare online!) or bus to reach the ASTRA outdoor folk museum (bus #13), listed below, or the Transylvanian villages. Also, booking a tour is an option.

By bus Sibiu is one of the few cities in Romania where card payment is accepted for public buses. Just tap your contactless-enabled credit or debit card to the card reader on board, and it will print you a ticket. Visa and MasterCard are accepted.

A route planner for public transport is available online.

Sibiu’s network of trams and trolley-buses was ripped out in the 2010s, just as other cities were expensively re-installing theirs.

On foot The city is large, but almost all the sights of interest are within the compact old centre, much of it pedestrianised. You can hire a guide via the TIC or main hotels, but wandering at random among the cobbled alleys is half the fun.

By bicycle The fascinating Transylvanian villages (e.g. Biertan) are within cycling range but the main roads are busy and not much fun by bike, though bike-on-train to Medias is an option.

By train The only other excursion for which you might take the train is to Sighisoara. Reckon 2½ hours, it’s an infrequent service, but the bus connections are worse.

By taxi Sibiu taxi drivers are generally decent, and switch on the meter without being nagged. But if you are silly drunk and wearing a “Please rob me” T-shirt, you will have to bear the consequences.

See

The Old Town is beautiful. It was mostly built in the late medieval period by the German merchants who were encouraged to settle in and around Sibiu. It’s in excellent condition, having escaped modern encroachments, and having been thoroughly renovated to be European Capital of Culture in 2007. (Standards were maintained in the following decade, in spite of economic woes.) Within Old Town, the Upper Town, containing most of the historic sights, is ranged around three squares: Piate Mare the Great Square, dominated by the RC Cathedral, Piata Mica the Little Square has most of the bars and cafés, and Piata Huet is an attractive Gothic conglomeration around the Lutheran Cathedral. The Lower Town is home to many charming buildings and cobbled squares.

Piata Mare and Piata Mica are linked by a passageway, above which stands the “Council Tower” or Turnul Sfatului.

Turnul Sfatului. Climb the tower and get a panoramic view of Sibiu. 2 lei entry as of October 2023.

Multiple routes connect the Upper and Lower Towns, the two best being Pasajul Scărilor – the stairway from Piata Huet down into Str Turnului, and alternative cobbled ramp – and down Str Ocnei from Piata Mica under the Iron Bridge. This, being the traditional rendezvous of merchants and of lovers, is better known as “The Bridge of Liars”. About 200 m south of Piata Mare, paralleling Str Cetatii, is the surviving section of the Citadel Walls, with a series of towers and bastions. Beyond this hurries the traffic of the sprawling modern town: the spell is broken.

Churches of interest include: the Roman Catholic Cathedral on Piata Mare,

St Mary's Lutheran Cathedral. The church is mostly closed for renovations in 2018 and 2019, but you can still see its excellent collection of medieval tomb covers, including that of Vlad the Impaler's son, Vlad III, who is said to have been murdered by his enemies outside the church after an Easter Sunday service. The tower gives you the highest lookout over the city, and is reached via a series of steep wooden and stone staircases -- this is not for those with mobility or heart problems.

Orthodox Holy Trinity Cathedral. Stunning.

The only museum that ranks as “must-see” is the skansen, the outdoor ASTRA Museum of Traditional Folk Civilization (Muzeul Civilizației Populare Tradiționale) 5 km south of the centre, and listed below. Sibiu’s other museums and galleries are important in a local context, for a nation that is not well endowed – where else could a Romanian go to see a genuine Egyptian mummy, or a Brueghel painting, without leaving the country? But Westerners have huge multicultural riches on their own doorsteps. See the other museums here if time and interest allow, but not through “fear of missing out”.

Brukenthal National Museum. Named for Samuel Brukenthal, 18th-century governor of Transylvania. Paintings from the Dutch and Flemish schools, Italian schools and, of course German, Austrian and Romanian collections. Also displays Brukenthal's personal collection dating from the 15–18th centuries.

"Franz Binder" World Ethnography Museum. Curios that Binder and colleagues collected on their global travels.

ASTRA Museum of Transylvanian Civilisation. Small exhibition space. In April 2017 it displayed 19th-century and modern icons.

Steam Locomotives Museum. Decaying locomotives near the railway station.

ASTRA Museum of Traditional Folk Civilization. Huge outdoor collection of traditional farmsteads, waterwheels, mills, labourers’ cottages, churches and so on, picturesquely ranged around a lake in Dumbrava Forest. Pick a fine day, but the circuit track is tarmac so it is okay when wet. Allow 3 hours to stroll round.

Do

Football: FC Hermannstadt play soccer in Liga 1, the top tier. Their Sibiu Municipal Stadium (capacity 12,300) is 1 km south of old town centre. After visiting ASTRA, continue driving south through the village of Rasinari, to see that charming rural Romania isn’t just in a museum. From there continue up to the road end at the ski resort of Paltinis. Or turn east for more village scenery via Cisnadioara and Cisnadie, till you loop back to Sibiu via the main north-south highway. Ocna Sibiului – A bathing resort some 15 km NE of Sibiu. The lakes are salt, formed by the flooding of ancient salt mines. In some, the waters are utterly black and opaque. Enticing, yes? Hike Fagaras Mountains and Cindrel Mountains. Guided bike tours around Sibiu. Guided enduro trips in the mountains, riding levels from tourist to hard. Go on the Transfăgărășan road, crossing the Fagaras mountains with dramatic views. Or , an even higher road.

Sibiu Music Festival. Stages in each of the piatas and near the old city walls.

Buy

Lots of souvenir and craft shops, especially on Piata Mica. German language books, including history and calenders, at the market square Local beer in 2½ L bottles. Second hand items from the rest of Europe

Eat

You won’t go hungry. The main concentration of restaurants, cafes and pubs is in and around Piata Mica. Vegetarians and vegans shouldn’t starve but will need to enquire carefully. Also lots of fast food from familiar chains, but you can do better.

Crama Sibiu Vechi. Excellent cellar restaurant offering traditional Romanian cuisine at reasonable prices.

La Cuptor. Good food at reasonable prices.

Butoiul de Aur. Long-established atmospheric place, good food.

Drink

A local speciality is a "meter" of beer served in pubs.

Liquid The Club. A night club which plays mainstream music. The audience is about 50% tourists/locals.

Sleep

Centrum Hostel. Formerly "Flying Time Hostel", no reviews since change.

Old Town Hostel. In a 450-year-old building looking onto the Small Square. Breakfast is not included but you can use the kitchen all you want. Dorms have about 10 beds per room.

Zanzi. Small pension near railway station.

Hotel Apollo Hermannstadt. Comfortable and modern hotel. Internet is available in rooms.

Hotel Continental Forum. This modern 13 floor, 182-room hotel is plain but well maintained. Its rooms often have nice views. Often accommodates tour groups. At the edge of the pedestrianised centre of Old Town. Street parking outside is vigorously policed, get permit at reception for checking in, take their advice on medium-stay parking.

Hotel Imparatul Romanilor. Grand 18th-century pile, very central, atmospheric but in need of sprucing up.

Noblesse Boutique Hotel. Friendly pleasant place just E of old town, close to railway & bus stations.

Villa Santa Maria. Cosy 3-star, rooms are well equipped and well kept. Breakfast is included. Free wireless Internet available. English-speaking owners.

Ana Airport Hotel. Simple 3-star near airport.

Regim hotelier Sibiu. The Flowers House Sibiu includes 11 rooms distributed over 6 apartments with various hotel accommodation options, from 1 person to a maximum of 26 people.