Since there are so many unique things to do in Sinaia, I have always considered this mountain resort an ideal weekend destination in Romania. You have something to see in Sinaia regardless of the season.
In winter, you can enjoy dreamy landscapes and ski slopes, and summer and spring are perfect for hiking on tourist trails in Sinaia. On the other hand, autumn is my favorite to walk the city and check out the most beautiful sights in Sinaia.
The Pearl of the Carpathians is located at an altitude of 800 meters, and its name is inspired by Mount Sinai in Egypt. As you well know, Sinaia is a royal city and is one of the main tourist attractions in the Prahova Valley, along with Busteni, Azguga, Predeal, and others.
I will tell you in this article about the best places to visit in Sinaia, but I will add some information that you need to know before planning a few days in Sinaia.
What I use every time I travel:
- To book hotels: Booking.com
- To book tours: GetYourGuide.com
Unique things to do in Sinaia Romania
Stay in a hotel with a beautiful view
In choosing the accommodation, the best advice is to check the map of the best tourist attractions in Sinaia. You will see that most of them are located close to the city center. Therefore, you should look for accommodation in Sinaia as close as possible to them.
Given that I have visited the resort many times, I have some recommendations for each type of budget. Specifically, a hotel in Sinaia and three charming villas. I use the Booking platform to book my accommodations, especially since you can get discounts using the loyalty program.
The first accommodation recommendation in Sinaia is the villa where I chose to stay on my last visit. It’s Vila Imperial, an accommodation unit located 500 meters from the center, 500 meters from the train station, and about one km away from Peles Castle.
Villa Imperial is recently opened and has modern rooms with retro accents. The villa is positioned so that each room offers a beautiful view of the ridges of the Bucegi Mountains. You can see what a room in Villa Imperial looks like in the pictures below.
Other accommodation options:
- budget: Excelsior Boutique Hotel Sinaia – near Dimitrie Ghica Park, spacious rooms, parking, Wifi
- mid-range: Casa Varful Cu Dor -free parking, beautiful view, Wifi
- luxury: Vila Wendy –near Dimitrie Ghica Park, terraces, free parking, excellent location
Visit Peles Castle
On any list of places to visit in Sinaia, Peles Castle will always occupy the first position. The royal family’s summer residence is, without a doubt, the main attraction of the city.
It was built in 1883 by King Carol I of Romania. Being irretrievably in love with the dream landscapes of Sinaia, the king decided to build on these fairytale lands the most beautiful castle in Romania.
The impressive construction harmoniously combines the elements of the Neo-Renaissance style: a steep roof made of small, round tiles and exterior walls, meticulously decorated with embossed corrugations and wooden perches. It’s like gingerbread!
But the interior seems even more beautiful. Murano glass chandeliers, luxurious upholstery, decorative stone, bookcases, paintings, and especially crystal mirrors make Peles Castle one of the most beautiful buildings in the world and certainly one of the most popular places to visit in Sinaia and beyond.
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A tour inside the castle cannot be missing from the list of places to visit in Sinaia, especially since you have no chance of getting bored; each room has its decor and is different from the others.
I thought the most beautiful were the Imperial Apartment, the Music Room, the Meeting Room, the Theater Room, and the Armor Room. And if we talk about the architectural styles present in the castle’s interiors, we notice the Gothic, Venetian, German, and even oriental architecture.
There are also some hidden passages inside the castle, an impressive collection of armor, with pieces collected from worldwide. An essential thing to know about Peles Castle is that it was the first to use electricity in 1883.
The castle’s courtyard is also worth seeing, being decorated with statues of the most important figures from the Romanian royal family, fountains, lawns, and trees that complete the landscape. From the castle courtyard, on a clear day, you can see the cable car going up to 2000 meters, and this is, of course, one of the most important tourist attractions in Sinaia.
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- Peles Castle schedule
Here you can see the opening hours of Peles Castle. You can’t visit on Mondays, sometimes not even on Tuesdays, and the hours when you can cross its threshold are between 9 am and 6 pm, with minor differences that you can see in the link earlier.
- Peles entrance fee
There are three types of tours you can do at Peles Castle. If you want to visit only the ground floor of one of the main tourist attractions in Sinaia, then you will have to pay a 50 lei for a ticket. The price doubles to visit the ground floor and first floor, and if you include the 2nd floor, the price triples.
Ticket prices at Peles Castle have risen quite a bit lately, but this is also because it needs constant maintenance. It would be a shame to let such a piece of jewelry deteriorate over time.
Don’t miss Pelisor Castle | Places to visit in Sinaia
This Castle is the younger brother of Peles and is located right next to it. Although it is not as well known, I assure you that it is worth visiting because its interiors are much different and more modern than the ones you will see at Peles.
Pelisor was built for King Carol’s nephew, Ferdinand, the next in line to the Romanian throne. Moreover, his wife, Regina Maria, was the one who took care of the design and architecture of the Castle.
Since its opening to the public in 1993, Pelisor has been easily recognizable for its Art-Noveau architecture and Byzantine and Celtic elements. The most special interior components are:
- The stained glass windows.
- The walnut desk.
- The golden bedroom.
- The carved linden bedroom.
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Go to the Sinaia Casino
Don’t leave Sinaia until you visit one of the most beautiful buildings in the city, the Sinaia Casino, an Art Nouveau building completed in 1913.
Although over 100 years old, the Casino has been closed for many years during the two world wars and when the communists came to power. The one who wanted and initiated the erection of the building was King Carol I.
I don’t know if it was his or the architect’s wish, but the architecture of the Sinaia Casino was inspired by the one in Monte Carlo. The most important room inside the Casino is the Theater Hall, with 400 seats. Equally spectacular are the Hall of Mirrors and the Hall of Baccarat.
The beloved Romanian composer, George Enescu, was among the first personalities who gave concerts at the Casino in Sinaia. Today, the Sinaia Casino can be visited, but it is also used as an International Conference Center and hosts art exhibitions.
Visiting hours and ticket prices
- The Sinaia Casino is open for visits every week, except Mondays and Tuesdays. The ticket price varies from 10 lei to 30 lei/adult, depending on the type of tour chosen
Take a walk through Dimitrie Ghica Park
If you arrive in Sinaia by train, you can’t miss Dimitrie Ghica Park. It’s located close to the train station, at the intersection of Octavian Goga and Carol I Boulevards. It’s a relatively small park but enough for a small town like Sinaia.
Dimitrie Ghica Park was founded in 1881. It’s less than half a kilometer long, but it brings a splash of color and beauty to the city. It’s worth walking in the alleys shaded by centuries-old trees and admiring the busts of essential Romanian personalities from various fields: Ion Creanga, Dimitrie Ghica, Mihai Eminescu, and a few others.
Inside the park are the Caraiman and Palace hotels and the Casino mentioned above. Dimitrie Ghica Park has several playgrounds for children, and in winter, it’s decorated for the holidays with an ice rink and lots of lights.
Take the cable car and reach the altitude of 2000 m
Although there is the option to climb only to Cota 1400 in Sinaia, I insist on going higher, where the mountain tops seem to break through the clouds and from where the city looks like a tiny settlement.
To get to Cota 2000 in Sinaia, you must take the Gondola Sinaia + Gondola Carp. The price for ascent + descent is 70 lei/adult. An affordable price, especially for what it offers. The installation is relatively new and very safe, and the view will take your breath away. There are discounts for groups and children, but for more details, you will have to consult the website https://www.sinaiago.ro/tarife.
The Garp gondola in Sinaia reaches the highest altitude in Romania, for a gondola, 2050 meters. It has 42 gondolas with eight seats each and stretches over a route of 2 kilometers. On a perfectly serene day, from the Sinaia Gondola, you can admire the beautiful view of Prahova Valley, even Peles Castle or the Caraiman Cross, and the mountain ridges.
To get to Gondola Sinaia, 1000-1400, you can take the T2 bus from the city center. The price of one ticket per direction is 2 lei.
Light a candle at Sinaia Monastery
Sinaia Monastery is located at the foot of Mount Furnica, more precisely at 880 meters. It’s very close to Peles Castle and is one of the main tourist attractions in Sinaia. If you spend at least two days in Sinaia, it is worth visiting this extraordinary place of worship.
The Monastery’s founder was Mihai Cantacuzino, who visited Mount Sinai on a pilgrimage and thought to give this name to the Monastery. He also laid the foundations of the Coltea Monastery and Coltea Hospital in Bucharest. According to the Bible, Mount Sinai is the one on which Moses received the ten commandments from God.
The Great Church within the Sinaia Monastery was built in the 19th century and is dedicated to the Holy Trinity. Besides the monastery, you must also visit the museum within it. The museum contains an impressive collection of religious objects, including the first Bible translated into Romanian and printed in Bucharest.
Some exciting things about Sinaia Monastery:
- is included in the List of historical monuments in Romania
- nicknamed the Carpathian Cathedral
- the first orthodox church and monastery in Romania to be electrified
- Before Peles Castle was completed, the royal family lived at the monastery during their holidays in Sinaia.
Admire Stirbey Castle | Places to visit in Sinaia
Peles and Pelisor are not the only castles to be put on the list of tourist attractions in Sinaia. Stirbey Castle, known as the oldest civil building in the city, deserves as much attention. The former summer residence of Alina Stirbey, the daughter of former ruler Barbu Bibescu-Stirbey, is now transformed into the Sinaia Museum, and part of it is now a hotel.
You can visit the museum; the ticket costs 20 lei/adult; the hotel also has six rooms decorated in Art Deco style. So, if you want a more authentic experience when visiting Sinaia, you can consider accommodation at Stirbey Castle. You can check the prices and availability here.
Walk the streets of the city
Sinaia is a chic town that deserves to be known in detail. You must walk the beautifully landscaped streets and admire nature.
The architecture of the buildings is fascinating, Sinaia being one of the most famous and old mountain resorts in Romania. Among my favorite places to see in Sinaia on a walk through the city are the Sinaia Train Station and the old buildings on Carol I Boulevard.
See the train exposition
The first royal train station in Romania, the train station in Sinaia, hosts a beautiful train exhibition, also known as the Train Museum. The models exhibited here include 150 wagons, 70 locomotives, and 300 meters of the railway.
The museum was opened in 2009, and the exhibits are the work of an Italian artist, Alberto Drera. It’s one of the most beautiful tourist attractions in Sinaia. The little ones will enjoy the train exhibition; it’s probably one of the most beautiful places to visit in Sinaia for children.
Places to visit in Sinaia and its surroundings
Sinaia is located in Prahova Valley, one of the most touristy areas in Romania, so it’s normal to have many places to visit in its surroundings. If you have several days available, you can include some of these places in your itinerary.
Transbucegi
The spectacular road that crosses the highest ridges of the Bucegi Mountains is worth visiting in any season. Transbucegi has a length of 20 km and connects some beautiful tourist attractions. The most important are the Sphinx and Babele, the 7 Izvoare Waterfall, the Zanoagei Gorges, and the Bolboci Lake.
Transbucegi is just a few minutes drive from Sinaia and can be the ideal getaway. In a single day spent on Transbucegi, you can see many wonderful places.
Busteni
The Busteni resort is also not to be missed. You get here very quickly either by car or by train. If you are visiting Busteni, you can’t miss a visit to one of the most popular tourist attractions in Prahova Valley and its surroundings. I’m talking about the Cantacuzino Castle, with its terrace and a spectacular view of the mountains.
Busteni resort is not only suitable for those who practice winter sports but also for tourists who love hiking, nature, beautiful landscapes, or history. Caraiman Monastery and Urlatoarea Waterfall are two attractions to add to your list.
Brasov
The historic city at the foot of Mount Tampa needs no introduction. In Brasov, there are many things to do, from walking in the old town, taking the cable car to Tampa, and visiting the Black and White Towers or the Gate of Catherine.
Although it’s not a destination that you can include in a one-day trip, the distance between Sinaia and Brasov is only one hour. Therefore, visiting Brasov only for a few hours is worth it.
What you need to know before visiting Sinaia
How to get to Sinaia?
It’s pretty easy to get to Sinaia from anywhere in Romania. Bucharest is 2 or 3 hours away from Sinaia, regardless of whether you choose the train or the car. You can also opt for a day trip if you want to visit only Peles Castle, together with Bran Castle and Brasov.
How many days should you spend in Sinaia?
You can check the most beautiful places to visit in Sinaia on a weekend or a maximum of three days. If you want to see some places around the city, you will definitely have to extend your stay by at least two days.
When to visit Sinaia?
Given that it is a mountain resort, you can visit Sinaia anytime. Winter is perfect for skiing and enjoying a significant layer of snow, especially at 2000 meters. It is ideal for nature walks and following the most beautiful tourist routes in Sinaia in summer.