Sinaia
A mountain resort on the Prahova valley, built around a monastery and a royal palace. The stop between Bucharest and Brașov that is worth stopping at.
- Best for
- Peleș, and walking above the valley
- Suggested time
- A day, or a night if you are walking
- Getting there
- On the main road and rail line from Bucharest to Brașov
What there is to see
In and around Sinaia. Filter by what you are interested in.
Where to go next
The background
Sinaia exists because a monastery was founded here in the 1690s and a king built a summer palace up the hill two centuries later. Everything else — the hotels, the cable car, the villas — followed those two buildings.
It sits in the Prahova valley, in Muntenia rather than Transylvania, on the road every visitor takes between Bucharest and Brașov. Most of them drive through it. Peleș is the reason not to.
What to do with a day
Peleș and Pelișor take a morning between them. The monastery in the town is small, still working, and free of the crowd up the hill.
Above the town the Bucegi plateau begins, reachable by cable car, and that is a different day entirely — high, open and considerably more serious than the valley suggests. Weather up there is its own thing.
Stay or pass through
If you are only seeing Peleș, Sinaia is a stop rather than a base — Brașov is an hour or so on and a better place to sleep. If you intend to walk in the Bucegi, stay.
Prefer to have the route organised for you?
Guided private trips and custom itineraries are arranged externally, with a local driver-guide.
View private tours