2 week Romanian Itinerary

I too am planning a trip to Romania, but am skipping Bucharest since it’s no longer “Little Paris” or “Paris of the East” as it was known during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. If you’re flying into Bucharest, I wouldn’t give it more than two nights.
Brasov is an industrial city with a vibrant old town. Sighisoara and Sibiu are also known for their historical centers. I wouldn’t give them more than two nights either.

Hi, Anne, first, I think that Bucharest deserves 3 nights. There's a lot to see and do there, and while it's not a second Paris or even a second Budapest, it's a very interesting city with a lot of charm and some interesting sites. Since you are not visiting Maramures, I would strongly recommend seeing the “Dimitrie Gusti” National Village Museum, which has over 300 historic rural structures, including authentic peasant houses, wooden churches, barns, and 17th-to-20th-century windmills that were dismantled and relocated from various ethnographic regions of Romania. Some of them are really amazing to see. I spent hours there and loved it.

We each spent around 6 to 8 nights alltogether in Bucharest, although I don't think you need to spend that much. We did spend 4 nights in Brasov, and I loved the city, but I think 3 nights would work well also. We spent two nights in Sibiu, although I really loved that town and I could very easily have spent another night there. But I think 2-3 nights works well there.

1-2 nights in Sighisoara would be fine as well. I don't think you really need 3 nights in Cluj-Napoca, but that's up to you. We weren't there for that long (only 1 night), and I think all three of us would have liked more time there, but you could probably see it pretty well in 2 nights. I really liked Timisoara a lot as well, but you probably don't want me adding additional places to your itinerary, lol!

As far as hotels, our guide chose the Sighisoara hotel, but I liked it very well. It was charming, included breakfast (and also had a restaurant with wonderful food for dinner), and was in a great location. It was called Boutique Hotel von Graf. And it had the best Papanași dessert that I had in Romania. I strongly suggest having that dessert at least once on your trip.

In Bucharest, I stayed at the Scala Boutique Hotel, which I liked very well. It was in a convenient location and included a very nice breakfast. The staff was very pleasant and the rooms quite large and very ornate. At the end of the trip, I stayed at an apartment I found on booking.com that was right off Calea Victoriei near Strada Știrbei Vodă and was a great location. There was so much to see and do in that area.

This is really hard to judge because I don't know what attracts you to a place. I'm curious, for example, what you read that drew you to add Cluj-Napoca to your itinerary.

Based on my visits to all of your cities, I would leave it out and give the time back to Bucharest. My reason? Because I found so much that I loved to see and do in Bucharest.

I completely agree with Mardee's thought that if you're not going to Miramures, then try to see some of the cultural traditions by visiting the National Village Museum.

If you just generally don't like bigger cities, then leave Bucharest out, except perhaps a final night at the airport.

Like everything else, it depends on what your interests are – history, culture, art? All of the above? Romania’s got it all, so you’ll be fine whatever you choose.
I agree with Mardee. I wouldn’t cut your time in Bucharest short. Three nights would allow you to cover many important sites. If Romanian communism interests you, your main stops would be Parliament and the Ceaușescu House. The Parliament building is huge, sterile and pretty unattractive, but it is the best example of the priorities that Ceausescu set for himself and the country. At Revolution Square, Romania’s upheaval toward democracy consists of silent acknowledgements consisting of an oddly-shaped monument and a small plaque on the building that once was the Communist Party Headquarters from where Ceausescu gave his last speech. Also, look for the few small plaques found on buildings on Calea Victoriei memorializing people who died there. Our poor planning resulted in our missing his residence, but I think from what I’ve read and seen about it, it gives a very clear picture of the man and his life. If I were traveling alone, realistically, this would take a full day.

Since you’re not visiting Maramureș, I’d spend the second day focusing the National Village Museum. Maramureș is a unique, fascinating part of the country that deserves investigation. It may well be the most ‘traditional’ societies remaining in Europe. It would be a shame to miss seeing at least a representation of it in the form of an outdoor museum. And, bonus, other regions of the country are represented, too. The Museum of the Romanian Peasant would make a nice bookend to the Village Museum, as it covers textiles and clothing, creative arts, home life and touches on life in a village through exhibits of a deconstructed wooden church, a windmill, and examples of trades like blacksmithing. While Bucharest may no longer be the “Paris of the East” it once was, it does present a fascinating mix of Belle Époque, communist brutalist, and modern steel-and-glass architecture, sometimes side by side. We are slow travelers for sure, but we spent about a week in Bucharest and were busy every day. We stayed in a small Airbnb apartment right at the corner of Calea Victoriei and Queen Elizabeth Boulevard. Great location, very reasonable price and a bit of room to stretch out.

We found 3 nights in Brasov, just focusing on Brasov at a slower pace was just about right, but you could probably do it in a brisk pace with two. Its historic center is pleasant, the town square is huge and a great place for watching the world go by. We found a couple restaurants there that were very good, too. It’s not a museum-heavy town, but there are a few worth your time, including the city history museum conveniently located in the center of the main square. There’s a “free” walking tour each day that we found both fun and enlightening. It's also the best place from which to launch to see Peles Castle, which is well worth the effort. In this case, I’d suggest adding a third night. Personally, I think 4 is overkill.

Sibiu deserves 2 or 3 nights, and one but preferably two in Sighisoara, but I think you could easily get by with 2 in Cluj. Two days would allow you to cover Cluj pretty well at a more civilized pace. We were there only one night, and we packed a lot into one day. We had the benefit of being shepherded through every town by our guide, and that saved us a lot of time figuring out what to prioritize and the quickest way to get there.

If you haven’t seen them yet, there are a couple of recent trip reports here, as well as some hotel and restaurant reviews (under “Eastern Europe”) that would be worth taking a look at.

Well - I keep reading that Clug-Napoca is a not to be missed place.
What to do? My next draft:

2 nights in Bucharest, 3 nights in Brasov, 1 nights in Sighisoara, 3
nights in Sibiu, 3 in Clug-Napoca and my last night in Bucharest

I like this one. I am not a big fan of Brasov. I like what you see going to and coming from Brasov, the the town itsself not so much.

Anne, I just posted this article about Romania's Transylvania that you might like to read. There is information about Sighișoara and Cluj Napoca, and some other places, and it also has a photo of the hotel that the three of us stayed at in Sighișoara, which I mentioned above. I believe the author stayed there as well. https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/general-europe/romania-s-transylvania-lovely-article-about-a-3-day-hiking-visit