Boutique hotels in Romania

Romania pairs medieval Transylvanian towns, painted monasteries, Carpathian peaks and a Black Sea coast with prices that are among the lowest in the EU. Its boutique hotels range from a Relais & Châteaux in central Bucharest to a 1897 mansion beside Sighișoara's citadel, a 17th-century fortress hotel in Brașov and Saxon farmhouses in villages like Viscri and Saschiz. Food is hearty, and hosts are generous.

Bucharest and the south

Bucharest has palaces and passages with small hotels, while Sinaia, Bran and Râșnov sit in the Carpathian foothills beside Peleș and Bran castles.

Transylvania

Brașov, Sibiu, Sighișoara, Biertan, Saschiz and Viscri are Saxon towns and villages of fortified churches. Cluj-Napoca, Oradea and the Apuseni Mountains lie to the west, and Maramureș and Bucovina in the north have wooden churches and painted monasteries.

East and coast

Timișoara and Iași are university cities. Constanța, Vama Veche and the Danube Delta offer the sea and the wetlands.

When to go

May to June and September to October are best; December suits the Christmas markets and skiing in Sinaia and Brașov.