Wine Tasting Tour

You will arrive at the Henri Coandă international airport, located several km away from Bucharest. There, you will meet your guide who will tell you more about the tour and then take you to your hotel.

Accommodation will be provided downtown, in one of Bucharest’s top hotels, such as Hotel Radisson Blu or similar.

After breakfast, we will start the day off by visiting the Peles Castle, which is one of the most beautiful castles in Europe, built by King Carol I using wood, stone, bricks and marble. The representative style used is German Renaissance, but one can easily discover elements belonging to the Italian Renaissance, Gothic, German Baroque and French Rococo style. Other exquisite attractions to look for there are statues, ceramics, gold and silver plates, the Meissen and Sevres porcelain, Murano crystal chandeliers, German stained-glass windows, walls covered with Cordoba leather, ebony and ivory sculptures.

We’ll continue with Azuga. The Rhein Azuga Cellar was built in 1892, and it is believed to be the oldest location in Romania where sparkling wine has continuously been made using the traditional 19th century techniques. We will visit of the cellars which are situated above ground and built with double walls to keep them cool. There we will attend a presentation of the sparkling wine producing techniques following the traditional method and, naturally, we will have a sparkling wine tasting session. The Rhein Azuga Cellar supplied the Romanian Royal Court between the world wars. Today they continue to supply the House of His Majesty King Michael the First with their famous sparkling wine, Rhein Extra.

Afterwards, we will leave for Poiana Brașov, where we will have dinner and accommodation.

After breakfast, we will make our way to Brașov city, one of the most visited places in Romania. Because this place has so much to offer, we will go on a walking tour. Brașov was founded by the Teutonic Knights in 1211 and is an architecturally splendid mix of the Gothic, Baroque and Renaissance styles which can be admired in sumptuous buildings such as the Town Hall in the Council Square, the Black Church (the largest gothic church East of Vienna,) or the Merchant’s House (now the Cerbul Carpatin restaurant). We will have lunch at the Cerbul Carpatin (Carpathian Stag) where we will taste Romanian traditional cuisine, in an atmosphere of live traditional folk music.

Next we will go to Prejmer Fortified Church, part of UNESCO World Heritage List. It was built during the XIII century on top of an older Romanic church and it was one of the strongest citadels in Transylvania. This is a very well-defended construction which played a very important role in the defense of the city as well as for the survival of its inhabitants; every family of the city had a small area dedicated for them to deposit food in case of emergency and this is also where they would go in case of an attack

We will continue our trip towards the Red Lake. This lake was formed around the 1800s, when, after many storms, a large amount of trees fell from the mountain into the river and blocked it. You can still see stumps coming out of the water. You will be amazed by the wild beauty of the mountain landscape and natural splendor of the lake. We will also have our lunch break here.

After lunch downstream the Red Lake, we will drive through the Bicaz Canyon, which was dug by the Bicaz river waters and serves as a passageway between Transylvania and Moldavia. It is one of the most spectacular drives in the country.

We’ll continue towards Piatra Neamț, a picturesque town located in the East Carpathians mountains. Upon arrival, we will have a wine tasting session, dinner and accommodation in Hotel Central Plaza.

After breakfast, we will start our day with a visit of Agapia Monastery. This is one of the largest monasteries in the country; 400 nuns live in a neat, small village with scenic white houses and the grounds have an enchanting church which was painted by Nicolae Grigorescu, one of our greatest painters.

We will continue with a visit of Probota Monastery, whose church is one of the eight churches of Moldova belonging to UNESCO World Heritage Site, and was built in the 16th century by Prince Petru Rares. The interior frescoes are among the finest in the country.

Next, we will continue with a famous and a major wine-producing region of Romania, Cotnari. The wine cellar is attributed by local tradition to the Moldavian Prince Stephen the Great. The Cotnari Wine House produces some of the best wines in the country which can be found in every major store in Romania and is made with an interesting philosophy: “Wine is an art, either as limited edition or as the best of a cellar at a given time; it opens a world of its own, it impresses, and it expresses itself in every drop, equally warming the spirit and heart – just like the products of the Cotnari Wine House.”

Finally, we will head to Galați, where we will have dinner and accommodation. We will briefly visit an economic centre based around the Port of Galați, naval shipyard, the Arcelor Mittal Galați steel plant and mineral exports. Other attractive landmarks are 19th and 20th century buildings such as the Theatre, the University, the Cuza House.

After breakfast we will head to Tulcea, an old city in the historical region of Dobrogea. Tulcea has been an important harbor since ancient times, located where the famous Danube river finally ends its journey through Europe creating the wonderful and famous Danube Delta and flows into the Black Sea. We will continue our journey by exploring the Danube Delta on a cruise. The delta was formed 6500 years ago when a cove in the Black Sea started filling up with soil carried by rivers. It is the 2nd largest wetland in Europe and the largest reed bed in the world. It provides a unique habitat of canals, reed beds, lakes, and ponds and is home to about 320 bird species, including 70% of the world’s white pelican population and 60% of the world’s pygmy cormorants, to a remarkable population of glossy ibis, spoonbill, different species of egrets and herons. Most of the European freshwater fish species (around 70 species) exist in the delta. Lunch will be provided during the cruise.

Next we will leave for Constanța. The town lies on the western coast of the Black Sea and is Romania’s largest sea port. Originally called Tomis, legends tells us that Jason sailed here with the Argonauts on his way home with the Golden Fleece. Historians tell us that it was in Tomis that the Roman Emperor Augustus exiled the poet Ovidius Publius Naso. Dinner and accommodation will be provided in this city.

After breakfast, we will visit the Roman Mosaics, in Constanța, the commercial centre until the 7th century, the National History and Archaeology Museum, which holds an impressive collection of artefacts on display from Greek and Roman culture, as well as two statues; one of the “Glykon – The Fantastic Snake,” dating from the 3rd century BC, and the other of “Goddess Fortuna and Pontos,”. Pontos is the god of the Black Sea, and these two gods were considered protectors of the city and port, these statues constituting the highlights of the collection. We will then go to the Great Mahmudiye Mosque, which combines Byzantine and Romanian architectural elements.

The next part of our journey will take us to the Murfatlar Vineyards for a wine tasting session. This is an ideal region for the production of wines such as late harvest Chardonnay and Pinot Gris, Dry of Murfatlar and Rai de Murfatlar. The name of the town originates from the Turkish word murvet – meaning “generous man”. The vineyard stretches across a surface of over 3,000 hectares.

After the wine tasting we will be leaving for Bucharest. Accommodation will be provided in Bucharest again, and for our last night, we will enjoy a special dinner at the Moulin Rouge cabaret.

After breakfast we will visit the Palace of Parliament, the world’s second-largest building (after the Pentagon). We will continue with a panoramic tour of Romania’s capital, discovering some of the most stunning buildings, including the Cantacuzino Palace, the historical Revolution Square, the Military Club, the CEC Headquarters and the National History Museum. We will visit the Romanian Athenaeum, renowned for its outstanding acoustics, is Bucharest’s most prestigious concert hall, then we will see the Arch of Triumph, the former Royal palace houses and the National Art Museum’s most famous creation.

Finally, we will return to Bucharest and then go to airport where Viadora’s tour will finish.