Satisfying Sibiu

October 31, 2024

Our first stop on our Search for Dracula" was the mid sized city of Sibiu.  Actually, as far as we can tell there is no connection to Vlad III here and the local inhabitants don't seem to be too thrilled with the international ignominy their national hero has developed.  The only reason we chose this as our first Romanian destination was that it was the city where the airport is and we were arriving at 1:30am. 

But we were pleasantly surpirsed with Sibiu and ended up enjoying two fun days filled with a little history - in the form of a self guided walking tour -  and a little exercise - in the form of a leisurely bike ride around our neighborhood. 

Our AirBnB was a decently appointed aparemtent in a neighborhood about 7 minutes from the Old Town.  There were an abundance of shops and restaurants sprinkled around our place as well as a large park and bike path that meandered by the Municipal Sports Stadium.  

On day one I downloaded the Sibiu City app that had offered a self guided walking tour.  It took about an hour and a half and hit the major highlights of the Old Town area.  We sprinkled in a stop for some window shopping and snacks to keep the kids energized.  Here is the route we took.  I highly recommend it.

The starting point was the Unification Square, which, if i'm being honest, was not much of a square.  It was a patch of grass with some trees next to a large parking lot.  Street parking is notoriously tough in Sibiu so parking at the large public lot is advisable for when you visit the old town.  It was fairly resonable costing only 10 LEI (the Romanian currency) which was about $2.20 for the 3 or 4 hours we were walking around. 

From the Unification Square we took the cobblestone street winding around to the left and walked along a picturesque path parallel to the fortification wall.  Along the route there are several towers that were each sponsored and manned by different guilds including the Archers Tower, Potters Tower and the Carpenters Tower.  The kids loved climbing up the Carpenters Tower and walking across the archers walkway to the Potters tower (access will cost you 10 LEI per person, but it's worth it in my opinion). 

Then it was on to the main thoroughfare in the Old Town, Nicolae Balcescu Bouldevard, a wide cobblestone street filled with varous shops and pop up vendors.  It was on this street that we observed a few costumed trick or treaters which boyed our Halloween spirits and convinced us to give it a go oursleves even though our research said that no one gives out candy or anything else for that matter on Halloween. 

Tucking down a side alley (just to the left of the Imperial Roman Hotel) spits you out onto Mitropoliei Street which showcases The Reformed Church, The Caryatides House, the Metropolitan Cathedral and Saint John's Evangelical Church. Continuing down Centumvirilor Street we discovered the "Lower Town".  There are a number of cute little restaurants with outdoor seating along the way. 

Climbing up the Stairs Passageway leads you to the impressive St. Mary's Evangelical Parish Church, a magnificent Gothic architectural symbol of Sibiu, rehabilitated in 2022.  Just beyond Huet Square and St Mary's Church, you cross over the "Bridge of Lies" taking it the beautiful panoramic view of the Lower Town. 

Legend has it that telling lies on the bridge will make it crumble to the ground, so, if you pass the truth test, you will reach the small square on the oppposite side which features an old permanant medieval crafts fair.

There are several more quiant dining options in the "Small Square", but we elected to push on to the "Large Square" as were not quite hungry yet.  The Large Square is, well, larger. Much larger and has more shops and restaurants. It also houses a few museums, churches and a very helpful tourist office.  Oh and there is a Starbucks, if that is your kinda thing. It is for us!  We also grabbed a bite to eat at La Turn, a mid to high priced restaurnt that has a "we're cool, but casual cool, not velvet rope cool" vibe. 

We wandered around the Large Square for a while and meandered back up Nicolae Balcescu Boulevard taking in the wonderful fall vibe that was in the air (quite literally).  The following day was Halloween and we got costumed up and made our way back to the large square where we went 0 for about 7 in asking businesses for "tricks or treats" until one store manager took pity on me and gave me three LEI, the equivalant of about $0.66. Then we headed back home. 

On Day Two we rented 3 of the Sibiu City bikes - the kind you rent by downlaoding an app and paying an hourly or day fee.  While relatively easy to download and set up, there was an issue with many of the bikes not being in service (something the rep said they are aware of, but don't have a soluion currently).  The bikes were also too tall, even at the lowest seat setting - for Austen and Finley to ride confidently so Francesca and I ended up doubling them on our bikes.  Note: We did try to find a bike rental shop, but the first one we visited only sold bikes, no rentals, the second only rented adult e-Bikes and the last place didn't rent, but was prepared to give me acess to Ryan's close team.   

The bike path loop is about 3 miles long and can be done fairly quickly if you pedal hard and don't stop. However, we took several breaks and also stopped for long periods of time at the two playgrounds that are off to the side of the bike paths.

Then we returned our bikes in the docking station at the park and walked through the soccer stadium on our way home. 

Despite a little drizzle and a Halloween night bust, we enjoyed our couple of days in Sibiu as we look forward to our day in Sighisoara.