There are plenty of reasons for visiting Sibiu at least once in a lifetime. Sibiu is a diverse city, that offers a journey through history and has positioned itself as the place to visit at Christmas, with its Christmas market, a fair with Viennese flair.
The city became well known far beyond Romanian borders in 2007, when it was awarded the title of European Cultural Capital. Sibiu has many tourist attractions and events that wait to be discovered.
1. Important sports events
Sibiu hosts top sports events in Romania. Thus, every year the city hosts the Sibiu Tour, the most important cycling race in South Eastern Europe, Red Bull Romania considered the world’s hardest Enduro Race, the Rally of Sibiu – a very popular and interesting road race and Sibiu Open tennis competition that has gained considerable prestige in the field.
Unprecedented sports events were added to these already recognized events, such as Sibiu Sands, a sandy volleyball tour organized in the Small Square or the Cycling Tour of the Fortified Churches, as well as many other smaller events dedicated to table sports.
2. Tourist attractions
A medieval town with a 900-year-old history, Sibiu has a story to tell about its past. The history of the city is an area of great interest for tourists.
The defensive walls of the old fortresses, the towers named after the guilds of Sibiu, the central squares, the old buildings with amazing stories revolving around them (many of them housed the personalities of Sibiu in the past), the museums, the churches and everything that means the cultural life of a historic city that breathes the air of modernity, all of these are precious assets that inevitably attract visitors of all ages.
The history of Sibiu, the strengths of a city that continues to offer a broad cultural program, the dynamism of a city oriented towards Europe and its values, offer the diversity that tourists are looking for in the locations they are visiting.
Main attractions of the city:
- The Great Square (Piata Mare) framed by several interesting buildings
- The Small Square (Piata Mica)
- Liar’s Bridge in the Small Square
- The Council tower
- Brukenthal castle
- The Town Hall
- Huet Square (Piata Huet) dominated by the Evangelic Cathedral dating from the 14th century
- The fortifications of Sibiu
- Religious landmarks – the Catholic Church, the Gothic Lutheran Cathedral, the Jesuit Church (Church of the Holy Trinity), the Orthodox Cathedral
- Museums – the Brukenthal National Museum (Art Gallery, Pharmacy Museum, Natural History Museum, Museum of Hunting Arms & Trophies), ASTRA National Museum Complex, Steam Locomotives Museum
- Dumbrava Sibiului Natural Park, located 4 km away from the centre of the city. This protected area stretches over 960 hectares.
3. Sibiu International Theatre Festival
Every June, Sibiu hosts the third largest festival in Europe, the annual International Theatre Festival. The festival is a true celebration of the city, which involves both theatre halls and unconventional spaces, but especially public spaces.
During the summer the streets and the squares, especially the Great Square (Piata Mare), turn into an open air stage with thousands of spectators watching the street performances put together by artists from all over the world. The festival also features dance-theatre performances, puppet theatre, light displays, fireworks, music shows and theatre improvisations.
Hundreds of cultural events make the city vibrate late in the night during this period, entertaining the record number of city guests during the Festival. An explosion of performances, lights and music takes place in the 10th days of the International Theatre Festival, an event that must not be missed.
There are a couple of other festivals such as the Medieval Festival organized every year in August, the Jazz Festival in May, the rock festival Artmania held every summer since 2006, Feeric Fashion Week, one of the most important fashion event of Romania.
A couple of years ago, in 2007, Sibiu began organizing a traditional Christmas market in December. The first of its kind in Romania, it is inspired by the original ones in Western Europe. It is the best time of year to visit Sibiu so you can make the best of your trip: you can listen to Christmas carols, drink a mug of hot mulled wine in the Great Square covered by snow, soaking up the magical atmosphere.
4. Sibiu – The European region of gastronomy in 2019
Designated the European Capital of Culture in 2007, Sibiu is preparing to be part of the European Regions of Gastronomy program in 2019, under the name “Sibiu European region of gastronomy”.
It is said that love comes from the heart, but passes through the stomach. The menu of the restaurants from Sibiu will give you another reason to visit the city and fall in love with local food. The main ingredient of local cuisine is the multicultural mix. The cuisine combines elements of different culinary traditions.
The Romanian, Saxon, Hungarian and Jewish flavours blend in a surprising Transylvanian fusion. Traditional recipes, bio products from local producers and contemporary cuisine are the creative elements used in local gastronomy.
5. Sibiu is a multicultural city
Sibiu is a multicultural city, Romanians, Germans, Jews and Hungarians living together for centuries, in a city that has managed to transform its diversity into a brand. More importantly, this cohabitation was and continues to be quiet, normal for this community that has found a way to create a cultural diversity in this ethnic mix.
Each ethnicity has the freedom, and even is encouraged, to present and preserve its own traditions, its own customs. The cultural agenda of the city contains annual events highlighting the ethnic and cultural diversity, that has become an icon for Sibiu in the meantime.