Romania is abounding of places of worship : hermitages, churches, monasteries, temples, basilicas a.s.o. They have been built during almost a millennium, in a multitude of architectonic styles. When visiting those places keep in mind that the Romanian architecture is a mixture of the Byzantine style and Western influences from Renaissance to Baroque.
Sucevita Monastery Bucovina RomaniaTucked into the northeastern corner of Romania, and the medieval principality of the Moldavian region, Bucovina lies in the easily-defended Carpathian foothills where the region's hero, Stefan the Great (Stefan cel Mare ruled between 1457-1504). fought back the Turks in the 14th and 15th centuries and then built churches and monasteries throughout Moldavia to praise God for allowing him to win. He used to built one monastery after each of his battles. His descendant, Petru Rares, continued his work by setting the foundations for many other famous monasteries. There are 48 monasteries in total, some with fortified walls to protect against invaders. These unique monasteries and Byzantine churches with their exceptional exterior frescoes are one of the most fascinating sights in Romania. Seven of the painted monasteries have been included on the Unesco World Heritage List.

Much of the former Romanian province of Bucovina, previously part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, was lost to the USSR (now the Ukraine) in 1945 together with its capital, Cernauti. The name Bucovina came into official use in 1775 with the region's annexation to the Austrian Empire The name has a Slavic origin and is derived from the word for beech tree 'buk' in Ukrainian; the German equivalent, das Buchenland, mostly used in poetry, means, literally, "beech land", or, more poetically, "land of beech trees". In Romanian the original name of the region during the rule of the Moldavian Principality was "Tara de Sus" (Upper Country), referring to the altitude, as opposed to the lower plains called "Tara de Jos" (Lower Country).

The Black Sea Coast stretches out for 244km/153 miles and is the main tourist area of Romania. It has fine, soft sand and safe, gently sloping beaches. The water of the Black Sea has a low salinity in comparison with other inland seas (only 17%) and there is a virtual absence of tides and currents. On most days during the summer the sea is calm. The medium latitude and the low altitude are favorable to a dry climate and determine a long season, lasting from May to September, whilst the eastern exposure of the coast provides for spectacular sunrises and maximum luminosity, amounting to over 14 hours a day at the height of summer. There are about 24-25 sunny days a month in the summer. Water temperatures are in between 16-20 degrees Celsius in June, between 20-28 C in July and August and around 20C in September. The air is well-ionised, rich in marine aerosols. The sand beaches are generally natural ones, 400-500 m wide at Mangalia and Techirghiol, and 50-200 m wide in other resorts. The high solar radiation intensity is said to have stimulating and healing effects. The entire complex of sand, air, sun and water is a beneficial one. The Black Sea houses sturgeons and dolphins and there are no dangerous species like sharks.