A short yet sweet trip to the small town of Sibiu, Romania had my mind spinning with new possibilities of sustainable travel. How many of you have heard of Sibiu? Chances are if you’re not from Europe you probably aren’t very familiar with this wonderful little place.
With an incredible history to be told and so many local villages to explore, this is THE place for tourism and has so much potential to grow into something bigger and better.
Hear it from the pros and take a look at all of these fabulous posts about why Sibiu is truly a remarkable place:
It’s not just me who finds this blast from the past, little medieval village to be nothing less than perfect for any traveller. So without further ado, here are my tips and tricks to travelling around Sibiu sustainably while still embracing the culture life that this quaint city has to offer.
Things to Do, Place to See
Astra Open Air Museum
Though this may be something familiar to Europeans, this is the first and quite likely the only time I will ever have the opportunity to not only venture through an open air museum, but actually spend a few nights there as well. The Astra Open Air Museum is one of the most important ethno-museums of Romania and was created and founded in 1861 in order to preserve the cultural identity and other historical buildings and artifacts that survived through the years. Their first exhibition was held in 1905 and has now become such a success that they are able to hold a ‘night of the museum’ once a year for people from all over the world to come and explore the grounds. I must admit, it’s a hard place to explain in words — something similar to magical. Instead, I’ll show you in a photo montage below.
Walking Tour of the City
My favourite part about Sibiu is that the actual old town itself is quaint and peaceful even at the most hectic times. It is easy to get around by foot or bike and you can see the whole ‘must see, must do’ places in a day. I typically like getting these tours done in the early stages of my travels so I can focus on just hanging out and living like a local for the rest of my time. If you’re going on a walking tour, you mustn’t miss out on these stops:
Now this is where it gets a bit tricky. I haven’t stayed in a village home stay and I don’t know many that are hosting travellers at the moment, but I would love to continue to be in conversation with the citizens of Sibiu to arrange something unique for sustainable travellers.
I had the incredible opportunity to stop by a few of the small villages just outside Sibiu and learn about the music, culture, history and gastronomy of the area. I was blown away by the unique architecture and the smiling faces looking out from the windows along the street. I have no doubt in my mind that they would be thrilled to host tourists and teach the the ways of life in Transylvania, Romania.
So here is where you come into play – I need your ideas!
I would love to help develop a program where the city is able to recruit and screen candidates/homestay hosts and build a sustainable program out of this. A portion of the stay would go towards the families taking you in, and a portion would go to helping grow their tourism industry and preserve their history.
Any add ons here, I would love to hear what you have to say! Give me a shout, comment below, Skype me, FaceTime me, anything… you name it!
Looking for more? Here’s a little re-cap on our ventures through Romania [Sibiu & Bucharest]:
Disclosure: Hosted by AIOS and financed by the ASTRA museum, I was ableto spend a few nights in Sibiu working in collaboration to implement more content for #MySibiu. More information can be found by searching the hashtag #MySibiu online.
