Sibiu · 26 attractions
What to see in Sibiu
26 places with their own page: description, photos and directions.
- Annunciation Church (Church in the Ditch), SibiuThe Annunciation Church, known locally as the "Church in the Ditch," on Justiției Street no. 5 in Sibiu, is one of the city's first Romanian Orthodox churches, built in 1788-1789 and rebuilt in 1802-1803 after an earthquake. It is a small hall-type church, with a three-level west tower and a simple facade with Doric-influenced pilasters. The surrounding cemetery holds the graves of several key figures in Transylvanian Romanian culture. Worth visiting for its well-documented historical value, as one of the first Romanian churches built in Sibiu under Habsburg administration.
- Fortified Church of DârlosThe Fortified Church of Dârlos is a Gothic hall-church from the first half of the 15th century, located in the village of Dârlos, Dârlos commune, Sibiu County, 4 km from Mediaș. It has a single nave, no tower, with interior and exterior murals from the early 16th century. The original fortification that once surrounded the church (enclosure wall, defense towers) has completely disappeared over time and can today only be inferred from the site's layout.
- The Fortified Church of Șura MareThe fortified Evangelical church of Șura Mare, Sibiu County, was built in the 13th century as a Romanesque Catholic basilica dedicated to the Virgin Mary. Partly destroyed by the Ottomans in 1493, it was rebuilt and fortified in the years that followed, receiving the bastion above its chancel in 1563. Of the enclosure that once surrounded it, only one defensive tower and two fragments of wall remain. The tower carries a four-faced clock, installed in 1854 and still running.
- Holy Trinity Roman Catholic ChurchThe Holy Trinity Roman Catholic Church, at 3 Piața Mare, Sibiu, is a Baroque building built by the Jesuits between 1726 and 1733, representative of Habsburg influence on Transylvanian ecclesiastical architecture. It stands in Sibiu's historic center, which hosted the "European Capital of Culture" program in 2007. It is reached on foot from the city's central squares, with national road and rail connections.
- Ursulines' Church, SibiuThe Ursulines' Church in Sibiu, on Gheorghe Magheru Street, was originally built in 1479 by Dominican monks, in Gothic style, and rebuilt in Baroque style between 1728 and 1733 by Ursuline nuns, brought from Pojon (Bratislava) after Habsburg administration was established. The complex also included a girls' school, one of Sibiu's notable 18th-century educational institutions. Worth visiting for its rare architectural layering — original Gothic elements (buttresses, trilobate windows, west portal) coexisting with Baroque decoration — and for its significance in the history of Catholic education and religious life in Sibiu.
- House of Arts, SibiuThe House of Arts in Sibiu, the former Butchers' Hall documented since 1370, is located at 21 Piața Mică, in the heart of the city's medieval historic center — considered the oldest guild house in Transylvania. Managed since 2002 by the ASTRA National Museum Complex, the building has housed the "Emil Sigerus" Saxon Ethnography Museum since 2007, and since 2024 functions as a cultural hub with exhibitions, craft workshops, and events. It is reached on foot from any point in the historic center.
- Bâlea WaterfallBâlea Waterfall, also known as Urlătoarea Bâlei, is located in the Făgăraș Mountains, Sibiu County, within Cârțișoara commune, at about 1,230 m altitude, on the Bâlea River, with a drop of about 60 m over gneiss and mica schist rock. It is Romania's largest stepped waterfall. It offers a clear illustration of glacial and hydrographic shaping processes in the Southern Carpathians.
- Evangelical Cathedral of Saint MaryThe Evangelical Cathedral of Saint Mary in Sibiu is a Gothic monument built between the 14th and 16th centuries, with a tower 73.34 m tall, completed in 1494 — the tallest in Transylvania. The building holds notable medieval graves, including that of Mihnea the Wicked, son of Vlad the Impaler, and one of Central Europe's most valuable organs, dating from 1671. It stands in Albert Huet Square, in the heart of Sibiu's historic center, and became a cathedral in 1867.
- Holy Trinity Orthodox Cathedral (Metropolitan Cathedral)The Holy Trinity Orthodox Cathedral in Sibiu, built between 1902 and 1906 to designs by architects Virgil Nagy and József Kommer (professors at the Budapest Polytechnic), is the cathedral of the Sibiu Archdiocese and the seat of the Transylvania Metropolitanate. Built on the initiative of Metropolitan Ioan Mețianu, in Neo-Romanian style with Byzantine influences, the building measures about 44 meters long and has two towers standing 58 meters tall. It stands as an architectural and institutional landmark of Transylvanian Orthodoxy, reached from central Sibiu.
- Hermannstadt - Historic Saxon QuarterSibiu's Historic Saxon Quarter (Hermannstadt) was founded by German settlers who arrived around 1147, with the first documentary record dating from 1191, and holds over 300 historic monuments across roughly 40 hectares. The complex is laid out on two urban levels, with buildings representative of Gothic, Renaissance, and Baroque styles, including the Council Tower, built in the 13th century (1224-1241). It is one of the few medieval centers in Romania to have preserved its architectural and urban coherence as a whole.
- Bâlea Lake and the TransfăgărășanBâlea is a glacial lake at 2,034 m altitude, in the Făgăraș massif, Sibiu County, declared a scientific reserve as early as 1932. It is the highest point of the Transfăgărășan (DN7C), the road built in 1970–1974 and named by Top Gear "the best road in the world". In winter, when the road is closed and the lake is reached only by cable car, an Ice Hotel is built on its shore, unique in this part of Europe. It is worth visiting for its spectacular alpine scenery, the legendary road and the high-altitude atmosphere.
- Negovanu ReservoirThe Negovanu Reservoir is an artificial lake in the Cindrel Mountains, Sibiu County, located at about 1,150 m altitude on the upper course of the Sadu River, in the Gâtu Berbecului area, Sadu commune. The dam, built in 1955-1956, stands 62 m tall — Romania's first modern arched dam — and supplies the Sadu V hydroelectric plant. The lake covers 72 hectares and holds a volume of 6.3 million cubic meters. It serves as an access point to the mountain trails of the Cindrel massif.
- Saints Peter and Paul Monastery, CârțișoaraSaints Peter and Paul Monastery in Cârțișoara is an Orthodox convent, located at the foot of the Făgăraș Mountains, near the Transfăgărășan road, Sibiu County. Documented since around 1400, through donations from ruler Mircea the Elder, the monastery was burned to the ground in 1761 on the orders of Austrian general Bukow, its monks burned alive for refusing to renounce Orthodoxy. It lay in ruins for 230 years, only being re-established in 1990-1991. Worth visiting as a religious site with a turbulent history, set in a spectacular mountain landscape.
- ASTRA Museum (Traditional Folk Civilization)The "ASTRA" Museum of Traditional Folk Civilization in Sibiu is Romania's largest open-air museum, established in 1963 and opened to the public in 1967. It covers 96 hectares in the Dumbrava Sibiului forest and brings together over 400 traditional buildings — farmsteads, mills, wooden churches, and technical installations — dating from the 17th to 19th centuries. The complex includes rural architecture representative of Romanian, Saxon, and Hungarian communities in Transylvania. Considered Romania's second most-visited museum, it is reached via Calea Rășinari, about 3 km from central Sibiu.
- Pharmacy History MuseumThe Pharmacy History Museum in Sibiu, at 26 Piața Mică, holds a collection of over 6,600 items related to pharmaceutical practice in Transylvania, dating from the 16th to the 19th centuries. The institution is built on the heritage of the "At the Black Bear" pharmacy, founded around 1600, and operates as a branch of the Brukenthal National Museum. Worth visiting for the authenticity of its exhibits and its rigorous documentation of the history of medicine in the Transylvanian region.
- Steam Locomotives MuseumThe Steam Locomotives Museum in Sibiu, opened in 1994 at 22 Dorobanților Street, on the grounds of the former CFR Depot, preserves and displays 35 steam locomotives, 2 cranes, and 2 snow plows, built between 1885 and 1959 in Romania, Germany, Austria, Hungary, Poland, the USA, and Sweden. The collection documents the history of rail traction in Transylvania, a region with a rail network systematically developed from the second half of the 19th century onward. It is one of the few specialized collections of its kind in Romania, reached about 1.5 km from Sibiu's historic center.
- Upper Town, SibiuThe Upper Town of Sibiu is the city's medieval historic core, structured around Piața Mare (Great Square), one of the largest medieval squares in Transylvania, covering about 13,200 sqm. Founded by Saxon settlers around 1150, the complex retains about 80% of its original fortification system, including towers and bastions dating from the 13th to 16th centuries. Worth visiting for its remarkable concentration of Saxon medieval architecture and its documented historical continuity spanning over eight centuries.
- Goldsmiths' Square (Piața Aurarilor)Goldsmiths' Square in Sibiu is a historic little square in the Lower Town, reached via a picturesque pedestrian passage from the Small Square. For centuries the area carried the name "Fingerling" (documented since 1496), only receiving its current name in 1970, as a tribute to Sibiu's historic goldsmiths' guild. The square is part of Sibiu's medieval Saxon urban ensemble and is guarded by the Goldsmiths' Gate Tower, dating from the 13th century. It offers a relevant, if less well-known, glimpse into the city's medieval urban organization.
- Zackel Hill Nature ReserveZackel Hill Nature Reserve lies within Slimnic commune, Sibiu County, between Șura Mare and Slimnic, about 15 km north of Sibiu. Across its 11 hectares it preserves a steppe grassland ecosystem, a true island of southern steppe strayed into the Transylvanian Plateau. Lacking the shade of any forest, the hill is exposed to the sun for half the year, which has allowed southern, Pontic, and Mediterranean plants to settle here. It is home to over 400 species of insects.
- Gura Râului Nature ReserveThe Gura Râului Nature Reserve, about 17 km southwest of Sibiu, includes the reservoir lake built between 1973 and 1980 on the Cibin River, with a capacity of about 15.5 million cubic meters. The area protects mountain habitats with diverse wildlife, including deer, wolves, and waterfowl species. It is reached via county road DJ106A, passable year-round.
- Villages with Fortified Churches in TransylvaniaSeven Transylvanian villages (Biertan, Viscri, Saschiz, Prejmer, Câlnic, Valea Viilor and Dârjiu) preserved around medieval fortified churches. Inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
- Rășinari VillageRășinari, located approximately 12 km from Sibiu at the foot of the Munții Cindrel, is one of the oldest and most beautiful settlements in the Mărginimea Sibiului area, recently included by the World Tourism Organization among the most attractive tourist villages in the world. An important pastoral and cultural centre, the village is the birthplace of philosopher Emil Cioran and poet Octavian Goga, preserving remarkable traditional architecture and living ties to the customs of Mărginimea Sibiului.
- Sibiu SynagogueThe Sibiu Synagogue, built in 1898-1899 at 11 Constituției Street, is a representative example of eclectic style, built for the local Jewish community, officially organized since 1870. Its interior preserves original furnishings and ritual elements. The building is a relevant architectural and historical document of Jewish history in Transylvania, open to the public Monday-Friday, 9:00 AM-12:00 PM.
- Leather Merchants' Tower, SibiuThe Leather Merchants' Tower in Sibiu (German: Ledererturm or Marienturm) is a medieval defensive structure of stone and brick, built after 1457, as part of the city's fourth fortification belt. It has a distinctive octagonal shape, on four levels, with 4-meter-thick foundations. It was maintained by the leather-workers' guild, craftsmen specialized in processing animal hides. It stands at the intersection of Zidului, Pulberăriei, and N.A. Rimski-Korsakov streets, in Sibiu's historic center.
- Turnul SfatuluiTurnul Sfatului, located in Piața Mică in Sibiu, is a medieval structure dating from the 13th century, standing approximately 23 metres tall, which served administrative and military functions within the Saxon fortified city. The vaulted passage at its base connects the two central squares of the city. It currently houses the exhibitions of the Muzeul de Istorie Sibiu, and stands as an essential architectural document for understanding medieval urban planning in Transylvania.
- Vârful NegoiuVârful Negoiu, at an altitude of 2,535 m, is the second highest peak in Romania, located in the Munții Făgăraș, Sibiu County. Its well-preserved glacial relief, the presence of chamois and the marked access route from Cabana Negoiu make it one of the most representative destinations for mountaineering and hiking in the Carpații Meridionali. The main trail requires 4–5 hours of walking and includes technical sections with fixed chains.