Sibiu is a beautiful city in Romania and should absolutely be included in your itinerary. The historic center is full of gorgeous buildings and squares with pedestrian only passages connecting everything. Whether you come to admire the architecture, stroll the historic streets, or enjoy a coffee in one of its many cafes, Sibiu is a sure to be a highlight on your trip to Romania.
So, I put together this list of my favorite things to do in Sibiu, Romania.
The Best Things to See in Sibiu, Romania
In my opinion, the best thing to do in Sibiu is walk through its historic center and appreciate the squares, architecture, and passages connecting everything. Much of this area is pedestrianized which makes it a fantastic place to walk. With seemingly picture perfect sceneries everywhere you turn, spending a few hours walking through Sibiu is a fantastic way to spend a day (though you won’t need hours to walk through everything).
Despite that, I’ve organized this list into my favorite sites in Sibiu, Romania. So as you walk through the city, make sure to keep a look out for these places.
Holy Trinity Orthodox Cathedral
Unsurprisingly, I’m starting off this list of things to do in Sibiu with a church. At this point, it shouldn’t really come as a surprise since all of my lists of things to do in Europe include a church, but let’s talk about Holy Trinity Orthodox Cathedral. This cathedral is beautiful from the outside, but even more beautiful on the inside.
Like all orthodox cathedrals, the interior is decorated with intricate paintings and icons. Don’t forget to look up and enjoy what’s painted on the ceiling too. And did I mention that it’s free to visit?
The only thing that I would recommend is to try to dress a bit more modestly since it is an Orthodox Church. That said, I will fully admit that I wore shorts because it was pretty hot during my visit. There were several other tourists in shorts and no one said anything, but if you can, I think it’s probably best to dress just a bit more conservatively and cover your shoulders and your knees.
St. Mary Evangelical Church
You have two options if you want to visit St. Mary Evangelical Church. You can choose to enjoy it from the outside or you can pay the fee to go inside. Don’t get me wrong, I think it’s a nice exterior, but the fee to go inside the church is minimal and I think it’s worth it.
Now, with that said, you do have options for your visit to the interior. You can climb the towers, visit the interior, or get a combo ticket that includes both. At the time of writing it costs 10 LEI for the towers, 10 LEI for the interior, or 15 LEI for a combo ticket. My goal was just to visit the towers, but I splurged the extra 5 LEI for the interior of the church.
So what’s my verdict? Climbing the towers is great and offers a nice view of the city below. For just 10 LEI, I think this is a decent value. You just need to be prepared to climb lots of stairs to reach the top of the towers. At one point, it’s a narrow spiral staircase and at others it’s a series of steep steps. I had no issues, but you should be prepared.
Since I had the combo ticket, I also visited the interior of the church. If I’m honest, I wasn’t very impressed. There’s no wow factor here and I don’t think you’re missing out my just purchasing the ticket to climb the towers. However, it’s a minimal fee to upgrade to the combo ticket, so the choice is yours.
Holy Trinity Catholic Church
I want to mention one more church before I move on to other things to see in Sibiu and that’s the Holy Catholic Church. So far I’ve covered an Orthodox Church and an evangelical church, but now let’s talk about Catholic.
From the outside, I was not super impressed with this church. It is along side the main square and it looks nice, but it doesn’t look that different from any other church. However, it’s free to enter, so I highly recommend stepping inside. Like Sibiu’s Orthodox Church, the Holy Trinity Catholic Church is much more impressive on the inside.
The Large Square (Piata Mare)
Let’s take a break from churches and cathedrals and talk about the streets of Sibiu. Wander the streets, but at some point, you’ll inevitably come to the Large Square. It’s not hard to see why because this square is wide open with so much space. When I visited there were some concerts and performances going on in the evenings. Even with those things, there’s still plenty of room to move around.
The square is lined by nice architecture on all sides, with streets and passageways spurring off in different directions. You’ll also find plenty of restaurants and some shops here. Plus, as mentioned above, you’ll also find the Holy Trinity Catholic Church here too.
Throughout Sibiu, don’t forget to look up and take a peak at the roofs of this city. Why? They have “eyes”.
Tinsmiths Tower
For another look at Sibiu, you can visit Tinsmiths Tower. Like the St. Mary Evangelical Church, you can pay a small fee to enter and climb the tower. I didn’t do this, but I did enjoy the views of the tower from the ground.
My biggest reason for including Tinsmiths Tower on this list is to remind you that there is more to Sibiu than the immediate surroundings of the Large Square.
The Bridge of Lies
On the surface, this bridge doesn’t seem like it should be a tourist stop, but every tourist who visits Sibiu stops at the Bridge of Lies for a photo. It’s a nice photo, don’t get me wrong, but I don’t think it’s that special, though it was the first cast iron bridge to be built in Romania.
There are a lot of rumors associated with this bridge including the legend that the bridge will collapse if you tell a lie while standing on it. That’s not the only rumor and there’s also legends about this bridge being used by thieving merchants, another about it being used as a rendezvous spot for men in the military and their girlfriends, and one that involves the bridge being built over a lake that held mermaids. This last one seems a bit far fetched to me, but there’s loads of stories to go along with this bridge.
Goldsmith’s Passage
Throughout Sibiu’s historic center, you’ll find passageways that help to connect the streets for pedestrians. Goldsmith’s Passage is one of those. So why mention this passage specifically? Because it’s one of the most photogenic passages in the city. Don’t get wrong, there are a handful of good views throughout the city (including a passageway right near the Large Square that can make an excellent photo), but it’s generally agreed that Goldsmith’s Passage is one of the best, so I have to include it on this list.
Nicolae Bălcescu Street
Much of the joy of visiting Sibiu comes from strolling the streets in the historic center of the city. So, whether you explicitly plan it or not, you’ll likely end up on Nicola Bǎlcescu Street at some point during your visit.
This street is a pedestrian only street that leads to, and continues along, the Large Square. Along the street you’ll find shops, so many gelato stands, restaurants, bakeries, and some excellent people watching.
While I highly recommend you make it a point to walk and explore much of Sibiu’s historic center, you’ll undoubtedly be spending at least some time on this street.
How Long Do You Need in Sibiu, Romania?
Realistically, you only need one day in Sibiu. That gives you enough time to see everything on this list, enjoy a delicious meal (there’s plenty of good restaurants in Sibiu), and go at a more relaxed pace. If you have more than one day in Sibiu, I’d recommend looking into a day trip or spending time in another city in Romania.
Beyond Sibiu, Romania
For day trips, the Transfǎgǎrǎşan Highway (named the best highway by the British TV Show Top Gear) is closest to Sibiu. You can visit it from other cities in Transylvania, but if you’re going to do it as a day trip, visit from Sibiu to save time. If you don’t have your own vehicle (or rental), it’s expensive for a day trip, but Sibiu is the only place I could find that had some kind of option for those traveling without a car.
How to Get to Sibiu, Romania
Sibiu is well connected to many of the popular destinations throughout Romania. I took a bus from Timisoara because the train schedules weren’t ideal. However, when I left Sibiu to head to Sighisoara, I took a train because the bus schedules weren’t ideal.
In addition to bus and train transfers, there is also an airport in Sibiu (airport code SBZ). There aren’t a ton of flights, but there are connections to several major cities in Europe. Vienna is the most served, but WizzAir also connects Sibiu to cities like Madrid, London, and Rome. So it’s not completely unreasonable to fly straight to Sibiu to start your Transylvania adventure.
How to Get Around Sibiu, Romania
There are city buses running throughout Sibiu, but I walked everywhere and had to issues. My hotel was located in the historic center and was quite frankly in the perfect location. It was a 15 minute walk from the bus station, a 15 minute walk from the train station, and just a two minute walk from the Large Square. I couldn’t have asked for a better location and because of this, I didn’t have to rely on public transportation at all.
Final Thoughts
I really enjoyed my time in Sibiu. Despite the health issues I was having at the time, I enjoyed walking through this city and seeing everything that it had to offer. Transylvania is a beautiful part of Romania and it’s no wonder that so many tourists focus on this part of the country on their visit. So as you plan your visit to Transylvania, don’t skip a stop in Sibiu.
