Things to Do in Sibiu: the Best Sights & Experiences

Few cities in Romania carry themselves with as much quiet elegance as Sibiu. The former Saxon town of Hermannstadt has kept an intact medieval core, cobbled squares that could belong to Central Europe, and houses whose eyebrow windows seem to watch you from the rooftops. It is a city best discovered slowly, on foot, coffee in hand and eyes tilted up toward the towers. Here are the best things to do in Sibiu, and how to shape your days.

The Large Square and the Small Square

The heart of the city is its two linked squares, the historic core. Piața Mare (the Large Square) is one of the most striking urban squares in Romania: a vast rectangle framed by baroque façades, with the Jesuit Church and the Brukenthal Palace along one side. From here you climb the Council Tower (Turnul Sfatului), the old gate between the two squares — the best vantage point over the sea of red roofs and, on a clear day, out toward the Făgăraș mountains.

Beside it, Piața Mică (the Small Square) is more intimate, ringed by arcades, old guild workshops and calm terraces. It also holds some of the best spots in town simply to sit with a coffee and watch the city go by.

The Bridge of Lies

Between the two squares runs the Bridge of Lies (Podul Minciunilor), the first cast-iron bridge in Romania and a small emblem of Sibiu. Legend says the bridge will creak if anyone standing on it tells a lie — hence the name. The stories cheerfully contradict each other: some blame dishonest merchants, others young lovers who broke the promises they made there. It takes seconds to cross, but it is the most photographed corner of the city, especially as the light softens in the evening.

The Brukenthal Museum

The Brukenthal Museum, opened to the public in 1817, is one of the oldest public museums in Europe. Housed in the baroque palace of Baron Samuel von Brukenthal, once governor of Transylvania, it holds a serious collection of European art — Flemish, Dutch, Italian and Austrian painting — alongside rare books and decorative arts. Even if museums are not your thing, the palace itself, with its courtyard and staircases, is worth stepping into.

The ASTRA Museum

On the edge of the city, in the Dumbrava forest, spreads the ASTRA Museum — one of the largest open-air museums in Europe. Across dozens of hectares, among lakes and shaded lanes, peasant houses, mills, wooden churches, workshops and farmsteads have been brought and rebuilt from every region of Romania. It is a walk of several hours through the traditional Romanian village, ideal with children or on a sunny afternoon. Give yourself time: the distances are real and every house tells a story.

The „eyes” of Sibiu and the Lower Town

If there is one thing you never forget about Sibiu, it is the „eyes of the city” — the small, eyelid-shaped windows set into the rooftops. They were originally attic vents, but they read like half-closed eyes gazing down at the streets. Look up often and you will find them everywhere.

Then descend into the Lower Town (Orașul de Jos), the old artisans' quarter, with its coloured lanes, fortress walls and the Passage of Stairs (Pasajul Scărilor), a tunnel of stone steps linking the city's two levels. It is Sibiu's most photogenic corner and its best place to wander without a map.

The food scene

Sibiu is, deservedly, one of the best-eating cities in Romania — no coincidence that it was named a European Region of Gastronomy. The local cooking blends Saxon, Romanian and shepherding traditions from the surrounding hills: sheep's cheeses, cured meats, hearty soups, home-baked sweets. Do not miss the covered market (Piața Cibin), where growers from the region sell cheese, honey, vegetables and smoked sausage. From contemporary bistros to old cellars, the city has a food scene surprisingly rich for its size.

Day trips

Sibiu is an excellent base for exploring the surroundings:

• Mărginimea Sibiului — the string of shepherding villages at the foot of the Cindrel mountains (Rășinari, Săliște, Sibiel), with whitewashed houses, painted churches and the most authentic traditional life in the region. See our dedicated guide to Mărginimea Sibiului.
• The Transfăgărășan — the most spectacular mountain road in Romania begins less than an hour from Sibiu. In summer, a full day on its hairpins up to Bâlea Lake is one of the great Transylvanian experiences. See our dedicated guide to the Transfăgărășan.
• Cisnădie and Cisnădioara — two Saxon villages a few kilometres out, with an imposing fortified church and a hilltop citadel looking over the plain.

Best for

Sibiu is ideal for a relaxed cultural city-break — for couples and families, for lovers of architecture and good food. Two days are enough for the historic centre, the museums and an evening on the terraces; three days leave room for the ASTRA Museum and a trip into the Mărginime or up the Transfăgărășan. However long you stay, you leave with the feeling of a city in no hurry to be anywhere — and one you would happily give another day. See also our full destination guide to Sibiu.