Sibiu walking tour & city guide

The Upper Town

The Large Square is the heart of Sibiu, framed by baroque palaces including the Brukenthal Palace, home to one of the oldest museums in Southeast Europe. The Council Tower links it with the Small Square, where arcaded houses lead to the iron Bridge of Lies, said to creak whenever someone tells a lie while standing on it.

Look up at the roofs: many houses have small, eyelid-shaped dormer windows that seem to watch the passers-by, giving Sibiu its nickname, 'the city with eyes'. The Lutheran Cathedral, with its tall tower, and the Orthodox Cathedral, inspired by Hagia Sophia, are both close by.

The Lower Town and the walls

Stairways and passages lead down to the Lower Town, a quieter area of colorful houses and small squares. Along Cetății Street, a long stretch of the medieval walls survives with three towers once defended by the town's guilds, such as the carpenters and potters.

On the edge of the city, the ASTRA open-air museum displays hundreds of traditional buildings, windmills and churches in a forest park. The Transfăgărășan, one of the most famous mountain roads in Europe, starts about an hour away.

Visiting tips

Sibiu is compact and almost entirely walkable. Its Christmas market in the Large Square is one of the most beautiful in Romania, and the town hosts a large international theater festival in early summer.