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UkraineOvid exiled to Tomis
The Roman emperor Augustus banished the poet Ovid to Tomis, a Greek colony on the Black Sea founded in the 6th century BC. Ovid spent the rest of his life there. Tomis is today's Constanța.
Southeast Europe
Romania
Carpathian mountains and painted monasteries, Saxon towns and castles, the wild Danube Delta and a language that grew out of Latin.
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Overview
Romania at a glance
Romania is the largest country in south-eastern Europe. The arc of the Carpathian Mountains runs through its centre, wrapping around the high plateau of Transylvania. Outside the arc lie the plains of Wallachia in the south, the hills of Moldavia in the east and the Banat and Crișana lowlands in the west. The Danube forms much of the southern border and ends in a vast delta on the Black Sea coast.
In Roman times the land was the province of Dacia, and Romanian is still a Romance language, a cousin of Italian, French and Spanish. In the Middle Ages the principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia fought to stay independent of the Ottomans, while Transylvania belonged to Hungary and later the Habsburgs. Wallachia and Moldavia united in 1859, and in 1918 Transylvania, Bessarabia and Bukovina joined them in what Romanians call the Great Union.
After more than four decades of communist rule, which ended in the revolution of December 1989, Romania became a semi-presidential republic. As of September 2026 it has about 19 million people. It joined NATO in 2004 and the European Union in 2007, and became a full member of the Schengen area in 2025. It still uses its own currency, the leu, whose name means lion.
CapitalBucharest
PopulationAbout 19 million (official estimate for 1 January 2026)
Official languageRomanian
CurrencyRomanian leu (RON), plural lei
AreaAbout 238,400 km²
GovernmentSemi-presidential republic
Highest mountainMoldoveanu Peak, about 2,544 m, in the Făgăraș Mountains
Longest riverThe Danube, about 1,075 km along or within Romania. The longest river mostly inside the country is the Mureș, 761 km in Romania
NeighboursUkraine, Moldova, Hungary, Serbia and Bulgaria by land, with a coast on the Black Sea
Drives on theRight
Calling code+40
The story
A short history of Romania
Romania's story runs from Greek ports on the Black Sea and the Roman province of Dacia, through the medieval princes who held off the Ottomans, to the union of the Romanian lands, a monarchy, communism and a return to democracy in 1989.
AD 8 AD 106 Rome conquers Dacia
After two wars, Emperor Trajan defeated the Dacian king Decebalus and made much of the land a Roman province. Roman Dacia lasted until the 270s, and its Latin speech is the root of the Romanian language.
1330 Battle of Posada
Basarab I of Wallachia ambushed and defeated the army of King Charles I of Hungary in a mountain pass. The victory secured the independence of Wallachia.
1457 Stephen the Great takes the throne
Stephen became prince of Moldavia and ruled until his death in 1504. He fought to keep Moldavia free of the Ottomans, Poland and Hungary and built churches such as Voroneț.
1600 Michael the Brave unites three lands
Michael the Brave, prince of Wallachia, briefly ruled Wallachia, Transylvania and Moldavia together. It lasted only months, but it was the first time all three were under one ruler.
1859 Moldavia and Wallachia unite
Both principalities elected the same prince, Alexandru Ioan Cuza. The union, known as the Little Union, was the start of the modern Romanian state.
1866 Carol I becomes prince
After Cuza was forced to step down, the German prince Karl of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen was invited to rule as Carol I. A new constitution gave the country the name Romania.
1877 Independence proclaimed
On 10 May 1877 Romania proclaimed its independence from the Ottoman Empire, then fought alongside Russia in the Russo-Turkish War to win it on the battlefield.
1881 Carol I crowned king
Romania became a kingdom, and Carol I was crowned its first king. The monarchy lasted until 1947.
1918 The Great Union
On 1 December 1918 an assembly of Romanians at Alba Iulia declared the union of Transylvania with Romania. Bessarabia and Bukovina had joined earlier that year. 1 December is now the national day.
1947 Monarchy abolished
King Michael I was forced to abdicate on 30 December 1947, and a communist People's Republic was proclaimed.
1989 The 1989 Revolution
Protests that began in Timișoara in December spread across the country. The communist leader Nicolae Ceaușescu and his wife Elena were executed on 25 December, ending 42 years of communist rule.
2004 Romania joins NATO
Romania became a member of the NATO alliance on 29 March 2004.
2007 Romania joins the EU
Romania joined the European Union on 1 January 2007, together with Bulgaria.
2025 Full Schengen membership
Romania became a full member of the Schengen area on 1 January 2025, together with Bulgaria. Flights and sea crossings to other Schengen countries no longer have routine passport checks.
At the table
What to eat in Romania
Romanian cooking is hearty country food built on pork, maize, cabbage, sour cream and fresh cheese, with Balkan, Turkish, Hungarian and Austrian touches. A family meal usually starts with a ciorbă, a soup soured with borș, vinegar or lemon, then moves on to meat with mămăligă or bread and ends with something sweet. Many Romanians follow Orthodox fasting days, so meat-free and dairy-free dishes are easy to find.
Main courseRecipe
Sarmale (stuffed cabbage rolls)
sarmale
All over Romania
Sour pickled cabbage leaves (or vine leaves) rolled around minced pork, rice and onion and simmered for hours, often with smoked meat. They are served with mămăligă and sour cream and are often called the national dish.
In Transylvania, smoked pig feet or pork skin are tucked into the pot between the rolls for extra flavour.
See the recipe
Ingredients
- 1 large head of pickled (sour) cabbage, or about 20 blanched fresh cabbage leaves
- 750 g minced pork (or half pork, half beef)
- 100 g short-grain rice, rinsed
- 2 onions, finely chopped, and 2 tablespoons oil
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste and 400 ml passata
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme, 1 teaspoon paprika, salt and black pepper
- 150 g smoked bacon, diced, and a few bay leaves
- Sour cream and mămăligă (or bread) to serve
Method
- Fry the onions gently in the oil until soft. Mix them with the pork, rice, tomato paste, thyme, paprika, salt and pepper.
- Separate the cabbage leaves and cut out the thick stem. Put a heaped spoonful of filling on each leaf, fold in the sides and roll up tightly.
- Chop the leftover cabbage and spread half of it in a large heavy pot. Pack the rolls in snugly, scattering the bacon and bay leaves between the layers, and cover with the rest of the chopped cabbage.
- Pour over the passata and enough water to just cover. Cover with a lid and simmer very gently for about 3 hours, or bake at 160°C, until the cabbage is soft.
- Serve hot with a spoonful of sour cream and mămăligă.
Side dishRecipe
Mămăligă (maize porridge)
mămăligă
All over Romania and Moldova
A thick porridge of yellow maize flour, much like Italian polenta. It is eaten as a side dish instead of bread, or as a meal of its own with salty sheep cheese and sour cream.
Maize reached Europe from the Americas in the 16th century, and Romanian farmers were growing it by the 17th century. Before that, mămăligă was made from millet.
See the recipe
Ingredients
- 1.2 litres water and 1 teaspoon salt
- 250 g coarse yellow cornmeal (polenta)
- 30 g butter
- 200 g telemea or feta cheese, crumbled
- 200 ml sour cream
Method
- Bring the salted water to the boil in a heavy pot.
- Pour in the cornmeal in a thin stream, whisking all the time so no lumps form.
- Turn the heat down low and cook for 25 to 30 minutes, stirring often with a wooden spoon, until it is thick and pulls away from the sides of the pot.
- Stir in the butter, then turn the mămăligă out onto a board or spoon it onto plates.
- Top with the crumbled cheese and a spoonful of sour cream and serve at once.
Main courseRecipe
Mici (grilled meat rolls)
mititei or mici
All over Romania
Small skinless rolls of minced beef, lamb and pork seasoned with garlic, thyme and pepper, grilled over charcoal and eaten with mustard, bread and pickles. Mici and mititei both mean "little ones".
Mici are the classic food of 1 May, when many Romanians go to barbecues. About 30 million were eaten in Romania on 1 May 2019.
See the recipe
Ingredients
- 500 g minced beef, 250 g minced pork and 250 g minced lamb (or all beef and pork)
- 4 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme, 1 teaspoon ground coriander and 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
- 1 teaspoon black pepper and 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
- 150 ml cold beef stock
- Mustard, bread and pickles to serve
Method
- Put the meat, garlic, spices, salt and bicarbonate of soda in a large bowl.
- Add the cold stock a little at a time and knead with your hands for about 10 minutes, until the mixture is soft and sticky.
- Cover and chill for at least 2 hours, or overnight, so the flavours settle.
- With wet hands, shape the mixture into rolls about 8 cm long and 2.5 cm thick.
- Grill over hot charcoal or in a hot griddle pan for about 10 to 12 minutes, turning often, until browned and cooked through. Serve hot with mustard.
Starter
Ciorbă de burtă (sour tripe soup)
ciorbă de burtă
All over Romania, a favourite in Bucharest
A creamy, sour soup of beef tripe thickened with sour cream and egg yolks, sharpened with vinegar and served with garlic sauce and hot peppers. It is said to be a good cure for a hangover.
Journalist Radu Anton Roman wrote that it looks like food for drunk coachmen but has the most sophisticated way of preparing in all Romanian cooking.
Starter
Ciorbă de perișoare (meatball sour soup)
ciorbă de perișoare
All over Romania
A vegetable soup with small meatballs of minced meat and rice, soured with borș and usually flavoured with lovage leaves.
Borș is a sour liquid made by fermenting wheat or barley bran in water. It gives many Romanian soups their tang.
Starter
Zacuscă (roasted vegetable spread)
zacuscă
All over Romania
A thick spread of roasted aubergine and red peppers slowly cooked with onion and tomato. Families make big batches after the autumn harvest and keep it in jars for the winter, to eat on bread.
The word comes from a Slavic word meaning appetiser or snack. It has no meat, eggs or dairy, so it is popular on fasting days.
StarterRecipe
Salată de vinete (aubergine salad)
salată de vinete
Romania and Moldova
Aubergines grilled over an open flame until the skin is black, then peeled, chopped very finely and mixed with oil and chopped onion. It is spread on bread, often with tomato slices.
See the recipe
Ingredients
- 3 large aubergines
- 4 tablespoons sunflower oil
- 1 small onion, very finely chopped
- Salt, and a squeeze of lemon if you like
- Bread and sliced tomatoes to serve
Method
- Grill the whole aubergines over a gas flame, on a barbecue or under a very hot grill, turning them, until the skin is black and the flesh is completely soft. This takes about 20 to 30 minutes.
- Let them cool a little, then peel off all the burnt skin and put the flesh in a sieve to drain for 15 minutes.
- Chop the flesh very finely with a wooden or plastic knife, or mash it with a fork.
- Beat in the oil a little at a time, as you would for mayonnaise, then stir in the onion and season with salt and lemon.
- Chill and serve on bread with slices of tomato.
Main course
Tochitură (pork stew with egg and mămăligă)
tochitură
Moldavia and Transylvania, with many regional versions
Small cubes of pork and sausage slowly cooked in their own fat and juices, sometimes with a little tomato, and served with mămăligă, salty cheese and a fried egg on top.
The name comes from the verb "a topi", meaning to melt, because the meat is cooked slowly in its own fat.
Main course
Drob de miel (Easter lamb loaf)
drob de miel
All over Romania, at Easter
Lamb offal chopped with lots of spring onions, dill and parsley, bound with eggs and soaked bread and baked like a meat loaf, often with whole boiled eggs in the middle. It is a classic of the Easter table.
Dessert
Cozonac (sweet bread)
cozonac
All over Romania, for Christmas and Easter
A rich, soft yeast bread made with milk, eggs, butter and sugar and rolled around a filling of walnuts and cocoa, poppy seeds or Turkish delight. Every family has its own version.
The oldest known written recipe for cozonac is in a cookbook printed in Iași in 1841.
DessertRecipe
Papanași (cheese doughnuts)
papanași
Romania and Moldova
Doughnuts made from fresh cheese, eggs and flour, fried or boiled and served hot with sour cream and sour cherry jam. Each one comes with a little ball of dough on top, like a hat.
See the recipe
Ingredients
- 500 g dry cottage cheese or ricotta, well drained
- 2 eggs
- 3 tablespoons sugar, a pinch of salt and the grated zest of 1 lemon
- 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
- About 200 g plain flour (or 150 g flour and 50 g semolina)
- Sunflower oil for deep frying
- Sour cream and sour cherry or blueberry jam to serve
Method
- Mix the cheese, eggs, sugar, salt, lemon zest and bicarbonate of soda into a smooth paste.
- Add the flour a little at a time until you have a soft dough that is only slightly sticky.
- With floured hands, shape 8 balls the size of a small orange. Flatten each one and make a hole in the middle, like a doughnut. Shape 8 small balls from the rest of the dough.
- Heat the oil to about 170°C and fry the rings and small balls a few at a time for 3 to 4 minutes on each side, until deep golden and cooked through. Drain on kitchen paper.
- Put a small ball on top of each ring and serve warm with plenty of sour cream and jam.
Snack
Covrigi (bread rings)
covrigi
All over Romania, famous in Buzău
Chewy rings and twists of salted bread, like pretzels, topped with poppy seeds, sesame or coarse salt. They are sold warm from small bakeries and are one of the most popular street snacks.
The town of Buzău is known across Romania for its covrigi.
Snack
Plăcintă (filled pastry)
plăcintă
Romania and Moldova
A thin, flat pastry, round or square, filled with apples, fresh cheese, potatoes or cabbage and baked or fried.
The word comes from the Latin "placenta", the name of a flat cake in ancient Rome.
Drink
Țuică (plum brandy)
țuică
All over Romania, the Pitești area is especially famous for it
A strong clear spirit distilled only from plums, usually 40 to 55% alcohol. It is often offered to guests before a meal and is thought of as the national drink.
Romania is one of the world's biggest plum growers, and a large share of the crop goes into țuică.
Side dish
Salată de boeuf (festive meat salad)
salată de boeuf
All over Romania
Finely diced boiled beef or chicken and root vegetables mixed with pickles and mayonnaise and decorated on top. It is made in large bowls for Christmas Eve, New Year and other celebrations.
Table manners
- Before eating, people wish each other 'Poftă bună' (enjoy your meal).
- When glasses are raised, people say 'Noroc!', which means both cheers and good luck.
- Bread comes with almost every meal, and garlic is everywhere, raw or as the garlic sauce called mujdei.
- Hosts will insist when they offer more food. A first polite 'no' is often not taken as a real no.
- When you are invited into a Romanian home, expect to take your shoes off at the door.
- Many Orthodox Romanians fast on certain days and seasons. Ask for 'mâncare de post' if you want a dish without meat, eggs or dairy.
Cities
12 cities to know
Romania's cities reflect its three historic lands: grand Bucharest and Craiova in Wallachia, Iași and Suceava in Moldavia, and the old Saxon and Hungarian towns of Transylvania, from Brașov and Sibiu to Cluj-Napoca. In the west lies Timișoara, and on the coast the ancient port of Constanța.
Bucharest Capital
Wallachia (Muntenia)
The capital and by far the largest city, with about 1.7 million people in the city itself. It lies on the Dâmbovița river in the south-east, and its elegant boulevards once earned it the nickname Little Paris.
- The huge Palace of the Parliament
- The Romanian Athenaeum concert hall
- Its Arch of Triumph, modelled on the one in Paris
Cluj-Napoca
Transylvania
The second-largest city at the 2021 census and the unofficial capital of Transylvania, in the valley of the Someșul Mic river. It is a lively university town and a centre of business and culture.
- Babeș-Bolyai University, the largest in the country
- Being named a UNESCO City of Film in 2021
- The Turda salt mine nearby
Timișoara
Banat
The main city of the west, on the Bega river, long home to Romanians, Germans, Hungarians and Jews. Its many parks earned it the nickname City of Roses.
- Starting the revolution of December 1989
- Electric street lamps as early as 1884
- European Capital of Culture in 2023
Iași
Moldavia
The capital of the Principality of Moldavia from 1564 to 1859 and of Romania during part of the First World War. It is still the leading city of the north-east and a centre of learning and the arts.
- The Palace of Culture
- The linden tree of the poet Mihai Eminescu
- Being called the Cultural Capital of Romania
Constanța
Dobruja
Romania's main port, on the Black Sea. It grew from Tomis, a Greek colony founded in the 6th century BC, and its port is the largest on the Black Sea.
- The Casino on the seafront
- The statue of the Roman poet Ovid, who died in exile here
- Its port, the largest on the Black Sea
Brașov
Transylvania
A medieval Saxon trading town in a ring of Carpathian mountains, about 166 km north of Bucharest. Its German name is Kronstadt, and its old centre lies below Tâmpa hill.
- The Gothic Black Church
- Council Square in the old town
- Bran and Peleș castles within easy reach
Sibiu
Transylvania
A Saxon town near the geographical centre of Romania, known in German as Hermannstadt. It lies about 20 km from the Făgăraș Mountains and was European Capital of Culture in 2007.
- The Bridge of Lies
- The Brukenthal National Museum
- The Transfăgărășan road to the south
Sighișoara
Transylvania
A small town of about 24,000 people on the Târnava Mare river, whose well-preserved medieval citadel has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1999.
- The 64-metre Clock Tower
- The house where Vlad the Impaler is said to have been born
- A medieval festival every summer
Oradea
Crișana
A city on both banks of the Crișul Repede river, about 10 km from the Hungarian border, between the Apuseni Mountains and the western plain.
- Oradea Fortress, first built in the 11th century
- The Crișul Repede river flowing through the centre
Suceava
Bukovina (Moldavia)
The capital of the Principality of Moldavia from 1388 to 1564, in the far north-east. Today it is the gateway to the painted monasteries of Bukovina.
- The restored Seat Fortress of Moldavia's princes
- Saint John the New Monastery, part of a UNESCO site
- The painted monasteries nearby
Craiova
Oltenia
The largest city of south-western Romania and the main city of Oltenia, near the Jiu river, halfway between the Carpathians and the Danube.
- Nicolae Romanescu Park with its suspension bridge
- The Craiova Art Museum and its early Brâncuși sculptures
- The University of Craiova
Tulcea
Dobruja
A port town of about 66,000 people on the Danube, the seat of Tulcea County, where most of the Danube Delta lies.
- Its river port on the Danube
- Boat trips into the Danube Delta
Landmarks
Places everyone should see once
Bucharest
Palace of the Parliament
A colossal building ordered by the communist leader Nicolae Ceaușescu and built from 1984 to 1997. It houses both chambers of Romania's parliament, yet about 70% of it stands empty. It is often described as the heaviest building in the world.
Near Brașov
Bran Castle
A castle on a rock above the old road between Transylvania and Wallachia, 25 km south-west of Brașov, built by Saxons in 1377. It is marketed as Dracula's Castle, although there is no evidence that Bram Stoker knew about it. Inside is Queen Marie's collection of art and furniture.
Near Brașov
Peleș Castle
A fairy-tale Neo-Renaissance palace in the forest above Sinaia, about 48 km from Brașov, built between 1873 and 1914 for King Carol I. It was inaugurated in 1883 and is now a museum.
Brașov
The Black Church
The most important Gothic monument in Romania, built by Brașov's Saxon community in the Middle Ages and still a working Lutheran church. The name 'Black Church' is thought to date only from the 19th century.
Sighișoara
Historic Centre of Sighișoara
A lived-in medieval citadel founded by Saxon settlers, with walls built from the 14th to 17th centuries. Nine of its fourteen towers survive, each once looked after by a craft guild, and the 64-metre Clock Tower guards the main gate.
UNESCO World Heritage
Near Sighișoara
Biertan Fortified Church
A church ringed by defensive walls and towers in a Saxon village, part of the UNESCO site Villages with Fortified Churches in Transylvania. It was the seat of the Lutheran bishop of Transylvania from 1572 to 1867.
UNESCO World Heritage
Near Suceava
Voroneț Monastery
A church built by Stephen the Great in 1488 whose outside walls are covered in frescoes. Its intense background colour, 'Voroneț blue', has earned it the nickname Sistine Chapel of the East. It is one of the UNESCO-listed Churches of Moldavia.
UNESCO World Heritage
Near Tulcea
Danube Delta
Where the Danube meets the Black Sea it splits into a maze of channels, reed beds and lakes. It is Europe's second-largest river delta after the Volga's, and most of it lies in Romania. The pin marks the delta east of Tulcea.
UNESCO World Heritage
Near Cluj-Napoca
Salina Turda
An old salt mine in the town of Turda, first recorded in 1271 and worked until 1932. It opened to visitors in 1992, and its vast underground halls were modernised and reopened in 2010.
Near Sibiu
Transfăgărășan road
A mountain road built from 1970 to 1974 as a military route. Its 90 km mountain stretch climbs over the Făgăraș Mountains. It is usually closed by snow from late October to late June. The pin marks the road's high mountain section.
Fun facts
Things you might not know
- 01
Bram Stoker, who wrote the novel Dracula (1897), never visited Eastern Europe. Bran Castle is marketed as Dracula's Castle, but there is no evidence that Stoker knew anything about it.
- 02
The real Vlad III of Wallachia, known as Vlad the Impaler or Vlad Dracula, ruled in the 15th century and fought the Ottomans. Many Romanians see him as a national hero, and Sighișoara is said to be his birthplace.
- 03
At the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal, 14-year-old Nadia Comăneci became the first gymnast to be awarded a perfect score of 10.0 at the Olympics.
- 04
Romanian grew out of the Latin spoken in Roman Dacia, which makes it a Romance language, related to Italian, French, Spanish and Portuguese. It is the official language of both Romania and Moldova.
- 05
The name of the currency, leu, means lion. Romanian banknotes are made of polymer plastic rather than paper.
- 06
The sculptor Constantin Brâncuși, a pioneer of modern sculpture, was born in the village of Hobița in 1876. His Endless Column in Târgu Jiu is part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
- 07
On 1 March, Romanians give each other a mărțișor, a small token on a red and white string, to welcome spring. The custom is on the UNESCO list of Intangible Cultural Heritage.
- 08
In 1884 Timișoara became one of the first cities in Europe to light its streets with electric lamps.
- 09
As of September 2026, Romania has 11 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, among them the painted Churches of Moldavia, the wooden churches of Maramureș and the Danube Delta.
- 10
The Palace of the Parliament in Bucharest is often called the heaviest building in the world, at about 4 million tonnes, and it is one of the largest administrative buildings anywhere.
- 11
In 2009 the British TV show Top Gear drove the Transfăgărășan, and presenter Jeremy Clarkson called it 'the best road in the world'.
- 12
In the village of Săpânța, the Merry Cemetery has brightly painted wooden crosses with pictures and funny, poetic verses about the people buried there.
- 13
Bones found in Peștera cu Oase, the Cave with Bones in south-western Romania, belong to some of the oldest early modern humans found in Europe, between about 42,000 and 37,000 years old.
- 14
Romania has one of the largest populations of wild brown bears in Europe. In towns near the mountains, such as Brașov, bears sometimes wander into neighbourhoods looking for food.
Romanian words
22 words to start with
Pronunciation is written the way it sounds; the capital letters show where the stress goes. Audio is coming soon.
Basics
- daDAHyes
- nuNOOno
- mulțumescmool-tsoo-MESKthank you
Food and drink
- pâinePUHY-nehbread
- apăAH-puhwater
- vinVEENwine
- bereBEH-rehbeer
- cafeakah-FYAHcoffee
- brânzăBRUHN-zuhcheese
- peștePESH-tehfish
- puiPOOYchicken
- ouăOH-wuheggs
- sareSAH-rehsalt
Numbers
- unuOO-nooone
- doiDOYtwo
- treiTRAYthree
- zeceZEH-chehten
Getting around
- stângaSTUHN-gahleft
- dreaptaDRYAP-tahright
- garăGAH-ruhrailway station
Time
- astăziAHS-tuhztoday
- mâineMUHY-nehtomorrow
Say it like a local
Useful phrases
Bună dimineața
BOO-nuh dee-mee-NYAH-tsuh
Good morning
Greeting someone in the morning
Bună ziua
BOO-nuh ZEE-wah
Good day, hello
The polite greeting for most of the day, in shops and with strangers
Bună seara
BOO-nuh SYAH-rah
Good evening
Greeting someone in the evening
Noapte bună
NWAHP-teh BOO-nuh
Good night
Saying goodnight before bed
Salut
sah-LOOT
Hi
A friendly, informal hello
La revedere
lah reh-veh-DEH-reh
Goodbye
Leaving a shop, a restaurant or a person
Vă rog
vuh ROHG
Please
Usually said after a request
Mulțumesc mult
mool-tsoo-MESK MOOLT
Thank you very much
Thanking someone warmly
Cu plăcere
koo pluh-CHEH-reh
You're welcome
Answering when someone thanks you
Îmi pare rău
uhm PAH-reh RUH-oo
I'm sorry
Apologising
Pardon
pahr-DOHN
Excuse me
Getting attention or moving through a crowd
Vorbiți engleză?
vor-BEETS en-GLEH-zuh
Do you speak English?
Before asking for help
Nu înțeleg
NOO uhn-tseh-LEG
I don't understand
When someone speaks too fast
Cât costă asta?
KUHT KOHS-tuh AHS-tah
How much is this?
Shopping at a market or a shop
Unde e toaleta?
OON-deh yeh twah-LEH-tah
Where is the toilet?
In a café, restaurant or station
Nota, vă rog
NOH-tah, vuh ROHG
The bill, please
Asking for the bill in a restaurant
Poftă bună!
POHF-tuh BOO-nuh
Enjoy your meal!
Before eating, to everyone at the table
Noroc!
noh-ROHK
Cheers! Good luck!
When glasses are raised
Ajutor!
ah-zhoo-TOR
Help!
In an emergency
Local tips
Before you go
Pay in lei
As of September 2026 Romania still uses its own currency, the leu (plural lei), not the euro. Paying in euros usually means a poor rate or a refusal. Cards work in cities, hotels and big shops, but carry some cash for markets, villages and small cafés.
Tipping
A tip of about 5 to 10% is usual in restaurants and cafés, and people often round up for taxis and hairdressers.
Use licensed taxis or apps
Licensed taxis show their price per kilometre on the door. Some drivers overcharge visitors, especially at airports and stations, so check the posted price or use a taxi app.
Driving rules
To drive on national roads you need a road toll sticker, the 'rovinietă', sold online, at borders and at most petrol stations. Romania has zero tolerance for drink-driving, and winter tyres are needed when there is snow or ice on the road.
Mind the bears
Romania has one of the largest brown bear populations in Europe. In the mountains and even on the edge of towns like Brașov, never approach or feed a bear. Back away slowly and follow local warnings.
Mountain road seasons
The high Transfăgărășan road is usually closed by snow from late October until late June. Check before you plan a drive over the mountains.
Schengen rules
Romania is in the Schengen area. Travellers from countries such as the UK can stay without a visa for up to 90 days in any 180-day period. Keep your passport with you: it is checked at land borders with Bulgaria and Hungary.
Emergency number
Call 112 for police, ambulance or fire anywhere in Romania.
Sources (79)
- Romania (Wikipedia)
- History of Romania (Wikipedia)
- Moldoveanu Peak (Wikipedia)
- List of rivers of Romania (Wikipedia)
- Telephone numbers in Romania (Wikipedia)
- Left- and right-hand traffic (Wikipedia)
- Romanian leu (Wikipedia)
- Romanian language (Wikipedia)
- Danube Delta (Wikipedia)
- Constanța (Wikipedia)
- Trajan's Dacian Wars (Wikipedia)
- Battle of Posada (Wikipedia)
- Stephen the Great (Wikipedia)
- Michael the Brave (Wikipedia)
- United Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia (Wikipedia)
- Romanian War of Independence (Wikipedia)
- Kingdom of Romania (Wikipedia)
- Union of Transylvania with Romania (Wikipedia)
- Romanian revolution (Wikipedia)
- Romanian cuisine (Wikipedia)
- Stuffed leaves: Sarmale (Wikipedia)
- Ciorbă de perișoare (Wikipedia)
- astăzi (Wiktionary)
- pâine (Wiktionary)
- Mămăligă (Wikipedia)
- Telemea (Wikipedia)
- Mititei (Wikipedia)
- Tripe soup (Wikipedia)
- Borș (bran) (Wikipedia)
- Zacuscă (Wikipedia)
- Eggplant salads and appetizers (Wikipedia)
- Tochitură (Wikipedia)
- Drob (Wikipedia)
- Cozonac (Wikipedia)
- Papanași (Wikipedia)
- Covrigi (Wikipedia)
- Plăcintă (Wikipedia)
- Țuică (Wikipedia)
- Salată de boeuf (Wikipedia)
- noroc (Wiktionary)
- poftă bună (Wiktionary)
- Romania (Wikivoyage)
- Romanian phrasebook (Wikivoyage)
- Bucharest (Wikipedia)
- Cluj-Napoca (Wikipedia)
- Timișoara (Wikipedia)
- Iași (Wikipedia)
- Brașov (Wikipedia)
- Sibiu (Wikipedia)
- Sighișoara (Wikipedia)
- Oradea (Wikipedia)
- Suceava (Wikipedia)
- Craiova (Wikipedia)
- Tulcea (Wikipedia)
- UNESCO World Heritage Centre: Romania
- Palace of the Parliament (Wikipedia)
- Romanian Athenaeum (Wikipedia)
- Bran Castle (Wikipedia)
- Peleș Castle (Wikipedia)
- Black Church, Brașov (Wikipedia)
- Historic Centre of Sighișoara (Wikipedia)
- Biertan (Wikipedia)
- Villages with fortified churches in Transylvania (Wikipedia)
- Voroneț Monastery (Wikipedia)
- Churches of Moldavia (Wikipedia)
- Salina Turda (Wikipedia)
- Transfăgărășan (Wikipedia)
- Nadia Comăneci (Wikipedia)
- Constantin Brâncuși (Wikipedia)
- George Enescu (Wikipedia)
- Eugène Ionesco (Wikipedia)
- Mărțișor (Wikipedia)
- Bram Stoker (Wikipedia)
- Dracula (novel) (Wikipedia)
- Vlad the Impaler (Wikipedia)
- Merry Cemetery (Wikipedia)
- Peștera cu Oase (Wikipedia)
- GOV.UK Foreign travel advice: Romania, safety and security
- GOV.UK Foreign travel advice: Romania, entry requirements
