A guide to the county
Vâlcea
in five.
A short guide to Vâlcea County: in every town, five places to explore, five to eat and five to stay. Chosen by people, not algorithms.
Towns
We started with the towns where we found good places in all three categories. More will follow as we check them.
Râmnicu VâlceaVâlcea's county seat on the Olt, with Zăvoi Park where 'Deșteaptă-te, române!' was first sung, the Archdiocese of Râmnic and the walls of Mircea the Elder's court.
Călimănești-CăciulataThe spa town where the Olt leaves its gorge, with Mircea the Elder's Cozia Monastery, the island skete of Ostrov and trails up the Cozia massif.
HorezuThe potters' town below the Căpățânii Mountains, with Constantin Brâncoveanu's Hurezi Monastery and Olari Street, where Horezu ceramics are still thrown on the wheel.Photo: Râmnicu Vâlcea: Leontin l / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Călimănești-Căciulata: MIHAIL / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0 · Horezu: Jocelyn Erskine-Kellie / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Where to start
Places to see, picked by us. The rest are waiting on each town's page.
Historic parkParcul ZăvoiThe park where 'Deșteaptă-te, române!' was first sung on 29 July 1848, laid out from 1850 on the orders of Prince Barbu Știrbei.Râmnicu Vâlcea
Medieval monasteryMănăstirea CoziaThe monastery founded by Mircea the Elder where the Olt leaves its gorge, with a church of 1387–1391 and the prince's tomb.Călimănești-Căciulata
Monastery, UNESCO World Heritage siteMănăstirea HureziA convent founded by Prince Constantin Brâncoveanu between 1690 and 1693, on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 1993.HorezuPhoto: Parcul Zăvoi: Akrep Scorpion / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Mănăstirea Cozia: MIHAIL / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0 · Mănăstirea Hurezi: Superchilum / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Pocket guide
A weekend ahead?
The guide comes along.
Every town in one PDF: all the places in the guide, with opening hours, phone numbers and a town map. It opens without internet too.
Neighbouring counties
Guides made the same way for the counties next to Vâlcea, from the RO-MANIA NETWORK network. All counties in the network →
Why only five?
- Five helps you choose.A list of 40 restaurants leaves the searching to you. Five means we already chose.
- Every place has a reason.Each entry says in one line why it made the list.
- Different places, not clones.We pick places that are not alike, so everyone finds what suits them.
- The list changes, it doesn't grow.When a place comes in, another goes out. We review the selection regularly.