A guide to the county
Prahova
in five.
A short guide to Prahova 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.
PloieștiThe oil town at the gateway to the Prahova Valley, with the Clock Museum, old merchants' houses and museums on the chestnut-lined boulevard.
SinaiaThe royal resort of the Prahova Valley, with Peleș Castle, the monastery that gave the town its name and the cable car that climbs from the centre to Cota 1400 and Cota 2000 in the Bucegi Mountains.
BușteniThe town below the Bucegi wall, with the Heroes' Cross on Caraiman, Cantacuzino Castle and the cable car up to Babele.
AzugaA small ski resort on the Prahova Valley between Bușteni and Predeal, with the gondola and Sorica slope in the Baiului Mountains and the Rhein cellars, where sparkling wine has been made since 1892.Photo: Ploiești: Andrei Stroe / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Sinaia: Nicubunu / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Bușteni: Whitepixels / Wikimedia Commons, CC0 1.0 · Azuga: Whitepixels / Wikimedia Commons, CC0 1.0
Where to start
Places to see, picked by us. The rest are waiting on each town's page.
Clock museumMuzeul Ceasului „Nicolae Simache”Romania's only museum devoted to timekeeping, with clocks and watches from the 16th to the 20th century, in an 1890 house.Ploiești
Royal castle, museumCastelul PeleșKing Carol I's summer residence, built between 1873 and 1914 and now the Peleș National Museum.Sinaia
Castle, listed monumentCastelul CantacuzinoA Neo-Romanian castle completed in 1911 for Prince Gheorghe Grigore Cantacuzino, with a park of about 3.5 ha, open to visitors since 2010.Bușteni
Gondola and ski slopeTelegondola Azuga și Pârtia SoricaA 1,853-metre gondola that climbs from Azuga into the Baiului Mountains, alongside the FIS-approved Sorica slope.AzugaPhoto: Muzeul Ceasului „Nicolae Simache”: Spock1801 / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Castelul Peleș: Superchilum / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Castelul Cantacuzino: Superchilum / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Telegondola Azuga și Pârtia Sorica: young shanahan / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0
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.
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.