Romania (România) is located in the Balkans on the Black Sea. Romania enchants travelers with its diversity: be it natural (mountains, hills, sea, delta) or cultural(Romanians, Hungarians, Saxons, Rromas). Over the last decade it has known significant development and is one of the most recent members of the European Union. Still it may surprise some of its visitors who are used to western Europe.
Romania is a large country which can sometimes be shocking with contrasts: some cities are truly Western Europe-like while in some villages locals live as they did a few centuries ago. While it has significant cultural similarities with other Balkan states, it is regarded as unique due to its strong Latin heritage. In fact, the Romanian language and grammar are so similar to old Latin that some might not tell the difference. Things for which Romania is famous include: the Carpathian mountains, Constantin Brancusi, wine, medieval fortresses, Mircea Eliade, the electronic microscope, Dacia cars, Dracula, insulin, E. M. Cioran, stuffed cabbage leaves, multi-ethnic peace, the jet engine, Nadia Comaneci, the Black Sea, Gheorghe Hagi, sunflower fields, painted monasteries and the Danube Delta.
Understand
With a Black Sea coast to the east, it is surrounded by Bulgaria to the south, Serbia to the southwest, Hungary to the northwest, Moldova to the northeast and Ukraine in both the north and the east. While its southern regions are usually seen as part of Southeastern Europe (Balkans), Transylvania, its largest region is in Central Europe.
The country - which joined the European Union in January 2007 - is currently enjoying its highest living standards since Communist times, with foreign investment on the rise and one of the fastest growing economies in Europe. This has given way to a series of technological developments. Therefore, we can see a fast-changing, booming Romania, and you will be amazed at how civilized, advanced, clean and of quality it is. Of course, along the way, you will be met with experiences that you are sure to remember for a long, long time.
