“Little Vienna” for its Art Nouveau homes, Austro-Hungarian architecture and lively cafés. A choice of afternoon excursions includes a guided walking tour or a beautiful hike to the Rock Churches of Ivanovo featuring stunning medieval frescoes inside stony chambers carved into steep, cliffside caves. The path up to the churches is rough and irregular but the views – and frescoes – at the top of the valley are very rewarding. Meals BLD
WATERFRONT GEMS, hidden behind the Iron Curtain for decades, range from
seaside resorts on Romania’s Black Sea coast which showcase Greek and Roman antiquities to Serbia’s rock-faced Dacian King Decebalus, standing watch over the Danube near the Romanian-Bulgarian border.
9. ROMANIA’S BLACK SEA COAST Walk off the ship in Cernavoda, Romania, for a day trip to the Black Sea coast. Take a guided tour of the key port city of Constanta, originally the ancient Greek colony of Tomis and home to numerous Greek and Roman antiquities; sights include an Art-Nouveau casino, and a monument to the Roman poet Ovid, who was exiled here by the Emperor Augustus. Then it’s on to Mamaia, the largest seaside resort on the Black Sea, for lunch and time at leisure to enjoy the beach before returning to the riverboat for the last night of your cruise. Join us for the Captain’s farewell reception and dinner this evening. Meals BLD
10. DISEMBARK & ON TO BUCHAREST, ROMANIA Disembark the riverboat in Cernavoda and drive through the Romanian countryside en route to Bucharest for a two-night stay at the JW Marriott Bucharest Grand Hotel. After lunch at a local restaurant, join Tauck’s local guides for a sightseeing tour of Romania’s capital, once regarded as “the Paris of the Balkans.” See Revolution Square and the granite Triumphal Arch, a smaller copy of Paris’ Arc de Triomphe. Tauck includes an inside visit to Bucharest’s colossal People’s Palace, home to the Romanian Parliament; it’s so big, some parts of it are still unfinished! Dinner is on your own tonight. Meals BL
11. HAUNTS OF THE ORIGINAL “DRACULA” Vlad Tepes (a.k.a. Vlad the Impaler), the 15th-century Romanian prince who served as the historic inspiration for the fictitious Dracula, ruled in this area and is integrally connected to your sightseeing choices today. You can take a full-day excursion to tour 14th-century Bran Castle in Transylvania, which was used as a fortress by Tepes during his campaigns in the region and is now a national monument. Or you can take a boat across Snagov Lake to tiny Snagov Island for a visit to isolated Snagov Monastery, on whose grounds Tepes is believed to be buried, and the art-filled Caldarusani Monastery. Back in Bucharest, join us for a very special farewell dinner after-hours at the “House of the People” at the Palace of Parliament, a Tauck Exclusive that is sure to be a highlight of your stay in Romania! Meals BLD
12. JOURNEY HOME Tour ends: Bucharest, Romania. Fly home anytime. A transfer from the JW Marriott Bucharest Grand Hotel to Bucharest Airport or Bucuresti Gara de Nord train station is included. Allow a minimum of 3 hours for flight check-in. Meals B
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