Sinaia Monastery, nicknamed the 'Cathedral of the Carpathians', is one of Romania's most captivating religious landmarks — and the very reason the town of Sinaia exists at all. Founded in 1695 by nobleman Mihai Cantacuzino, inspired by a pilgrimage to Mount Sinai, it stands as the oldest structure in the area and a living treasury of Romanian art and spirituality.

Set against a backdrop of dense Carpathian forest, the monastery complex has a wonderfully layered character. The old courtyard shelters a 17th-century church built in the Brâncovenesc style — think elegantly carved stone columns adorned with floral motifs — with original frescoes by master painter Pârvu Mutu still glowing inside. The new courtyard, developed between 1842 and 1846, is dominated by a larger church with neo-Byzantine oil paintings on a golden mosaic background. Whether you visit on a crisp winter morning with snow dusting the stone walls or on a warm summer afternoon, the atmosphere is genuinely moving.

• Sinaia town centre (main street parking) — the monastery is a short, easy 10–15 minute walk from the centre of Sinaia, suitable for all visitors

• Listed as a Romanian Historical Monument (code PH-II-a-A-16691)
• A religious museum — the first of its kind in Romania — operates within the former royal residences on site
• The museum houses the first Bible translated and printed in Romanian (Bucharest, 1688) and an outstanding icon collection
• The embroidered epitaph by Ana Roth (1897–1900), taking three years to complete, is registered in the UNESCO catalogue
• The large church was the first Orthodox church in Romania to be electrified, thanks to King Carol I

It is worth knowing that King Carol I and Queen Elisabeth lived at the monastery for 11 years before Peles Castle was completed — making this quiet spiritual retreat also a chapter of Romanian royal history.