Sibiu, Romania Photography | Clever Tourists

Photographing Sibiu

Sibiu is a Saxon-founded citadel deep in Transylvania, where a walled medieval old town of ochre townhouses, watchtowers, and rooftop 'eyes' surrounds two grand squares linked by covered passages and the wrought-iron Liar's Bridge.

Where to shoot

Piata Mare (Grand Square) — Sibiu's Baroque civic square, ringed by the Brukenthal Palace and Roman Catholic Church, especially striking lit up after dark.
The "eyes" of Sibiu — rows of narrow dormer windows on the old town's tiled roofs, best photographed from the courtyards south of Piata Mica.
Liar's Bridge (Podul Minciunilor) — an 1859 cast-iron bridge linking the Lower and Upper Towns, said to creak under anyone telling a lie.
Council Tower (Turnul Sfatului) — climb the medieval watchtower for a rooftop panorama over Sibiu's red-tiled roofs and the Evangelical Cathedral spire.

When to go

Late spring (May-June) or early autumn (September) for mild weather, green squares, and the fewest tour-bus crowds.

What to eat

Sarmale (cabbage rolls stuffed with pork and rice) served over a mound of buttery mamaliga and sour cream is the Transylvanian staple worth seeking out, ideally with a glass of local red wine.

Where to stay

Base yourself inside or just off Piata Mare or Piata Mica so you can walk the old town's cobblestones at night without needing a car.

Enter Piata Mica through the covered Passage of Stairs (Pasajul Scarilor) instead of the main road — it's the same medieval route Saxon merchants used between the Lower and Upper Towns, and it drops you right at the base of the Council Tower.