Piatra Neamt

Wedged into a cleft in the Eastern Carpathian Mountains of Moldavia, Piatra Neamt is one of Romania’s up-coming adventure and culture destinations. It fuses 15th-century castles with sylvan valleys and lakes, meaning you can spend days wandering beneath old stone towers, or strap on the hiking boots to scale the surrounding ridges.

You shouldn’t have to look far to find a qualified Piatra Neamt tour guide who can reveal the long past of the city. There’s an Ethnographic Museum laden with intriguing relics of yesteryear. There’s a cobbled square topped with a medieval tower. There are even the remains of a once-prestigious Romanian princely court to get through. And to wash it all down? How about Balkan taverns tucked into quiet cobble ways?

Of course, the surrounding ranges are always on the mind in Piatra Neamt. An urban “Telegondola” can whisk you up to lookouts if you’re not up for a hike. However, those willing to hit the trails will be rewarded by the haunting turrets and white walls of Bistrița Monastery – dating from 1402 – while others might venture as far as Lake Izvorul Muntelui, a mountain-ringed reservoir watched over by the craggy Ceahlău Massif.