Gura Humorului

Town centre

Gura Humorului is in Southern Bukovina. The town itself is less interesting than Sighisoara or Brasov, but it is very close to the Painted Monasteries of Bucovina, which are listed by UNESCO as World Heritage Sites. The scenery around Gura Humorului is very beautiful as well.

Get in

It is well connected to Suceava with both bus and train. Bus and train stations (autogara and gara) are very close to each other and they are next to the centre. See CFR for train schedules for the whole country. There is a link for an English version in the lower right corner.

Get around

It's a small town and you can get around on foot. Taxis are an inexpensive option at around 2 lei per kilometer.

See

Voroneț Monastery

• 1 Voroneț Monastery (Mănăstirea Voroneț) (walking will take about 1 hour and half and the landscape is very nice). It is known for its striking blue color and the depiction of Heaven and Hell.  
• 2 Humor Monastery (Mănăstirea Humor) (walk - allow 1½ hours - or take the maxitaxi, which leaves fairly regularly from the front of the Best Western hotel at the centre of town. Keep in mind there is no sign for the maxitaxi and no schedule, just look for a group of people gathered in front of the hotel). Not as well preserved as Voronet, but it has an impressive guard tower which you can scale for a nice view.  

Do

• If you want to get online, there is an Internet café just in front of the train station. It costs 2 lei/hour.

Buy

Try to locate Letitia Orsivschi from Vama (about 20km west of Gura Humorului). She paints eggs in traditional patterns with hot wax. She does this all free hand with a single horse hair brush. Her work is very impressive and very inexpensive to purchase. She does not speak English, but does speak French. Email address: letitia_orsivschi@yahoo.com

Also try to find Radu Bircea. He is a fantastic local painter. He does not speak English either, but does speak Russian.

The front desk staff at the Best Western Hotel can probably help you locate either Letitia or Radu. The staff at the town museum might also be helpful.

Eat

• Restaurantul Moldova - you will see on the right while walking from the main square (where the huge Best hotel is) towards the bridge. It's a good restaurant making some traditional Romanian dishes. Inside there is a small stand giving touristic information. They also plan trips for the surrounding Painted monasteries.
• Hilde's - take a taxi or ask the locals, the food is traditional and fabulous

Drink

In the city center go to "La Bomba" a quiet little pub/pizza place. Relatively cheap, as beer starts from 4 lei (approx. 1 euro)

Sleep

• Best Western Bucovina. Pta Republicii 18, telephone 0230/207.000. Four star hotel featuring 130 rooms (singles, doubles, suites), two restaurants (200 seats) and an elegant bar with 45 seats. It also has a large terrace and a spa (sauna, jacuzzi, fitness room, massage). Seven conference halls (650 seats). 
• Pensiunea Bucovina Hills, Str. Stefan cel Mare Nr. 119D, Manastirea Humorului (5 km north of Gura Humorului), ☏ +40 742 150 231, +40 742 125 700, bucovina_hills@yahoo.com. This guesthouse is just north of Gura Humorului. It is situated on the Humor River with the foothills of the Carpathian Mountains as a backdrop. Humor Monastery is a 10-minute stroll away. Bogdan and Daniela Jucan are the owners and your hosts. Both speak English very well. Daniela even teaches English at the local high school. They have housed people from many different countries. A United States Peace Corps Volunteer even lived with them for two years. Double rooms cost 75-90 lei per night. Meals are also available for additional cost. For three meals per day, the cost is 60-75 lei per person. 
• Vila Ramona, Str. Oborului 6, ☏ +40 230 232996, emailbolat@xnet.ro. It's a nice hotel next to the centre. To get there, start walking west from the main square (where the huge Best Western hotel is) towards the bridge. After the bridge turn on the first street on the right, then you should be able to follow the signs. A twin room with a private toilet costs 90 lei/night (the whole room), but you can pay in euro if you want. They provide a small swimming pool and a sauna. The sauna costs 15/lei per person and there must be at least 2 people in there. Breakfast is not included, but if you want it, it will cost €5 extra.