Castles, Cable Cars and Trails in Sinaia

Sinaia is a Carpathian resort town in Prahova County, about 1 hour 30 minutes by train from Bucharest. Its activities fall into four groups: castles, mountain lifts and trails, small museums, and winter skiing. The notes below give the practical details for each, with prices in Romanian lei (RON).

Quick status for 2026

  • Peleș Castle: closed 2 November to 1 December 2026 for conservation.
  • Pelișor Castle: closed 28 September to 3 November 2026, reopening on 4 November.
  • Gondola section Cota 1000 to Cota 1400: closed to the public since early September 2026, with no reopening date.
  • Telecabina Sinaia (town centre to Cota 1400): running, with low capacity and queues.
  • Gondola Carp (Cota 1400 to Cota 2000): running in daylight, weather permitting.

Closure dates are set every year, so look at peles.ro and sinaiago.ro close to your travel date.

Castles

Peleș is the former summer residence of King Carol I, completed in 1914 after four decades of building. Its Neo-Renaissance rooms include the Hall of Honor, an Arms Room of 4,000 or more pieces and a library with a hidden door. The ground and first floor tour costs 100 lei for adults and 25 lei for pupils and students. Pelișor, finished in 1902, is the Art Nouveau home of Ferdinand and Marie. It costs 30 lei for adults and 7.50 lei for pupils and students. Both open Wednesday from 10:00 and Thursday to Sunday from 09:15 until 17:00, and neither opens Monday or Tuesday. Buy timed tickets at bilete.peles.ro.

Mountain lifts and trails

From the centre, the telecabina climbs to Cota 1400 and the Carp gondola goes on to Cota 2000. At the top, trails cross the Bucegi plateau towards Babele, the Sphinx and Omu Peak. The plateau sits above 2,000 m, where fog can close in suddenly and storms bring a lightning risk on the ridges. Bring boots with ankle support and a rain shell, and learn the time of the last lift down before you leave the top station.

Museums and music

The Enescu Memorial House, Villa Luminiș, is a small museum on 2 Yehudi Menuhin Street in Cumpătu, open Wednesday to Sunday from around 09:00 to 16:00. The Casino in Dimitrie Ghica Park, built in 1912 and 1913, is entered on a guided tour only. Tours then run hourly after the first one at 10:15. The Sinaia Monastery, founded in 1695, welcomes visitors who dress modestly.

Winter skiing

Pistes around Cota 1400 and Cota 2000, including Valea Dorului, Valea Soarelui and Lăptici, open when the snow allows. Recent seasons have started between late November and mid-January, and no dates are fixed for 2026 to 2027. Skiers may rely on the telecabina while the lower gondola is shut.

Bears and safety

Brown bears come to the forest edge around Sinaia. Do not feed them: fines run from 10,000 to 30,000 lei, and people have been fined for feeding bears from cars on the Cota 1400 road. Keep your distance, secure food and bins, and phone 112 if a bear walks into a settlement. In the forest, make noise as you go and keep clear of the trails at night.

Booking

Compare guided activities on Viator . Official information is at peles.ro and sinaiago.ro .

Read more: What to see in Sinaia and Routes on foot .