Tourism in Arges

The Arges County Council has launched the tourist program called Arges Tourist Card, which can be purchased online, allowing tourists to visit tourist objectives at discount prices. Today we will be talking to Adrian Dumitru Bughiu, vice-president of Arges County Council, about the tourist attractions in this south-central part of Romania, and he started with the seat of the county, Pitesti:

“The city itself, the city of Pitesti, is under continual development, both horizontally and vertically, and, from this point of view, edifices dedicated to athletics and culture are also expanding. The municipality of Pitesti boasts several museums, one theater, several entertainment centers, several swimming pools, and one zoo. All these, I think, can be an encouragement for citizens who visit, both from Romania and from abroad. The fact that Arges County does not have an airport is not necessarily an impediment, considering that Pitesti lies between two large cities with airports, Bucharest and Craiova.”

Tourists who reach Pitesti have several days to head towards the mountainous part of the county, says Adrian Dumitru Bughiu:

“Of course, generally the people who get to Pitesti head to the northern part of the county, because Arges is famous, and has probably the most beautiful mountain road in Europe, the Transfagarasan. However, before crossing the hilly part of the county, then the mountains, we have an interesting way to go. We can stop over at Curtea de Arges, where we have the royal necropolis, that is where Romania's rulers are buried. It is a monastery with great historical impact, but also tourist impact. So it is no surprise that we, at the County Council, have been promoting this year several tourist circuits, all starting from the city of Pitesti. We designed circuits to promote the wooden churches in Arges, but also a circuit for traditional Romanian cuisine. The details for these circuits can be found on the County Council website, which we have developed, and which we update each month.”

The Transfagarasan is the most spectacular road in Romania, and is on the top list of amazing rods in the world. It crosses the Fagaras Mountains for a length of 90 km, and has 27 bridges and viaducts, as well as the longest mountain tunnel in Romania, 887 meters. In addition, in the Balea Lake area, at an altitude of 2,034 m, since 2005, they are building each year the only ice hotel in Romania, or even in this part of Europe. At the same time, the Curtea de Arges Monastery, which lies on our way to the Transfagarasan, was built between 1512 and 1517. Here tourists can get acquainted with the beautiful and haunting legend of Master Mason Manole, about human sacrifice.

A vacation to Arges will soon be easier to plan, as we were told by Adrian Bughiu, vice-president of the County Council;

“We are able to announce that, starting early next year, we are starting, in partnership with some private parties, a media portal dedicated entirely to tourism in Arges, called Arges Ghid. All those interested will be able to find not just punctual information on specific events, but also information on traffic, the weather, and so on. We are trying to professionalize our tourism promotion, we are trying to support those who want to come to our county, and we hope that there will be more of them every year. We have a few internationally renown objectives. We have mountain area that is very attractive for winter sports lovers, and we have under development a project to make a ski slope in the Movilisu area. Winter holidays can be spent in a wonderful environment offered by the inhabitants of Arges, especially in the north, where traditions are at their best.”

The county council are running right now several projects dedicated to tourism. Here is vice-president Adrian Bughiu:

“We also have several projects based on European funds in the area of infrastructure to support tourism in general, and tourists specifically. Right now I could mention the restoration of the Rudolf Schweitzer-Cumpana Art Gallery. It is a project dear to us, which is at an advanced stage. It is a gallery in the immediate vicinity of Pitesti Municipal City Hall, which will host very important works, and which will surely be a major point of attraction for tourists that cross our threshold. Also, in parallel, we have a European financed project for restoring from the ground up the Arges County Museum. In fact, we are talking about conservation, protection, and capitalizing on our cultural patrimony. Things are very good, the works are finished about 55%. Also, we are working for the conservation and consolidation of the Arges Poenary fortification. It is the door to the Transfagarasan. It is a major historic point, and has high tourist potential. Next year we hope to reopen the gates of the citadel, which along the years has been a veritable tourist magnet.”

The Poenari fortification is a historic monument from the 14th century, built on a mountain top, at a 400 m elevation from the valley. In order to get there, tourists have to climb a concrete staircase with 1,480 steps. With the current project, there is a plan to install a cable car.