10 Things to Do in Bușteni: A Local Hosts' Guide

Built between 1901 and 1911 for Prince Gheorghe Grigore Cantacuzino, known as “the Nabob”, the castle blends the Neo-Romanian and Neo-Brâncovenesc styles and stands on the site of an old family hunting lodge. It was nationalised in 1948, served as a sanatorium, and after 2010 it reopened to the public as a museum and cultural centre.

It's worth visiting for the architecture, for the 3.5-hectare garden with views straight onto the Bucegi and, more recently, for an unexpected reason: the “Nevermore Academy” scenes of the Netflix series Wednesday were filmed here – a detail that children and teenagers in the families who stay with us absolutely love.

In our experience, those who go early in the morning, right after opening, best avoid the weekend crowds and still have time for a coffee on the terrace afterwards. Check the current opening hours on the castle's official website before you set off.

After a few hours at Cantacuzino Castle, many of our guests choose to unwind in the heated outdoor pool or the private hot tub at Forest Retreat – just a few minutes away, close enough that the visit feels less like a trip and more like a morning stroll.

The cable car climbs from the resort (approx. 880 m above sea level) straight up to the Bucegi plateau, at over 2,200 m, in about 15 minutes – one of the fastest “teleports” from the bustle of town to alpine air anywhere in the Prahova Valley.

It's especially worthwhile if it's your first visit to the Bucegi and you want to see Babele and the Sphinx without a long mountain hike. The temperature difference between the bottom and the plateau can be surprising – we've had guests set off from Bușteni in a T-shirt and come back talking about a blizzard up at 2,200 m, so we always recommend an extra layer in your rucksack, whatever the season.

The cable car is sensitive to wind and can stop without much warning – check the timetable and the weather on the plateau on the morning of your visit itself, not the day before.

Rock formations (the name means “the Old Women”) shaped by the wind and by repeated freeze-thaw cycles over thousands of years. They are one of the most photographed landscapes in the Carpathians, and the areas around them are fenced off for protection, so admiring them from a distance is part of the experience rather than a limitation.

You can get there either by cable car from Bușteni, straight to the plateau, or on foot along the Jepii Mici trail – a hike officially estimated at about 4 hours 30 minutes, of medium-to-difficult grade, and not suitable for anyone without mountain experience or proper gear. For most of our guests, the cable car remains the natural choice if they also want to see the Sphinx the same day without a full day of climbing on foot.

A few minutes' walk from Babele, the same natural erosion has created a formation that, seen from a certain angle, bears a striking resemblance to a human profile – hence the many legends attributed to it over time.

Whether you love legends or simply spectacular scenery, it's worth seeing at least once. Some of our guests swear that, from a certain angle and at a certain time of day, the profile really does look like an ancient face; others admit honestly that they can't see anything. Both reactions are part of the experience.

Plan your visit around the cable car timetable – check the time of the last car down before you go up, and make sure you can get back down safely, whatever time you reach the top.

Built between 1926 and 1928 on the initiative of the Romanian Royal House, in memory of the Romanian heroes who fell in the First World War. The cross itself is about 28 metres tall, while the whole monument, including its base, reaches about 39.5 metres, at an altitude of 2,291 m. Since 2013-2014, it has been officially recognised by Guinness World Records as the world's tallest cross on a mountain summit.

You can admire it perfectly well from below, in Bușteni, without any effort – on clear days it's easy to see from the street. For those who want to reach it, there are several route options of different lengths and difficulty, starting either from the Babele cable car station or from the Caraiman mountain hut (Cabana Caraiman).

We don't recommend choosing a route based only on the estimated time you find online. Conditions on the ridge change quickly, and some sections require mountain experience and proper gear. Before you set off, check the current route and weather conditions with Salvamont (in Romanian), the mountain rescue service, and make sure you have proper hiking gear, whatever the season.

Formed where the Comorilor Valley stream meets the Urlătoarea Mică, the waterfall drops 15 metres and is one of the most accessible natural attractions in the Bucegi – the trail, waymarked with a red dot, starts near the cable car in Bușteni.

A generally easy trail, suitable for families with older children, along a wide path with just one steeper section close to the waterfall. The official estimate for the full trail is about 1 hour 40 minutes (one way), but the real time depends on your exact starting point, your walking pace and the weather – it can differ noticeably from this estimate, especially after rain or in the cold season, when the path can be slippery or partly covered in snow. We recommend footwear with good grip and checking the weather before you set off.

In our experience, guests who do this walk in the morning enjoy the pool or the hot tub in the evening in a completely different way – not as an indulgence, but as a well-earned reward.

Although it's in Sinaia rather than Bușteni, Peleș is just 15 minutes from us and is, quite simply, a place we recommend to every guest who comes to the Prahova Valley. The summer residence of King Carol I, built at the end of the 19th century, was the first fully electrified building in Europe in its day.

The interior, with more than 160 rooms and impressive art collections, justifies half a day on its own – especially if you add a short visit to Pelișor Castle, which stands next door.

Book your tickets in advance, especially at weekends and in the summer season, when the queue at the entrance can last more than an hour – check availability on the official Peleș Castle website.

If you've already visited Cantacuzino Castle, the difference is obvious: Peleș is bigger, more richly furnished and more “royal” – you are literally walking through a king's apartments. Cantacuzino, on the other hand, remains more intimate and less crowded, with far more open grounds to explore. We recommend both to many of our guests, on the same day or on consecutive days, precisely for the contrast between them.

Founded in 1998 on the initiative of Father Gherontie Puiu, following a dream in which the Mother of God showed him the exact spot where it should be built – a fir tree with six branches, next to running water. At 900 m above sea level, it is one of the highest monastic settlements in Romania.

A place of real tranquillity, with a direct view of the Heroes' Cross and a small monastery farm in the courtyard, where children can see hens, peacocks, rabbits and ponies up close – one more reason we recommend it to families, not only to those seeking quiet reflection.

The name comes from Ioan Kalinderu, administrator of the Royal Crown Estates in the time of Carol I. Certified by the International Ski Federation (FIS), the slope is 1.3 km long with a vertical drop of 370 m – suitable both for beginners and for intermediate skiers.

In winter it becomes one of the most popular places for skiing and snowboarding in the Prahova Valley, with floodlights for night skiing. In summer, the same slope turns into a space for grass tubing, and the surrounding area remains excellent for mountain biking.

After a day on the slope, with legs tired from skiing or from climbing the grass, the villa's warm hot tub becomes, by far, the most appreciated moment of the evening – almost every guest who chooses this combination tells us so.