Ploiești is a city and important transport hub in Romania. Although mainly industrial in nature, there's a number of monuments to see and a couple of museums worth visiting. Tourism is an increasingly important business in this town on the slopes of the southern Carpathians.

Understand

The city of Ploiești was established in 1596 and claims to have been founded by Michael the Brave, Prince of historic Wallachia. Throughout the 17th and 18th century it grew into a centre for trade and handicrafts. Later, oil refinery became the leading economic activity and for some time the town was one of the main centres for oil extraction in the world.

Get in

Located some 60km from the country capital, getting in and out of Ploieşti is easy. Its rail station is second only after Bucharest, with many connections to Bucharest, Transylvania, Moldavia and more.

There's a well-developed network of buses and trolleybuses, operated by TCE (Transport Călători Express). The nearest airport, Henri Coandă International Airport, is just 45km away.

There's already a good motorway to the capital, and soon a new highway from Bucharest to Braşov (passing Ploiești) will be finished soon.

See

There are several museums in the city. The Clock Museum obviously has a good collection of clocks on display, while the Oil Museum gives an inside in this major part of the city's economy; today and throughout history.

Eat

There are many restaurants serving decent quality international and local food in Ploiesti. While there are quite a few restaurants in the city center, the vast majority of restaurants are situated in the north side of town on Republicii Boulevard, the road leading towards the mountains. Some good quality restaurants exist in Ploiesti such as Corso, Da Vinci, London House, Bistro Boema, CITY.