Ideas for Your Visit to the ASTRA Open-Air Museum

As spring is slowly taking over, the ASTRA Open-Air Museum is definitely worth a visit. With its idyllic landscapes (regardless of the season, really), its authentic Romanian village feel, and the season-appropriate activities proposed, it’s a real pleasure to go back to the biggest open-air museum in Europe at all times of the year. We could visit it on all the 365 days in a year without getting bored!

Below, you can find a series of ideas to enhance your experience in the museum. Whether you win subscriptions or not, we’re confident that our suggestions will come in handy when you and your loved ones next visit the museum.

There’s a new way for you to discover the main attractions in the ASTRA Museum. Download the official ASTRA Museum App from the App Store of Google Play and listen to the 30 audio files detailing the story of different sights. You’ll hear fresh info about mills, memorial houses, various households (tree growers, travelling merchant, vine grower, fisherman) or workshops (music instruments, cooper, potter, marble miner, hemp and wool processing).

For a one-of-a-kind experience on the museum paths, you can choose between various means of transport, depending on the season. You can opt for a horse-drawn carriage all year round, for a horse-drawn sleigh when the paths are covered in a generous layer of snow, and not least for conventional or electric scooters during the summer season.

You’ll need a quick energising stop after walking around the museum. Warm up with a hot cup of tea, a good cup of coffee, or enjoy a slow bite of traditional pies or gingerbread prepared after recipes of yore.

For lunchtime, take your pick from two restaurants that capture the authentic character of traditional food.

You’ll find this petite, rustic restaurant in the middle of the museum. They have a small, dynamic kitchen, with waiters going in and out with full trays of special goodies, under the coordination of Ileana, the cook who knows the best and tastiest recipes of yesteryear.

She makes the best local dishes using traditional pots and kitchen tools, just like our forefathers used to do. Their wines and traditional spirits, cheeses, sausages, bacon, pork rind and greaves, or zacusca are all as tasty as in past times.

Tulgheș Inn was built in 1922 and was moved to Sibiu in 1991 from the county of Harghita. Here, it was rebuilt and looked after in the ASTRA Museum of Traditional Civilization. Nowadays, they serve Romanian delicacies made of high quality ingredients to thousands of tourists.

On weekends, the Museum’s Country Fair serves all kinds of pancakes and other dishes cooked right under guests’ eyes. If you’d rather enjoy your lunch privately, you can take a seat at the wooden benches.

Last year alone, the ASTRA Museum hosted over 2,000 cultural actions, i.e. 5 events per day on average. This year will stick to that tradition, so keep an eye on their event calendar and activate app notifications to always be up to date on their activity.

Ursu Ana-Maria
Adela Maria Balan
Huzuna Luminita

foto: Facebook Muzeul Astra