Muzeul Astra, Transylvania, Romania

4T-SGlobetrotters 5:00 PM Oct 22, 2022

Very good outdoor museum but it needs a full day to do it justice. Organisation could be better
The museum is located on a large site just outside Sibiu. It is described as the largest outdoor museum in Europe and with around 10km of paths around the site, realistically a full day is needed to do the museum justice. The work involved in dismantling historic properties and constructions around Romania and reassembling them on this site is astounding and it is clear work is still ongoing. You are handed a map of the site on entry. The experience is very good but there are a few factors which prevented us giving the museum top marks and it mainly revolved around administration on the site. Although there are several cafes on site, only one near the windmills actually serves food, which was unfortunate as we passed this near the start of our walk and had to backtrack across the park at lunchtime to buy some food. There is also very little information on each construction apart of some which were sponsored by three EEC countries and these had good levels of explanatory information. There is also quite a lot of duplication of buildings with a similar design and purpose which adds considerably to the time it takes to get round the site. Also most of the larger buildings were locked shut so in the main peering through windows was the only option. While acknowledging staffing constraints, it would have been useful to have a small number of houses fully open. Having said all this, we fully enjoyed our visit and it is certainly worth taking time out to see the attraction which gives a very good impression of Romania in times past. Ample parking is available outside the main gates.

4CMK79 5:00 PM Nov 13, 2022

A lovely afternoon in a beautiful setting.
This is a huge outdoor museum. We visited on a beautiful November afternoon, so the autumn colours were beautiful. We had a lovely time. Its easily accessible with the number 13 bus from Sibiu. We also are at one of the on sight restaurants which was very well priced and served tasty local food. I have knocked off a star as it became a little 'samey' by the time we were half way round. I'm guessing at busier times there are maybe more displays and demos, perhaps this should be reflected in the entrance fee for off-peak visits. The map we were given was very simple. There was some info on display, but this was very limited too. Having a few people dotted around telling a story or two would make a big difference. Nonetheless, we had a lovely afternoon here and would still very much recommend a visit.