Sibiu Walking Tours: Old Town and Lower Town

October 30, 2026

Walking Sibiu

Sibiu is a good walking city. The Upper Town and Lower Town fit into one loop of about 2 to 3 hours, with stops. The paving is uneven cobbles, slick when wet or frozen, so bring sturdy shoes. The streets are very safe, with normal petty-theft care in crowds.

The classic loop

Start in Piața Mare, the largest square.
Walk into Piața Mică and cross the Bridge of Lies, the first cast-iron bridge in Romania.
Continue to Piața Huet and the Evangelical Cathedral.
Go down the Passage of Stairs to the Lower Town and walk along the quiet pastel lanes by the Cibin.
Return through the Goldsmiths’ Passage.
Follow Strada Cetății past the Arquebusiers’, Potters’ and Carpenters’ towers, a surviving stretch of the city walls.
End at Thalia Hall (Turnul Gros).

The Council Tower between Piața Mare and Piața Mică is closed for restoration until about the end of 2027, so it is a sight to look at from outside. Do not count on being able to walk through its archway. See the tourism office page for its status.

Free walking tours

Tip-based city tours run in the tourist season from Piața Mare. Check GuruWalk or the operator for English departures and times. A 2026 operator brochure lists an InfoPoint at Piața Huet 1 with tours at 10:00 from November to April and at 17:00 from May to October. If you tour on your own, the loop above gives the same ground.

Things to look for

The oval windows in the roofs around Piața Mare and Piața Mică are the eyes of Sibiu. They are attic vents, built to ventilate stored goods, and the easiest way to find them is to look up from the middle of each square.

On Strada Cetății, enter the Carpenters’ Tower and leave through the Potters’ Tower, which were opened to visitors in 2020. Hours and the small fee change by season, so check locally.

Lower Town and the market

The Lower Town, along the river, is quieter and calmer than the squares. The Piața Cibin market is open daily at the north-west end of Strada Turnului near the Cibin bridge. It takes cards, and it is a good place to buy cheese, fruit and snacks for the walk.

Memorial stops

Two places on a walk deserve a quiet visit. The Great Synagogue on Strada Constituției was built in 1898 and 1899, and visits are by request through the community office. The Friedrich Teutsch Centre on Strada Mitropoliei 30 is the Evangelical Church’s cultural and archive centre. The Transylvanian Saxons once centred their community on Sibiu, then called Hermannstadt. Tens of thousands were deported to Soviet labour camps in January 1945, and most of the community left for Germany after 1989. Keep your voice low at both places.

Practical tips

Cards work almost everywhere, but carry some RON for church donation boxes and kiosks. The city centre is compact enough to walk without transport. For the zoo and ASTRA museum, Tursib bus 13 runs from the centre, and a 60-minute ticket costs 3.5 RON.