Map - Sinaia

Sinaia is a town and a mountain resort in Prahova County, Romania. It is situated in the historical region of Muntenia. The town was named after the Sinaia Monastery of 1695, around which it was built. The monastery, in turn, is named after the Biblical Mount Sinai. King Carol I of Romania also built his summer residence, Peleș Castle, in Sinaia in the late nineteenth century.

Sinaia is about 65 km northwest of Ploiești and 48 km south of Brașov, in a mountainous area on the Prahova River valley, just east of the Bucegi Mountains. The town's altitude varies between 767 to 860 m above sea level.

The city is a popular destination for hiking and winter sports, especially downhill skiing. Among the tourist landmarks, the most important are Peleș Castle, Pelișor Castle, Sinaia Monastery, Sinaia Casino, Sinaia train station, and the Franz Joseph and Saint Anne Cliffs. Sinaia was also the summer residence of the Romanian composer George Enescu, who stayed at the Luminiș villa.

Sinaia has a warm-summer humid continental climate (Dfb in the Köppen climate classification).

The climate is a characteristic of low-altitude mountain passes. Annual average temperature: 8 °C Average temperature in June: 15 °C Average temperature in January: -4 °C.

Summers are bracing and very rainy at the beginning of the season. Winters are relatively mild, with heavy snow. Average annual rainfall is 900 mm. The maximum monthly registered rainfall was in June (173 mm). The minimum rainfall was recorded in September 55 mm and February 40 mm.

A uniform layer of snow is deposited usually in November and it melts from March to April, sometimes at the beginning of May. The thickness of the snow layer varies between 20 cm and 3 m in higher elevations.

In recent years, Sinaia has felt the effects of global climate change.