Two Frenchmen are among the oldest travelers who have traveled the Via Transilvanica over its entire distance of over 1,400 kilometers. At the end of the trip, Marie Claude and Pierre François Lhuillery had only words of praise for the Romanians.
The two travelers. Photo: Marie-Claude Lhuillery. Facebook
Marie Claude and Pierre François Lhuillery, two septuagenarian Frenchmen, completely covered the Via Transilvanica, the tourist route of over 1,400 kilometers, which crosses some of the most picturesque regions of Romania.
The two elderly people started their adventure in the fall of 2023, from the Putna Monastery (Suceava county) and then covered 600 kilometers of the route, on foot, to Târnava. In 2024, at the end of August, they returned to the Via Transilvanica, to cross the rest of the route and end their journey, on the banks of the Danube, at Drobeta Turnu Severin (Mehedinți county).
Putna Monastery, the starting point of Via Transilvanica. Source: Putna Monastery. Facebook
“Ready! I’m done! To our greatest pleasure, we traveled the entire Via Transilvania and just arrived in Dobreta Turnu Severin. At 71 and 77 years old, we are certainly the deans of the route and we are glad that we were able to take advantage of this incredible route. The stages on the vineyard are like a ribbon that unfolds little by little from Putna to take us to the Danube. And at every step there is a reward! Beautiful landscapes, a good meal, meetings and above all the kindness of our hosts without whom we could not have completed this route. There is also all the work done by Tășuleasa Social who initiated and carried out this project. We want to congratulate them once again. And then you are again and above all of you, the Romanian people who encouraged and followed us and with whom we managed to communicate and create connections. We will not forget you, you will forever be in our hearts. This great adventure is coming to an end, but we’re sure many travelers will follow suit…at least we hope so. Thank you, thank you, we love you Romania”was the message sent by the French, on the Facebook group of Via Transilvanica.
During their trip, the two Frenchmen related their experiences on the tourist route in Romania, thanking the Romanians for their hospitality and declaring themselves in love with Romania.
Terminal on Via Transilvanica. Photo: Daniel Guță. TRUTH
“We are both sad and happy to come to the end of this adventure! Sad because we will be leaving Romania that we love so much, but happy to say that we had an exceptional trip on an incredible road!“, the two wrote, on the group dedicated to traveling on the Via Transilvanica.
Via Transilvanica, the longest hiking trail in the Carpathians
Launched in 2022, Via Transilvanica, a tourist route of almost 1,400 kilometers, starts from Putna Monastery, crosses Transylvania and ends at Drobeta – Turnu Severin.
Via Transilvanica can be crossed on foot or by bicycle, through the counties of Suceava, Mureş, Harghita, Braşov, Sibiu, Alba, Hunedoara (video), Caraş Severin and Mehedinti.
At every kilometer, its “posts” – monuments sculpted by artists, which recall the history of the places – show tourists that they are on the right path, even if the Via Transilvanica often passes through areas far from cities and busy communication routes.
During the summer, the number of hikers encountered on Via Transilvanica is higher. Some dare to cover it from one end to the other, allocating even several weeks for such an adventure, most cross it in sections. In both situations, hikers find many reasons for satisfaction.
