More than just beer.

May 20, 2007 12:55 AM

RomaniaFilter: Where to go in Ploieşti?

I'll be spending the next 10 weeks in Ploieşti, and wanted to know if anyone could recommend any good places to go. Any information is welcome: restaurants, shops, bookstores, markets (especially for fresh fruit/vegetables), sights to see.
(I have limited 'net access, but will check back as much as I can for followup questions)

posted by the luke parker fiasco to Travel & Transportation around Ploiesti, Romania (6 answers total)

Man, this one is tough...there are only FOUR threads on the Lonely Planet Thorntree that even mention Ploiesti, all in passing.

Here's the official city tourism website...but you've probably already seen that. Here's the town theatre's program.

Maybe if you tell us why you're there, who you'll be with, and what sort of transport you'll have access to, we all might be able to help you more. Are you free weekends? Can you speak or read Romanian?

Good luck!
posted by mdonley at 1:41 AM on May 20, 2007

OK, I did a little more digging. (I've never been there - this is just some stuff from various searches.)

Clock museum.
Local basketball team.
Jewish history of Ploiesti.

The best thing nearby seems to be the Prahova Valley, which is on the other side of the county from Ploiesti but has resorts, like Sinaia. Seems like there are some castles and things up there, as well as some nice scenery.
posted by mdonley at 2:00 AM on May 20, 2007

Response by poster: I'm here for Peace Corps volunteer training, and will be living with a local family for the rest of my stay; there are about 40 of us here, total. I don't speak much Romanian yet, but will be having 4 hours a day of language classes.

I have a feeling I'll get some good information from my host family, but I wanted to see if any MeFites had any personal experience with the city, and had firsthand experiences they could share.
posted by the luke parker fiasco at 3:21 AM on May 20, 2007

I can't answer your question, but I will be in Pitesti in August for two weeks with Habitat for Humanity so anything you might have to offer about what the people are like, etc would be interesting to me.
posted by spicynuts at 6:45 AM on May 20, 2007

Response by poster: thanks for the info, everyone (this is the first chance i've had to get online since asking). spicynuts--i'll compile whatever info i have, feel free to contact me if you have questions.
posted by the luke parker fiasco at 2:39 AM on May 23, 2007

Are you a history buff, specifically that of World War 2 or aviation? If so, check out this Wikipedia entry on Operation Tidal Wave, which was a low-level American bombing raid on the refineries around the city, resulting in the most Medals of Honor awarded on a single mission to the USAAF. I don't know what kind of museums there are (if any) to visit, but I'm told there are a few memorials scattered around the city specific to this raid. For more reading: the oldest, and probably canonical account of the raid and its aftermath. This book is full of photos taken during the attack, which would be helpful in doing a modern-day comparison. If you're interested in that sort of thing.
posted by idiotking at 1:03 PM on June 1, 2007