Delta villages
Chilia Veche — Where Delta history begins
Perched on the northernmost arm, Chilia Veche is the Delta’s oldest continuously inhabited village—founded by Greeks, fortified by Ottomans, enlivened today by Romanian‑Lipovan fishermen. Walk its sandy lanes and you’ll pass blue‑shuttered cottages, a 166‑year‑old and 45 meters (148 ft) Orthodox church and backyard orchards heavy with figs. Because the village sits on the wild Chilia Arm—my home waters—boat traffic is light; dawn tours often share the river only with pelicans and reed warblers. Evenings end at a family courtyard table, tasting sturgeon soup while villagers trade stories in a sing‑song mix of Romanian and old Slavic.
Sulina — Lighthouse of lost empires
Once the busiest port on the Black Sea, Sulina still feels like a frontier town where river meets ocean. The rust‑streaked 19‑century lighthouse marks the spot where pilots guided steamers from Vienna, Odessa and Istanbul. Today its empty stairwell echoes with gull calls and salty wind; climb it for a panorama of endless sandbar beaches and the straightened Sulina Canal. Stroll the quayside to spot Greek, Turkish and British headstones in Europe’s most eclectic maritime cemetery, then finish with fresh fish at a dockside taverna.
Sfântu Gheorghe — Dunes, deltas and Danube wine
Accessible only by water or sand track, Sfântu Gheorghe feels like an island at the world’s edge. An aerial view reveals neat cottages backed by vegetable plots, a ribbon of wilderness beach curving south, and the southern Danube arm pouring into the Black Sea. Days here swing between barefoot walks on 30 km of empty sand, tasting locally bottled “Danube Terraces” white wine, and watching fishermen drag their wooden boats ashore with the evening catch. Each August, the "Anonimul Independent Film Festival" turns the grassy football field into an open‑air cinema under 1,000,000 stars.
