Surely one of the most beautiful towns from its region, Piatra Neamt deserves the title which is mentioned every time you hear about this unique settlement: “The pearl of Moldavia”, emphasizing its picturesque aspect. Not only is this special place my native town, but it is also the place where I spent an important stage of my life, my youth, from where I received a major part of my education, where my relatives live and which always brings memories to life during my visits.

As a consequence of its privileged location, in the heart of the Eastern Carpathian Mountains, surrounded by nature marvels and crossed by a river with economic importance, Piatra Neamt may well be considered both a noteworthy tourist attraction and a city where cultural heritage thrives from year to year. Such full of potential is this town, that in the last ten years its appearance has changed, making room for modern urban architecture which is very well balanced in order to maintain the well-known old buildings such as St John the Baptist church, Stephen's tower or the wide variety of museums which all have been recently renovated as a part of several programs in progress with the goal of enhancing the reputation of the town together with its attractions.

Moreover, the area around Piatra Neamt is one of the oldest inhabited areas in Romania and the one from where The Cucuteni culture stems, according the numerous remarkable settlements which have been the origins of a vast collection of artefacts, discovered in the many archaeological diggings. Apart from this, the town was also built near the ruins of an old Dacian stronghold linking the local history to the development of our language and nationality.

Nonetheless, Piatra Neamt has always been a significant centre of cultural events and festivals. Each year, owing to the fact that The Youth’s Theatre holds great performances, the town hosts the International Theatre Festival in addition to many others folkloric and film festivals. It is popularly believed that the main attractions of this town are the natural beauty of the surroundings, the historical buildings and the festivals mentioned above. Regardless of these ubiquitous aspects of the town potential, some people point out that outburst of tourism was caused by the new winter sports facilities and the usefulness provided by the cable car which connects the city centre with the main skiing slopes.

As far as I am concerned, I firmly believe that Piatra Neamt it a special place which plays an important part in the active process of maintaining the national tourism at a high level and, therefore, it is essential that the town should be regarded as a necessary piece of the mechanism and provided with support on the grounds that the development of the town is now at its heyday.