No trip to Romania is complete without a visit to Bran Castle, famously known as ‘Dracula’s Castle’. If…
Times visited: 1
Cities visited: Bucharest and Brașov
Towns and villages visited: Bran
For our third annual mother-daughter getaway, my mum and I set our sights on Romania. Unfortunately, we could only spare a weekend – something we quickly realized was far too little time for such a vast and intriguing country. Still, we managed to get a wonderful taste of what Romania has to offer.
We based ourselves in Bucharest, the bustling capital. Once nicknamed “Little Paris” around the turn of the 20th century for its elegant Art Nouveau architecture, Bucharest today is a fascinating mix of old-world charm and stark communist-era buildings – a visual contrast that tells the story of the country’s layered history. While it didn’t quite make my list of favourite cities, I did enjoy the vibrant atmosphere and architectural mash-up that made every street feel like a walk through time.
On our second and only full day, we ventured out into the Romanian countryside to explore the legendary region of Transylvania. Our first destination was the mountain town of Brașov. I absolutely loved Brașov’s historic city centre, with its pastel-coloured buildings and medieval charm. We took a cable car up Mt. Tampa for sweeping views of the city below.
As for Dracula… well, trying to follow his trail was a bit of a mystery in itself. The famous 14th-century Bran Castle is often marketed as “Dracula’s Castle” – even though there’s no solid evidence that Bram Stoker ever knew the place existed. Still, it’s the only castle in Transylvania that matches his fictional description, so off we went! The castle itself was quite atmospheric and fun to explore, though the exhibition focused more on its real historical past than on vampire lore.