#155 Brasov, Transylvania

Brasov

Despite being based in Brasov for three days, we actually spent very little time exploring the area as we were busy with day trips. However, our AirBnB was located in the old town and had a great view of the Brasov sign in the mountains. The old town is a great place to stay, and is a short and cheap Uber ride to the train or bus stations.

We did have some time in the late afternoons after our day trips to venture out a little and explore the area, and it would have been nice to have had at least one full day exploring there.

Food & Drink

We availed of a giant chimney cake (Kurtos Kalacs) from a little wagon for just 20lei, and it was large enough for 3 of us to share. We also enjoyed a relaxing evening cocktail outside along one of the many bars and restaurants, who set up tables and chairs in the middle of the street in the evenings.

For dinner one evening we had dinner at the highly rated Sergiana. It's located in a cellar, so no option to dine al fresco which we had gotten used to! I enjoyed my meal but my friends was incredibly salty, and the service wasn't particularly fast, so overall it's a bit hit and miss.

Sights to See

We wandered around the main square, Piata Sfatului, which is also next to the Black Church. Unfortunately we didn't have time to fit in a trip up to the Brasov sign on Tampa mountain, which can be reached by a short hike or by cable car. 

I feel it is also important to note that there is nowhere to eat in or around Brasov train station, as we came back from a day trip and had to wait 2 hours for our train back to Bucharest and ended up almost starving! After a look around the station we found nothing suitable (honestly they looked like places we'd get food poisoning) and ventured across the street to a shopping mall - which similarly had nowhere that looked clean or fresh. So....yeah. Try and bring some snacks with you!

#154 Bran Castle, Transylvania

Bran / Dracula's Castle

Bran Castle is famous for being the inspiration for Dracula's castle. This has been largely debunked and in reality there is little to no basis for this vampire link, but nonetheless it remains one of the most popular tourist attractions in Romania.

We had heard that it's small, overcrowded and overrated, and that Peles Castle is better. We didn't agree with this, and enjoyed Bran very much, possibly because we had such low expectations going in.

We went midweek and got the bus to Bran from Autogara 2 in Brasov, which is located a little bit out of the city and isn't the one located next to the train station, so you'll need to get an Uber or something there. We had read online the bus to Bran cost 7 lei each way, but we were charged 9 lei (€2) by the bus driver so it seems the price has increased, although it's still cheap.

Early Birds Get The...

Since I had heard about it being very busy with coach tours, and having a similar problem when we visited Peles, I was eager to get there as early as possible. We got the 8am bus from Brasov that arrived at 8.45am, despite the castle not being open until 9.15am. Thankfully the bus dropped us right outside the castle and it's only a few minutes walk to the entrance. Entry to the castle is 40lei(€8.50).

It allowed us enough time to make a leisurely walk up to the castle and go to the bathroom before entering just moments after opening time. When we entered there was only two small groups of children in front of us, but by the time we left about an hour later the castle was already getting very busy with large tour groups.

Inside Dracula's Lair

You don't need a guided tour and are free to wander around the castle at your leisure. It's quite old style and the rooms aren't too busy with decorations or furniture, but I enjoyed it. There's a lovely view of the mountains, and the castle has some neat features like a very narrow stairwell, winding wooden stairs, and an open veranda. We enjoyed wandering around at our own pace but I imagine later in the day or on weekends it would be very crowded and uncomfortable.

On the way out of the castle we stopped at the little souvenir market, as it had been mostly closed on our way into the castle. The prices were reasonable and I got a fridge magnet for 5lei(€1). We stopped at Galeria restaurant and my friend got a gelato dessert and I got a black forest gateau, these were good and the prices were reasonable.

Also I should mention that the bus from Brasov to Bran also makes a stop at Rasnov, a citadel on hill that also boasts a Hollywood-esque sign. We were tempted to stop off here, but in the end we were just very tired after a busy few days and decided to give it a miss. However, it looked good from the bus as we passed and I think if you have time it could be a nice addition to your trip.