Bran Castle

Bran Castle stands on a rocky outcrop in the village of Bran, Brașov County, Romania, about 30 km south-west of Brașov and 215 km north of Bucharest. Built by Saxon merchants of Brașov in the late 14th century to guard the Bran Pass between Transylvania and Wallachia, the fortress is popularly marketed as Dracula's Castle, although the real Vlad the Impaler has only a tenuous link to it. Inside, a maze of narrow staircases and small rooms displays furniture, weapons and personal items from the period when the castle was a royal residence of Queen Marie of Romania, who restored it in the 1920s. Visitors can also see the secret staircase and the exhibition on the castle's history and legend. The village below holds an open-air ethnographic museum with traditional Romanian houses and a busy market of souvenir stalls. Reaching Bran from Bucharest is the longest trip in this guide: a CFR Călători train from Gara de Nord to Brașov takes 2 hours 30 minutes to 3 hours 30 minutes, followed by a bus from Brașov Autogara 2 to Bran, about 45 minutes, running every 30 to 60 minutes for roughly 12 to 15 lei. In total the journey is 3 hours 30 minutes to 4 hours 30 minutes each way, so an organised day tour combining Peleș Castle, Bran and Brașov is a common alternative, or driving via DN1 and DN73 in about 3 hours 30 minutes. An early start is essential. A suggested day is to reach the castle for opening, tour it in about an hour, walk through the village museum, and have lunch in a local restaurant serving grilled meat, polenta and papanași, before returning via Brașov. The best season runs from May to October, and weekends bring long queues, so weekdays are strongly preferred. The castle interior involves many stairs, and the long transfers make this a demanding day.