Transylvania: castles and Saxon towns

Route description

Brașov has a large medieval square, the Black Church and Mount Tâmpa rising straight above the old town. Drive south-west to Bran, passing the hilltop fortress at Râșnov on the way.

Bran Castle stands on a crag above the pass into Wallachia and is marketed as Dracula’s castle; go early to avoid the queues. Then head north on the long road to Sighișoara, whose walled citadel on a hill has a clock tower and the house where Vlad the Impaler is said to have been born.

Continue south-west through rolling hills and Saxon villages with fortified churches to Sibiu, where large squares, the Bridge of Lies and houses with eyelid-shaped roof windows fill the old town.

East of Sibiu, the Transfăgărășan (DN7C) climbs from Cârțișoara through hairpins to Bâlea Lake at 2,042 m and is usually open from July to October. A road vignette is required on national roads in Romania, and on country roads watch out for horse-drawn carts; on the mountain road never feed the bears.