Romania is the country that surprised me most in Europe: Bucharest, Transylvania, and a bus through the Carpathians I didn't plan to take
Mika Soren
Romania had the lowest expectations of any country I went to in Europe and produced the most surprises.
Part of this is the reputation it carries: the Dracula tourism industrial complex, the Ceaușescu legacy, the infrastructure concerns that people who haven’t been recently repeat from information that’s out of date.
Some of the concerns are real. The surprises are realer.
Bucharest: the Paris of the East (it’s more complicated than that)
Bucharest was called the Paris of the East in the early 20th century when its grand boulevards and Belle Époque architecture earned the comparison. Then Ceaușescu demolished a quarter of the historic centre in the 1980s to build the Palace of Parliament (the second-largest administrative building in the world after the US Pentagon; enormous, slightly oppressive, tour available). The nickname is simultaneously accurate and a memorial to what was destroyed.
The Palace of Parliament. Go for the scale alone: 12 storeys above ground, 8 below, 1,100 rooms, the chandelier in the main hall weighs 2.5 tonnes. The tour covers a small fraction of the building.
The scale of Nicolae Ceaușescu’s megalomania is more comprehensible in person than in any description.
Floreasca and Dorobanți. The neighbourhoods north of the centre: the parks, the restaurants, the bars, the Saturday morning market at Piața Floreasca. This is where Bucharest actually lives and it’s where I spent most of my time.
The Old Town (Centrul Vechi). What survived the Ceaușescu demolitions: a few streets of 18th and 19th century buildings now occupied by bars, restaurants, and cafés. Lively in the evening. The hanul cu tei (traditional inn building converted to restaurants) for the architecture context.
Eating in Bucharest: Ciorbă (Romanian sour soup: multiple versions, all based on a souring agent like bran or lemon, served with sour cream and bread; ciorbă de burtă is tripe-based and the most traditional). Sarmale (stuffed cabbage rolls with minced pork and rice, baked in tomato sauce). Mici (minced meat sausages without casing, grilled, eaten with mustard). The local craft beer scene has exploded in the last decade: Bucharest now has good taprooms in the same areas as the restaurants.
Transylvania: the real one
Transylvania is a region, not a theme park, and the Bram Stoker association has largely eclipsed the actual character of the place: rolling hills, fortified Saxon churches, medieval citadels, bears, and some of the last wild European landscapes.
Cluj-Napoca. The main city of Transylvania: a university city, young, good food and bar scene, excellent starting point for the region. The St. Michael’s Church in the central square. The National Art Museum in the Banffy Palace.
Brasov. Under the Carpathians, below the massive BRASOV letters on the hillside: a medieval city with a Gothic Black Church (so named after a 17th-century fire left the interior walls blackened), the old city walls partially intact, the Council Square surrounded by Baroque houses. Cable car up Tâmpa Hill for the view.
Bran Castle. The Dracula castle. Not actually Dracula’s castle (Vlad III Tepes had almost nothing to do with it; Stoker based his novel on research that may have confused locations). A 14th-century fortress that is genuinely atmospheric and genuinely connected to the Romanian royal family in the 20th century. The Dracula marketing is heavy; the actual castle is worth a look.
Sighisoara. A UNESCO-listed medieval citadel: a small hill town with the entire upper town intact since the 14th century. The Clock Tower. The coloured houses. The street where Vlad Tepes was actually born. A town you can walk entirely in an afternoon and that rewards walking slowly.
The Transfăgărășan Highway. The mountain road built under Ceaușescu as a military route: a series of hairpin switchbacks climbing to 2,042 metres over the Fagaras Mountains. Open June to October. Driven in good weather it’s one of the great European driving roads. The Bâlea Lake at the summit, the views in every direction.
Practical things
The leu. Romanian leu, not Euro. Very good exchange rate for most visitors.
Trains versus buses. Romanian trains are characterful and slow and serve routes that buses don’t. For Bucharest to Brasov (2.5 hours by fast train, 3+ hours by slower trains), train is fine. For rural areas and smaller towns, buses (and the minibuses called maxi-taxiuri) are more flexible.
Bears. The Carpathians have the highest density of brown bears in Europe. In natural areas, follow the same logic as anywhere with bears: don’t approach, store food correctly, be aware when hiking.
Coverage in Bucharest and the main Transylvanian cities is good. Rural areas and mountain passes can be limited. I’ve put together an eSIM guide for Romania for current options.
Romania surprised me more than any country in Europe.
Give it more than the Dracula itinerary allows.
The real thing is better.
More from the region
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