Introducing Transylvania
Locals sometimes shake their heads over the ‘Dracula connection’, but there’s no denying a sense of spookiness about this broad, mountainous, culturally rich region, which fills the bulk of Romania’s centre. But really the Dracula thing is such a small part of a visit here, and you’re likely to forget about it along the way. Saxon towns such as Sighişoara, Sibiu, Cluj-Napoca and Braşov evoke medieval life; all make fine hubs, with hikes, ski runs, horse markets and cute villages within an hour or two. Much of the fun comes from hikes through the interlocking Carpathians (sometimes called the Transylvanian Alps), which create a U-shape on all of Transylvania’s sides but the north. Skiing is best in the Bucegi Mountains’ Prahova Valley, but outdoors enthusiasts debate what’s best for summer fun –hiking to underground rivers of the Apuseni, rock climbing at Piatra Craiului National Park, biking atop the flat Bucegi plateau, exploring the largely unknown Retezat or hiking the knee-torturing Făgăraş.
Transylvania, part of Romania only since 1918, benefits from its diverse ancestors. Saxons occupied southern Transylvanian towns, and most villages you pass are dotted with fortified churches that date back half a millennium. Going an hour north into Székely Land and towns like Târgu Mureş (Marosvásárhely) with sizeable ethnic Hungarian communities, feels like going into a different country. Throughout you’re likely to spot many Roma villagers – identifiable by black cowboy hats on the men and extravagant red dresses on the women – who sometimes usher passers-by in for meals.
So much is in Transylvania – it’s no surprise that it’s often the only part of Romania experienced by tourists.
‘We are in Transylvania; and Transylvania is not England. Our ways are not your ways, and there shall be to you many strange things.’
Dracula
Sights in Transylvania
Activities in Transylvania
Braşov
The heart and hub of Transylvania, this popular, Saxon-rich town is an inviting base with a week’s worth of day trips to castles, villages and mountains.
Cluj-Napoca
Just one letter away from ‘club, ’ Cluj isn’t quite as pretty or mountainous as the Saxon towns to the south, but it earns much of its nationwide fame for the dozens of cavernous, unsnooty subterranean discos that blare and bounce with many of the...
Transylvania destination guides
Sibiu
Trailing Sighişoara, Braşov and Cluj-Napoca in travellers’ appeal, Sibiu was once the king of the Transylvanian Saxon towns, serving as capital and dominating cultural activity.
Hotels in Transylvania
Budget Hotels & Hostels in Transylvania
Guesthouses and B&Bs in Transylvania
Apartments in Transylvania
Târgu Mureş
Lively if not jaw-dropping in beauty, Târgu Mureş – with its nearly even Hungarian and Romanian populations, as well as a sizeable Roma population – offers a different slice of Transylvania, past and present.
Need to know
Entertainment in Transylvania
Sinaia
Backed by the Bucegi, Prahova’s shining star is Sinaia (see-ni-ya).
Shopping in Transylvania