Medieval Castles in Romania
 

I'm used to doing 'whirlwind' backpacking tours, this year I plan to start with Romania. Perhaps spending 2 days in Bucharest, for the 3rd day, I hope to visit some medieval castles. Please can somebody give some suggestions on which to choose? There seems to be so many of them!

I actually read that Bran Castle is the one most commonly refered to as the Dracula Castle, if I get to choose any 1, will Bran Castle be worth the visit?

What a neat trip. We looked into Romania and decided against it because of transportation. My kids were probably be too small at the time, but it might be up for consideration now. We were going to go to Moldova and see Peles and Corveniste(sp?) castles. This area(Bokvina/Moldova) has lots of history, and the castles and churches tell a story of its history. We were going to visit a local congregation of the Eastern Orthodox Church for more info.

Please post a trip report when you return.

Once you get past the Dracula schlock at the base of the castle, Bran is definitely worth a visit. It has a medieval structure but the interior reflects what Romanian royalty wanted as a summer retreat in the 19th and 20th century.

we went to romania last year and it was incredible we visited bran castle and once you get past the souvenir stands it is quite lovely
hunedoara castle was awesome the town of sibiu was quaint very nice the ruins of the castle in rasnov were amazing my favorite the other thing we really enjoyed was visiting some vineyards for whatever reason they cannot export their wine here and the ones we tried were fabulous that was a lot of fun we experienced the romanian way of life when we were away from the big cities such as bucharest the smaller towns still share the roads with cows and horse drawn carriages it was actually very beautiful and the people were welcoming the food was some of the best we ever had good luck

Peles Castle and the surrounding area is beautiful, almost breathtaking, but not medieval. I believe the castle was built in the late 1800s.

Bran Castle is very neat and well worth the somewhat expensive tour. If you can forget that this is the so-called Dracula Castle, you'll enjoy it. It's not scary in the least bit and Vlad Dracula only allegedly stayed there once on a passage through.

Rasnov fortress is very impressive, but a tough walk up the hill.

If you need transportation ideas or directions, reply. Bran and Rasnov are very easy to get to from Brasov via bus (same route). Peles Castle is a bit of an uphill walk from the train station in Sinaia, but absolutely worth it. Peles was favorite of the three, even though it is by far the newest.

Brasov is a great base for this area as opposed to Bucharest, which is too big and too far away from the major castles. Trains aren't terrible, as long as you pay extra for the nicer ones. Make sure you check timetables online or at the station or you'll be stuck riding the slow and crowded trains.

I arrive in Bucharest at 3pm in the afternoon, (Baneasa to be exact), would it be recommended then, that I take a train/bus to Brasov, spend a night there, then spend the next 2, 3 days touring the castles?

Say if I'm pressed for time, which castle(s) is an absolute must?

After that, I'm heading off to Belgrade, which means I should head back to Bucharest again right? Unless someone can suggest me a direct Brasov- Belgrade connection?

Also, since I arrive in late January, that means I should expect heavy snow right? Even with the global warming now as it is?