Exploring Transylvania -Brasov

Going to Romania started as somewhat of a joke. It had never been in our plan originally but the more we talked about it the more excited I became (Until we booked train tickets and I dreaded that journey.)

We decided that Transylvania was the area that we wanted to spend most of our time and knowing this we had two options, 1. Spend each night in a different town, taking our bags with our as we went, or 2. Base ourselves in one town where we could forget about carrying heavy bags for a few days at least.

We decided to go with option 2 and after doing some heavy research (aka reading blogs) decided to base ourselves in the town of Brasov.

One of the man reasons we chose to stay in Brasov was its location. It was less then an hour to two of the most famous castles in Transylvania, Bran and Peles castles and both could be reached by train or bus.

Brasov

We spent two days exploring Brasov, but it could be done in one or as a day trip if you were staying somewhere else.

The old town use to be a citadel, and most of the houses and buildings inside the walls were built by the Saxons. Outside of the walls, lived the Romanians who built the houses surrounding in their own style.

In the centre of the old town is … Square and from here you’ll easily be able to find most of Brasovs main attractions such as the Black Church, republiic Street (which houses shops and cafés) and the national threaten to name a few.

The “famous” Brasov Hollywood sign was initially built as a project by a student, but they seemed to like it so much that they kept it. There is a cable car that takes you up the hill to see it close up, or if you’re feeling fit and active (or like me had just eaten Langos) you can walk 45 minutes to the top. Be careful of bears, lynx and snakes tho.

I found Brasov good as a base, when we did go out we managed to find a vegan/vegetarian restaurant that wasn’t too expensive. There’s not much in the way of night life so if you were looking for a party you probably shouldn’t look here. There was also a big Billa if you felt like making your own food or lots of bakery’s that sold pastries.

From here we also went to:

Bran and Rasnov

Sinaia

p.s If you do come make sure to get a funnel/chimney cake. They are very cheap and huge here. Especially compared to ones I’ve seen in Hungary and the Czech Republic.