Visiting Dracula’s Bran Castle in Transylvania, Romania

Disclaimer: This is not a sponsored post, I paid for this trip myself. All recommendations are my own.

We visited Bran Castle during our self-drive holiday in Romania. Located in Transylvania, Bran castle is famously known as ‘Dracula’s Castle’ because of its ties to Bram Stoker’s iconic Gothic novel, Dracula. But funnily enough Bram Stoker never actually visited the castle. Instead, as inspiration for Dracula’s Castle he used an illustration of Bran Castle from Charles Boner’s book Transylvania: Its Product and Its People.

The History of Bran Castle

But this medieval fortress does have a dark history. It has ties to Vlad the Impaler who was once the ruler of Wallachia, a region in Romania. Vlad gained his reputation as ‘the Imapler’ when he plundered Saxon villages and took the captured people to Wallachia where he had them impaled. Later, in 1462 Vlad was captured by the army of the Hungarian king Matei Corvin and was taken to Bran Castle and locked up there for two months.

Over its long and interesting history, Bran Castle saw many fortifications and invasions. However, in more recent years it was home to the much loved Queen Maria (1875 – 1938) who restored it for use as one of the royal family’s residences. We learned about Maria when we visited her home at Peleș Castle and Pelişor Castle which you can read about here. The castle was then used as a hospital for soldiers during the war before communism finally took over and it was taken from the royal family. Following the fall of communism in Romania it was given back to the surviving family who now run it.

How to Get to Bran Castle

We drove to Bran Castle and found several car parks along the main road near the entrance. You can also get to Bran Castle on a tour from Bucharest or from Brasov. If you are on a budget, then a cheap option is to get a bus from Brasov on route DN73/E574 which takes about 45 minutes. The buses leave from bus terminal No. 2 at Brasov and depart every 30min or hourly on weekends.

Visiting Bran Castle

Bran Castle is very popular with tourists so the line to enter can get rather long. However, there are some market stalls with plenty on display to keep you entertained whilst you wait in line. If you can, try and avoid visiting the castle during the weekends in summer, as it gets even busier during these times. There is no limit to how many people they let into the castle at one time and this, combined with the fact that the castle rooms are quite small, leads to rather cramped spaces.

This castle was built a long time ago, so it wasn’t designed with lavish large rooms and magnificent ballrooms like castles built much later. It was built for fortification and protection of German colonists in Transylvania. Consequently the rooms are dark and it feels like walking through a rabbit warren with twists and turns and corridors leading off to different areas of the castle. I felt like I could easily get lost in here and I think it would be rather scary to stay the night.

Unfortunately the house does not have original furnishings, but they have selected furniture from different periods to decorate the rooms so you can get a feel for what it might have been like living here. There are information boards dotted around the castle that provide information in English which gives you the opportunity to learn more about the castle and how each of the rooms was used and who once lived there. To keep everyone moving in one direction, you follow a trail through the castle and the various rooms. Eventually you get to the inner courtyard which the building is built around so people could freely walk outside without the risk of being struck by an arrow.

On display is historic clothing from the different eras protected in glass cases. There are also weapons and armoury. At the end of the tour is a torture chamber exhibition with various torture devices on display – not for the weak hearted! This is definitely a very morbid area of the castle and rather horrifying to walk around reading how each of the devices was used. But it is hard not to be interested in it in a rather grotesque way.

After exploring the castle, we spent some time looking around the stalls outside. This is a good place to buy some souvenirs whether it be beautifully patterned Romanian pottery, pretty embroidered traditional outfits, and some interesting scary masks! There are also several old historic dwellings that are open to visitors to view.

Practical Tips for Visiting Bran Castle

• How to get to Bran Castle: We drove to Bran Castle and found several car parks along the main road near the entrance. You can also get to Bran Castle on a tour from Bucharest or from Brasov. If you are on a budget, then a cheap option is to get a bus from Brasov on route DN73/E574 which takes about 45 minutes. The buses leave from bus terminal No. 2 at Brasov and depart every 30min or hourly on weekends.
• How long should I visit Bran Castle for? We spent a couple of hours exploring the castle and grounds. During busy periods you may need to plan for a longer stay if there is a long line to get in.
• Language: Romanian. Although most people we came across spoke English in the tourist areas. However, do try your hand at a few Romanian words:
  • Yes = Da (da)
  • No = Nu (noo)
  • Please = Vă rog (vuh ROHG)
  • Thank you = Mulţumesc (Mool-tsoo-mesk)
  • Hello = Bună ziua (Boo-nuh zee-wa)
• Currency: Leu, plural lei (pronounced lay), which is abbreviated as RON
• Tipping: Not required, but people usually round up.
• Electricity: The electrical current is 230 volts AC. Wall outlets generally take the European two round prong plugs. However, you are better off purchasing a worldwide adaptor that can be used in Romania as well other countries. At least then you can potentially get some further use out of it on future vacations. If you’re taking a number of electronics with you, then I would recommend purchasing a couple of these adaptors.
• Navigating: Use Google’s free Offline Maps which allows you to access free maps for navigating that can be used offline i.e. you don’t need WIFI, data, or roaming to be able to use them. Follow this detailed guide on how to use Googles Offline Maps. Even if you have a data plan in Romania, don’t rely it in case you have trouble accessing the mobile networks.
  • Using your phone as a GPS will drain your battery quickly, so use a portable battery charger which you can use to charge your phone and any other USB chargeable devices.
  • If you prefer a paper map, then purchase a Romanian road map before you go. At least it’s reliable and won’t run out of battery or malfunction like the electronic options!
• Read more Essential Travel Tips and Information for Transylvania.