Dracula's castle? The real story is of a British princess.
You'll probably come here thinking it's Dracula's castle, as that's what brings the tourists. But the connection with Vlad the Impaler (the model for Bram Stoker's Dracula) is at best tenuous. Bran is a defensive castle thought to be built on the orders of Vlad Tepes, the Impaler, also known as Vlad Dracula, but it's not clear if he spent any time here. The connection with Bram Stoker's novel Dracula is stronger, Stoker had seen pictures of Bran and it fits his description of Dracula's castle, although so does another Romanian fortress built by Vlad Tepes, Poenari. But neither castle is located near the Borgo Pass in northern Transylvania, 50 km from Bistrița, the station to which our hero Jonathan Harker travels by a train in the novel (Stoker knew his trains).
The real surprise is Castle Bran's connection with a remarkable British princess, a grand-daughter of Queen Victoria. Marie of Romania (1875-1938) was born into the British Royal family and brought up in Kent. Married to King Ferdinand I of Romania, Marie persuaded her husband to enter world war 1 on the side of the allies, no mean feat given Ferdinand was German. It paid off. After the allied victory Marie attended the Paris Peace conference and was instrumental in the creation of today's unified Romania, the Hungarian province of Transylvania becoming part of Romania. Ferdinand and Marie adopted Castle Bran as their summer home and Queen Marie was responsible for much of the interior design. Her daughter Princess Illeana lived in the castle from 1944 until forced into exile by the communist regime in 1948.
How to buy tickets for the castle
How to get to Brasov
& Brasov station
Castle Bran
Above left, the castle courtyard. Above right, the royal parlour.
Above left, Queen Marie's bedroom. Above right, King Ferdinand's bedroom.
Above left, family room. Above right, the courtyard.
The view from the castle. You can see the length of the queue to get into the castle. To the right of it is the empty lane for those with Fast Track tickets.
The grounds in front of of Castle Bran, with cafe-bar.
Castle Bran, as you first see it from the entrance gates.
How to get to Castle Bran
Most visitors use Brasov as their base, 27 km (17 miles) from Bran.
Brasov to Bran by Uber or taxi: Easiest, order an Uber or Bolt on your phone direct from your hotel to Castle Bran. Expect it to cost around 155 RON €30) each way for up to 4 people.
Brasov to Bran by bus: It's much cheaper to take a bus. If you're staying in Brasov's old town, first walk or take a taxi to Brasov bus station number 2 (Autogara 2). It's a 36-minute walk from Brasov's old town square to the bus station, see walking map. Buses leave at least every hour, journey time 54 minutes. Most are run by Transbus Codreanu, check bus times & prices at transbus.autogari.ro. There's no need to pre-book, buy at the bus station.
How to buy tickets for the castle
The official Castle Bran website is www.bran-castle.com. You can buy a ticket at the entrance to the castle grounds or online at www.bran-castle.com, tickets are not timed and cannot sell out, so there's no need to book in advance. However, the queue up the path to the castle can be long in summer and at other busy times. If time is tighter than money you can buy a more expensive Fast Track ticket which allows you to skip the line. Indeed, when I saw the length of the queue I took out my phone and booked Fast-Track tickets online, and could then more or less walk straight in.
Time tunnel & torture exhibition: There are two extra-cost attractions inside the castle, both included if you buy a Fast Track ticket. The first is a small exhibition of interesting items for torture, occupying several rooms on the upper floor of the castle. The second is a small lift which descends what was originally the castle well shaft, to a tunnel which leads to an exit at the base of the castle hill.
Brasov old town
Brasov is the nearest large town to Bran, it's where most people stay. Brasov's old town is an attraction in its own right, its Germanic appearance is no accident as it was once largely German and known as Kronstadt.
Brasov old town square.
The view over Brasov old town from the White Tower. The Hollywood-style 'Brasov' sign is just visible on the top of the far hill.
Above right, the White Tower, just up the hillside from the old town. Well worth the 6-minute 350m walk from the town square!
Above left, the Schei Gate. Above right, Catherine Gate.
Where to stay
Most visitors stay in Brasov, I recommend booking a hotel in the delightful old town, which is a taxi ride away from the station. There are plenty of good hotels, I recommend starting with the friendly Hotel Boutique Casa Chitic (pictured below), just around the corner from the old town square. It's ideal for families, with 2-bedroom apartments as well as regular rooms.
How to get to Brasov
Bucharest to Brasov: There are regular trains taking around 2h30. Choose between a CFR (Romanian Railways) train and competing private operator Astra Trans Carpatic, see the photos below. Book CFR trains at www.cfrcalatori.ro, book the Astra Trans Carpatic trains at www.astratranscarpatic.ro (change RO to EN top left for English). See Bucharest Nord station guide. Map of Braşov showing station.
Budapest to Brasov: Several sleeper trains link Budapest Keleti with Brasov every day. The nicest of these is the Hungarian-run Corona, which has a Hungarian restaurant car for dinner and a cooked breakfast, see Budapest to Brasov train information.
London to Brasov by train: See the UK to Romania page.
Brasov station
On arrival in Brasov, it's a 49-minute 3.4 km walk from the station to the old town or take a taxi, Bolt or Uber direct to your hotel. Or there are buses: Bus 4 runs every 10-20 minutes from the station to the old town, see www.ratbv.ro. Buses accept contactless bank cards, after boarding press the '+' button on the card reader once for one ticket, twice for two, then tap your bank card on it.
There's a left luggage office at Brasov station, see the luggage page for prices & opening times.
Brasov station. There are ticket windows either side of the main hall (above right), the window for international tickets & reservations is on the left as you walk in.
Bucharest to Brasov with Romanian Railways: Above, 2nd class seats on a CFR (Romanian Railways) InterRegional (IR) train between Brasov & Bucharest.
Bucharest to Brasov with Astra Trans Carpatic: Above left, 2nd class seats on a Brasov-Bucharest Astra Trans Carpatic train.
Budapest to Brasov on the sleeper train Corona: Above, as the morning sun clears the early mist over rural Transylvania, we set off to the restaurant car for an excellent cooked breakfast, see Budapest to Brasov train information.