Visiting Romania for the first time, we decided to drive out of the capital city Bucharest and see some of the country. With the Carpathian mountains showing prominently on the map, it did not look too far to drive.

In terms of distance Castle Bran is not 'that' far, but you do need to reckon on an overnight stop. As it happens we staying in a wonderful lodge near Brasov, but that's for another review :)

Castle Bran is located in a narrow valley, admirably serving the builders requirement as a stronghold defending and preventing attackers from passing through to the lands beyond.

In current times the castle serves as a national tourist attraction, but judging from the very few non-Romanian people walking around, it seems to be an undiscovered gem!

Those thirsting (sorry, bad pun) for signs of the Dracula written about by Bram Stoker with be sorely disappointed. The Romanian authorities have thankfully refrained from turning the place into vampire grotto and as a consequence, there is very little tourist tackiness that you would get if the castle was located in Western Europe. Yes, there are a small number of stalls/vendors in the grounds and local village shops that sell t-shirts and stuff to take home, but also a good selection of locally made craft items.

The Castle itself has seen many changes of owner, from the original Vlad the Impaler, through to the deposed Romanian Royal family. As a consequence when you wander around the inside you get a feel for both a very old and more modern living space. By modern, I mean sometime in early 1900's!!

Seriously worth a visit, not hard to find, and very thought provoking in more than one sense.

It is a beatiful ancient castle. It is located not far from Brasov city. You can come by bus or by taxi. In area of Brasov there many beatifull places, but castle Bran is the most famous because it was belong to Wallachian Prince Vlad III the Impaler. When we were there in area of Brasov there was a festival of harvest ore something like that. It is celebrated in september. There are a lot of places were you can by souvenirs.

I have first been to Bran with the image of Dracula in my mind. I was a child , on a school trip , and then years later a visit it again with my husband . It is a typical medieval castle , with long and narrow corridors, cold rooms and huge wood doors. Very well preserved, in the last century, before the communist regime , it served as a summer residence for Princess Ileana , the favorite daughter of queen Mary , so do not expect to find anything there , to remind you of Dracula / Vlad or any Bram Stoker nonsense . It is quiet , seren place now ,... in spite of the centuries, or the battles that it has witnessed in the 600 years of existence.
It makes for a fun afternoon visit no matter if you are with children, or with the one you love, or ...on a school trip . :)

We went to visit Bran Castle while on a package skiing holiday. Insteadof paying the tour operator twenty odd quid we hired our own car, which the hotel organised for us, for 45euros, and the drive to the Castle and back was interesting in itself!

The Castle is one of two claiming to be the inspiration for Dracula's Castle. The other is, apparently, a ruin, but this one is well maintained, with plenty of information about the history of the castle and how it may have influenced Bram Stoker (they use the word 'probably' a lot!).

There is a small market and some fast-food style places at the bottom of the hill which are pretty touristy. The Castle itself has a touristy feel to it as well but I'd say its still worth a visit if you are into history and culture at all.

It was interesting exploring the Castle and reading about it's history but it probably isn't that great for children and people with mobility problems will struggle with the steep path and all the steps.