Bran Castle

Bran is a village in southern Transylvania, in Brașov County. It's famous for Bran Castle, guarding the pass between Wallachia and Transylvania.

Understand

The village is known for Bran Castle, heavily marketed as "Dracula's Castle". In reality it has nothing to do with Count Dracula (or with Vlad Țepeș who lately became identified with Dracula). Nevertheless, the tourists love the idea, and the souvenir shops and tour operators keep up the legend.

Get in

By public transport

By public transport you'll first need to reach Brașov; a train or bus from Bucharest will take about three hours.

Bran is 30 km (19 mi) SW of Brașov on Highway DN73 / E574. Buses run between Brașov Autogara 2 and Bran every 30 mins M-F, hourly Sa & Su (every full hour). The trip takes 45 min, fare 13 lei (€2.80) as of August 2022.

By car

Driving from Cluj-Napoca or Sibiu along the Făgăraş road, you can bypass Brașov by the Highway 73A shortcut into Râșnov.

Get around

Bran is a very small village and everything is within walking distance.

Parking

Thera are parkimeter-controlled parking space on the street in front of Bran castle, however usually is full. There are some parking lots of different prices and qualities. Probably no one is the "oficial" parking of the castle, but many claim that.

• 1 parking (Parcare castel), 8 Strada General Traian Moșoiu. paid parking. (updated Jul 2024)
• 2 parking (Parcare castel), 23, Strada General Traian Moșoiu. paid parking. (updated Jul 2024)
• 3 Parcare cu plata Castel Dr. Aurel Stoian, Strada Sextil Pușcariu. You can pay with credit card in an automatic cashier. paid parking. (updated Jul 2024)

See

• 1 Bran Castle (Castelul Bran) (approach along drive from centre of village), ☏ +40 268 237-700. Apr-Sep: M 12:00-18:00, Tu-Su 09:00-18:00; Oct-Mar: to 16:00. Heavily marketed today as "Dracula's Castle", it was built in 1377 to guard the border between Transylvania and Wallachia. It became the property of Brașov city in the late 15th century. At the end of the 18th century, its importance as a guard post diminished. After Transylvania became part of Romania, the castle was gifted to Queen Marie of Romania in 1920, who transformed it into a royal residence. The royal family were expelled when the communists took over and seized everything, but in 2009 the castle was returned to their descendant, Archduke Dominic von Hapsburg. Adults 70 lei, child 20 lei, students 40 lei.,senior(65+) 50 lei. Recomend buying tickets online. The automatic machines at the entrance are quite complex, and with a lot of people at peak hours. (updated Aug 2024)
• The Castle of Horror (next to the Bran castle grounds). Popular with haunted house lovers or families entertaining children. (updated Oct 2022)
• 2 Village Museum of the Bran Area (Muzeul Satului Brănean) (in the Bran castle grounds). Apr 16-Oct 14: M Su 09:00-18:00. (updated Aug 2024)
• 3 Medieval Custom Museum (Muzeul Vămii Medievale), 28-32, Strada General Traian Moșoiu. Apr 16-Oct 14; M Su 09:00-18:00. (updated Aug 2024)

Do

Inside the castle

• Visit Bran Village Museum in the Castle's park. It presents you pieces of the history of this old Transylvanian village.
• Hike in the nearby hills and mountains.

Buy

There is a market near the Castle. The souvenirs are quite "kitschy", but you can get one.

Eat

There is a Kürtős kalács place in the center of town, very recommended.

Sleep

There are plenty of pensions and camping places.

• 1 Vila Predelut, Str. Nicolae Bos 45 (1 km N of Bran, off Strada Predelut), ☏ +40 0728 269 332, vila@predelut.ro. Check-in: 14:00, check-out: 11:00. 3-star hotel in Alpine style, in hills towards Predelut. Six rooms with individual bathroom with shower and double size beds, with hotel-type linen and TV cable with TV LCD screen. Every room has a balcony with view to Bucegi Mountains or Magura Branului Hill and from the terrace you can see Bran Castle. The property has also a nice garden with a garden kiosk. Continental breakfast and if more than three rooms are booked they offer a rich breakfast buffet. Free wireless internet. From 190 lei. (updated Apr 2018)
• 2 Hanul Bran, Str. General Traian Moșoiu 4, ☏ +4 0268-236-556. from 450 lei. (updated Aug 2024)
• 3 Casa din Bran, Bran, str. Gen. Mosoiu, nr.15- 19,, ☏ +4 0741 236 557. from 470 lei. (updated Aug 2024)

Go next

• Râșnov is 15 km away towards Brașov. It has an interesting citadel and old churches.
• Peleș Castle is 50 km south in Sinaia, which lies in a valley through the Carpathian mountains.
• Piatra Craiului National Park is on the mountain ridge west of Bran.