A Local Expert Breaks Down What’s Best in Suddenly Cool Romania
The central European country has fascinated for centuries. Luxury travelers are finally figuring out why.
The medieval fortress town of Sighişora in Transylvania.
Photographer: Adrian Catalin Lazar/Getty Images
In March, 34 years after the fall of communism, Romania joined the Schengen Area, which means European Union citizens traveling there by air or sea won’t need a passport. The reasons to visit extend beyond picturesque Saxon villages, beautiful mountains and the fabled home of Dracula. (Bran Castle has erroneously been linked to the fictional vampire.) Romania is now emerging as an offbeat luxury gem.
To see the highlights you’ll need five to seven days, says Raluca Spiac, founder of bespoke travel agency Beyond Dracula and the country’s unofficial tourism ambassador. Add a week if you want to get to the northeastern region of Maramureș, famous for its wooden churches, or Bucovina, home to painted 16th and 17th century monasteries.