Romania

Hilltop castles, mist-shrouded farmsteads and lavishly decorated monasteries: there’s a lot more to Romania than Bucharest and the Black Sea’s brash beach resorts. Our map of Romania will help you get straight to the highlights.

The Danube snakes along Romania’s southern border, passing simple towns and villages where horse-drawn carts still do a lot of the legwork. Further north at the foot of the Carpathian Mountains, spectacular Sibiu is a wealthy hub for art, music and food. Bucharest, now shaped by consumerism as much as communism, is looking increasingly hip.

No trip to Romania would be complete without sinking your fangs into the country’s folklore, which is still rich with tales of werewolves and vampires. Don’t count on seeing Dracula, though: even spooky-looking Bran Castle, often marketed as Dracula’s Castle, has very little to do with the bloodthirsty fictional character. So explore without fear: wherever you are in Romania, new friends are easy to find.