Transylvania Day Trip from Bucharest: In Search of Count Dracula

Visit Targoviste Royal Court, the former capital of Walachia Principality from where Vlad the Impaler ruled. Targoviste Royal Court, which was conceived as a complex of buildings that served both as an administrative center and as a dwelling for the ruler, his family, numerous courtiers, and servants. Meetings of the local council took place here, important trials were carried out and documents of the chancellery were issued from here. Guests and foreign travelers, who arrived in Wallachia for a variety of purposes were hosted here too.

Before Tragoviste, Curtea de Arges was capital of Wallachia. The town`s strongholds were rebuilt in the 14th century. See its Princely Church and its frescoed interior which is one of the first examples of Romanian paintings. The Episcopal Church (the monastery) which is a recreation of the original built in 1512 -1517 by prince Neagoe Basarab (rebuilt in 1875 – 1885).

tanding on a cliff but now in ruins – this is known as the real castle of Dracula (Vlad Tepes). To get to the top you must climb up its 1400 steps (takes approx. 30 minutes). Once you arrive to the top of the castle you will find that it is surprisingly small; one third has collapsed down the mountainside in 1888. Entering through a narrow wooden bridge, you come across the crumbling remains of two towers within; the prism shaped one was Vlad`s ( Dracula`s) residential quarters.