Travel in Romania: Braşov

We arrived in Braşov in the early evening.  After checking into our hotel room and finding parking (which was a bit of a hassle), we immediately set out to explore the Braşov historic town, which was founded in 1211 by the Teutonic Knights.  We were quite hungry, so first on our list was to find some food.  We ate at a burger place right in the town square, then walked around some more.

The historic town is really cool, with so many old buildings (many are restored, others are in less-than-ideal shape, especially off the main town center).  The citadel is encased by a medieval wall, complete with towers and a gate entry (Catherine’s Gate) dating to 1559.  Our first night, we checked out the Council Square as well as the Nicolae Titulescu Park, which is located just outside the historical town center.  We also walked down some of the streets connected to the Council Square.

Our second day, we checked out the Council Square again (it was less crowded), the outside of the Black Church (Biserica Neagra), and the defensive fortifications of the town.

We walked along Strada Dupa Ziduri (Behind the Walls Street), hiking up to see the White Tower and Black Tower as well as the Graft’s Bastion.

We then explored some more side streets before making our way to the other side of the citadel to see Catherine’s Gate (1559), Schei Gate (1827), and Strada Sforii (Rope Street), which is one of the narrowest streets in Europe.

From there, we headed towards Tampa Mountain, although we didn’t go up the mountain.  Instead we walked along Aleea Tiberiu Breliceanu, which is just outside the city walls.  There, we saw The Weaver’s Bastion, The Carpenter’s Tower, and the Draper’s Bastion.

We ate dinner at an Irish Pub and Restaurant, a little bit off from the Council Square, where I had the best meal of our trip (Guinness Pie- so good!).  We checked out the square at night, which was just as beautiful as during the day, then headed to bed.  The following morning, we headed on our way.

Where we stayed: Residence Central Annapolis (Booking.com)

Notes and tips about visiting Braşov:

• There’s a lot to see and do around the town- I’d recommend walking around to see as much or as little as you’d like.
• There is a lift up to Tampa Mountain and you can also walk up to the top, where you have good views of the town from above, but we didn’t do either.  Instead, there are nice views from the White Tower, which is off of Strada Dupa Ziduri.
• We really enjoyed where we stayed, and had a really nice room there.  One early evening, before heading out to eat dinner, we played cards and shared a bottle of wine in the inside courtyard.
• I wish I had read up a bit more about the town’s history before we went, but most things are well labeled with informational signs.
• Other than food and lodging, everything we did was free!