A city of fortified walls and a UNESCO-protected historic centre, Sighisoara is perched on Tarnava Mare River and boasts intimate cafes, art galleries and hotels in former merchant houses. The city was also home to the notorious Voivode of Wallachia, Vlad the Impaler, who inspired the fictitious vampire, Count Dracula.

Things to do

Casa Vlad Dracul, the reputed birthplace of Vlad the Impaler in 1431, is a natural starting place for history lovers. It’s now a restaurant, but also houses a fascinating handicraft shop selling wood-carved Transylvanian spoons, painted eggs, glass icons and clay statues.

Medieval buildings, watchtowers, turrets and artillery bastions comprise the UNESCO-listed Sighisoara Fortress. Individual town guilds once managed 14 separate towers, and you can visit surviving ones guarded by the bootmakers, tinsmiths and tailors. Stroll narrow streets to view evolving architecture, from rural Gothic to Baroque and Renaissance.

Climb the 14th-century Clock Tower for magnificent views of the city and surrounding landscape before popping into the on-site museum filled with Romanian artefacts, scythes and tombstones. You can also hike the stairway leading to the late-Gothic Church on the Hill. Step inside to discover 14th-century frescoes and a Gothic altarpiece from the 1500s.

Dine on traditional Romanian and Saxon cuisine at the Altepost restaurant. Sit inside a brick-lined vault area or on the outside patio, then dig into spicy soups and German-style spätzle. Head over to Aristocrat to join locals for live music, dancing and espresso or cocktails.

Getting around

If arriving at Targu Mureș Transilvania International Airport, you can rent a car for the 60-kilometre drive to Sighisoara. Taxis and buses offer rides to major attractions and surrounding neighbourhoods.