The Borgo Pass (Pasul Tihuța) — the route over the Carpathians to Bukovina that Stoker chose for Jonathan Harker's journey to Dracula's castle — climbs through pretty mountain villages and forested ridges about an hour east of town. A purpose-built "Hotel Castel Dracula" sits at the top of the pass.
The villages of Bistrița-Năsăud county still preserve Transylvanian Saxon and Romanian rural traditions — wooden churches, summer pastoral life, and unhurried daily rhythms. The painted monasteries of Bukovina are a long day trip (around three hours each way) but doable if you start early.