Brasov sits at the foot of the Southern Carpathians, in the geographical centre of Romania — a medieval Saxon town with red-tiled roofs, Gothic spires, and forested mountains rising straight out of the edge of the old city. It is one of the most visited places in Romania, and with good reason: the historic centre is compact, walkable, and genuinely beautiful, and within an hour's drive you can be at Bran Castle, Rasnov fortress, or the ski slopes of Poiana Brasov.
The heart of the town is Piata Sfatului, the Council Square, with its 15th-century Council House and the looming Black Church — the largest Gothic church between Vienna and Istanbul, named for the soot-stained walls left by a fire in 1689. From there, cobbled streets run off in every direction: Strada Republicii is the pedestrian spine where the evening passeggiata happens, and Strada Sforii, said to be one of the narrowest streets in Europe, is worth finding for the photograph. Climb to the White Tower or take the cable car up Mount Tampa (with its Hollywood-style BRASOV sign) for a view over the whole city.
Brasov was founded by Saxon colonists in the 13th century and was known for centuries as Kronstadt. That German heritage is still visible in the architecture, the fortified churches in the surrounding villages (Prejmer and Harman are easy half-day trips), and the bakery windows full of cozonac and strudel. The Romanian quarter of Scheii Brasovului, just outside the old Saxon walls, has a different character — this is where the first Romanian-language school was founded, in 1495, and the small museum there is worth half an hour.
Use Brasov as a base. Bran Castle — marketed as Dracula's Castle, though Vlad the Impaler barely set foot in it — is thirty kilometres away and genuinely impressive regardless of the vampire nonsense. Peles Castle in Sinaia, the 19th-century summer residence of the Romanian royal family, is one of the most elaborate buildings in the country. And in winter, Poiana Brasov offers decent, cheap skiing a short bus ride from the centre.