When you think of Romania trips maybe the first thing that comes to mind is not necessarily romance. But you cannot be further from the truth. Romania, with its diverse architecture, nature landscape, perfectly preserved Romanian castles and colorful little villages, it’s a perfect destination for couples searching for a little romance.
First a little bit about the celebration of love in Romania. And no, I’m not talking about our love for traditional food, although that is internationally renowned, but about something called Dragobete. Dragobete is the Romanian alternative to the red heart-shaped balloons and chocolate filled Valentines.
Yes, we celebrate that as well as we borrowed it in the recent years, but Dragobete is much more special for us. Even though the origin of this celebration is not known for sure, most pinpoint paganism, being a celebration of fertility and nature revival.
Romanians agreed that it’s all about love and celebrate it on the 24th of February. Which is very convenient in case you forgot about Valentines. You can always make amends on Dragobete with flowers and chocolate and claim that you have patriotic spirit and refuse to celebrate borrowed traditions. And hope it works and you won’t wear those flowers as a hat!
Romanian castles – romantic destinations
There are ten major Romanian castles and so much more scattered all across the country. From well-preserved ones to recently reconstructed or pure ruins, from baroque architecture to medieval walls and local style, each castle is unique and offers a glimpse into Romania’s past.
Here are three of these Romanian castles that are the perfect background for a romantic trip.
What can be more romantic than walking hand in hand through the royal gardens and admiring a rich ornated castle imagining how it would be to live there? Maybe that castle being located right in the foothills of the mountain. Make yourself and your significant another feel like royalty by visiting Peleș Castle in Sinaia, a famous Carpathian mountain resort.
Peleș Castle was the royal residence of King Charles I of Romania, is perfectly preserved and has a German Renaissance architecture. This Romanian castle is a lovely place in any season and its gardens are perfect for that couple selfie.
If you fancy a romantic walk in nature you can consider taking the Kings Road to the Royal Sheepfold Glade, part of the Royal Domain, the place where the royal family held lavish outdoor banquets deep in the forest and guarded by the Bucegi Mountains.
The walk takes less than an hour and is more than accessible to everyone. The luxuriant forest will give you plenty of covered spots to hide your romantic kisses and enough silence for whispers of love.
Bran Castle – two different stories
About one hour away by car you can experience a different kind of romance but still guarded by a castle. This time is a castle on the hill with a big reputation: Dracula’s lair, the famous Bran Castle. How do vampire and romance go together? Well, just ask the Twilight or True Blood fans.
And if bloodsucking monsters are not your thing, then rest assured that here you will learn about a different love story, the story of Queen Maria of Romania. She is the most famous inhabitant of Bran Castle, grandmother of King Michael the last king of Romania.
Her love story is one dominated by duty, her marriage being an arranged one based on strategic reasons and with big differences in age, interests, and personality between the couple
The love that dominated her life is the one that the Romanian people had for her. In return, she was deeply in love with Romanian traditions and a patron of the arts. After her death, her body has been buried in Curtea de Arges and her heart has been moved in the Royal Crypt at Bran Castle.
Corvin Castle – the stuff of fairytales
Also known as Hunyadi Castle really looks like taken out of a fairytale. Here, on its long bridge it’s easy to imagine the knights in shiny armor riding majestic horses and fighting over damsels hearts.
Corvin Castle is the greatest Gothic-style castle in Romania and the best preserved medieval castle in Transylvania. It is probably the most beautiful out of all Romanian Castles.
It has also been restored and is just an incredible place to see and experience. I say experience because the castle has a certain vibe to it and its history holds some legends. It is said that the name comes from the Latin word for raven and also it is linked to the real Dracula, Vlad the Impaler, who is said to have been imprisoned here.
