Day Trip to the True Castles of Vlad Dracula

Itinerary
This is a typical itinerary for this product

Stop At: Princely Church, Targoviste Romania

In the morning meet with your guide at your hotel in Bucharest, the capital of Romania. The tour will leave Bucharest going west and visit the Royal Court in Targoviste first.

In 1436, Vlad Dracul, the father of Vlad Dracula Tepes (the Impaler), became the ruler of Wallachia and moved to the Royal Court in Targoviste. It is in Targoviste that Vlad Dracula became famous for his cruelty. In 1459, during Easter Sunday, he impaled the all old noble men and enslaved the young ones to build his Poenari Fortress. He accused them of murdering his father.

In 1459, from his royal court in Targoviste, Vlad The Impaler refused to pay tribute to the Ottoman Empire. He won one memorable victory against the Ottomans in which he disguised himself as a Janissary and attacked the Ottoman army camped near Targoviste.

Vlad Dracula also built Chindia Tower, the landmark of the city, for surveillance and defense purposes. It is partly built from a church and is 27 meters high and 9 meters in diameter. The legend says that once you climb all 122 stairs, you will never forget Targoviste and he will come back.

The oldest written document about Targoviste Royal Court dates back to 1396. In the 17th century, the Royal Court was set on fire at the orders of the Ottoman Empire and the capital of Wallachia was moved to Bucharest.

Duration: 1 hour

Stop At: Curtea de Arges Monastery, Bulevardul Basarabilor 1, Curtea de Arges 115300 Romania

Curtea de Arges was the former second capital of Wallachia, in the southern region of Romania, and the strongholds that were rebuilt in the 14th century. See its Princely Church and its fresco ed interior which is one of the first examples of Romanian paintings. The Episcopal Church (the monastery) is a recreation of the original, which was built in 1512 -1517 by prince Neagoe Basarab (rebuilt in 1875 – 1885) and Olari Church.

Duration: 1 hour

Stop At: Poienari Castle, Arefu Romania

Standing on a cliff but now in ruins; it is known as the real castle of Dracula (Vlad Tepes). To get to the top you must climb up its 1400 steps (takes approx. 1 hour). Once you arrive at the top of the Citadel you will find that the citadel is surprisingly small, one third of it collapsed down the mountainside in 1888. Entering through a narrow wooden bridge, you come across the crumbling remains of two towers within; the prism shaped one was Vlad’s (Dracula’s) residential quarters, from here, according to the legend, the Impaler’s wife flung herself out of the window, declaring that it was better this way than to be captured by the Turks, who were besieging the castle. Legend has it that Vlad himself escaped over the mountains on horseback.

Duration: 2 hours

Stop At: Trip2Ro, Piata Revolutiei, Bucharest Romania

Finally, return to Bucharest where we’ll arrive in the evening. Drop-off at your hotel in Bucharest.

Duration: 30 minutes