Experience the best of Bistrița

Bistrița was founded by Saxon settlers in the Middle Ages, and its Central Square keeps the long arcades of the Sugălete, a row of old merchant houses. The tall, slim spire of the Evangelical church, the town's Gothic parish church, dominates the skyline, and the old town walls survive in part. Bram Stoker sent his hero Jonathan Harker through the town on the road to Dracula's castle in the novel.

The Rodna Mountains, with the highest peaks of the Eastern Carpathians, rise to the north, and Rodna Mountains National Park has glacial lakes and high meadows. Eastwards, the road climbs to the Tihuța Pass, which the novel calls the Borgo Pass. Cluj-Napoca lies to the south-west, and the fortified churches of the Saxon villages are scattered through the hills.

Transylvanian cooking, with cabbage rolls, smoked pork, polenta with cheese and fruit dumplings, is the regional table, and local plum brandy is poured at celebrations. Summer is the best time to walk the Rodna ridges, while snow covers them for months in winter.