Brasov

Brasov sits in a basin ringed by the Carpathians, several hours from the Black Sea coast, so there is no beach life here at all. In summer, swimming means a hotel pool, the city's large indoor and outdoor water park, or a cold dip in a mountain lake. Anyone wanting sand and sea should treat the coast as a separate trip.

Eating in Brasov means Transylvanian cooking, where Romanian, Saxon and Hungarian traditions overlap: sour ciorba soups, sarmale cabbage rolls with polenta and sour cream, grilled mici, smoked sausages and sheep's cheese from the surrounding hills, and papanasi, fried cheese doughnuts with jam and cream, to finish. Bakeries sell warm covrigi and cheese pastries for breakfast on the go.

The restaurants cluster around Council Square and the pedestrian streets off it, with cellar dining rooms under the old merchant houses and terraces facing the Black Church. Quality is solid rather than surprising, the international choice is limited and wine lists lean on Romanian bottles. It is good, filling food at fair prices, not a reason to come in itself.

The heart of Brasov is a walled medieval town founded by Transylvanian Saxons, still laid out around Council Square with its old council house and pastel merchant houses. Above them rises the Black Church, the largest Gothic church in this part of Europe, named for the fire that blackened its walls and hung inside with a large collection of Anatolian carpets. Stretches of the town walls survive along the foot of Tampa hill, with the Weavers' Bastion, the Black and White Towers and the Catherine's Gate.

Beyond the walls, the Schei quarter was the historic Romanian neighbourhood, with St Nicholas Church and the first Romanian-language school. The museums are modest and the whole centre can be seen properly in a day or two.

Evenings in Brasov centre on the old town, where cellar bars, craft beer pubs and terraces line the lanes around Council Square and Republicii Street. Students keep a handful of clubs and late bars going at weekends, and in winter the ski crowd from the mountain resort above town adds some après-ski noise. It is pleasant and relaxed rather than late or wild, and most nights wind down well before the small hours.

Brasov is a mountain town in all but size. Forested Tampa hill rises straight from the old town walls, reached by cable car or a steep path, and the ski resort of Poiana Brasov lies about 12km up the road, with skiing in winter and hiking and mountain biking on Postavarul the rest of the year. Within an hour are the limestone ridge of Piatra Craiului National Park and the Bucegi massif, where cable cars climb to high plateaus and rock formations above 2,000m.

The Carpathian forests hold one of Europe's largest brown bear populations, and guided bear watching from hides is a real draw. Summers are warm and good for trekking, while winters are snowy and cold, and autumn colours on the beech slopes are memorable.

Brasov is the natural base for southern Transylvania. Bran Castle, sold to the world as Dracula's castle, is about half an hour away, often combined with the hilltop peasant fortress of Rasnov. In the other direction, the Saxon fortified churches of Prejmer and Harman sit just outside the city, and further out the UNESCO-listed village of Viscri keeps its fortified church and painted farmhouses.

Over the mountains to the south, Sinaia holds Peles Castle, an ornate royal summer palace, about an hour by train or car. Medieval Sighisoara, with its clock tower and walled citadel, is roughly two hours away and makes a full day. Fagaras fortress adds another stop on the road west. Public transport reaches the main towns, but a car or tour makes the villages far easier.

Brasov works well with children at a gentle pace. The old town is compact, traffic-free in parts and safe to wander, and the cable car up Tampa hill is a short, easy thrill. The city has a small zoo, a large outdoor rope adventure park in the forest and a big water park with indoor pools for poor weather. Castles at Bran and Rasnov appeal to children's imaginations, and a bear sanctuary near Zarnesti lets families see rescued bears safely. In winter, Poiana Brasov offers sledging and beginner slopes. What it lacks is any large attraction built purely for children, and cobbles and steep lanes are hard going with a pushchair.

The old town is small enough to cross on foot in a quarter of an hour, and almost every sight in the city lies within or just outside its walls. Local buses link the centre with the railway station, the outer districts and the ski resort at Poiana Brasov, and trains run to Sinaia and Sighisoara. Getting to the castles, fortified churches and mountain trailheads is slower, with infrequent rural buses, so many visitors hire a car, take taxis or join tours for those days.

Shopping in Brasov is modest. Republicii Street, the pedestrian spine of the old town, mixes high-street chains, cafés and souvenir shops selling Dracula trinkets, painted eggs, embroidered blouses and pottery. Better buys are local: sheep's cheese, plum brandy and honey from markets and delicatessens. The malls in the newer districts handle everyday needs, but there is no luxury or design scene to speak of.

Brasov is easy on the wallet by European standards. Guesthouses and comfortable hotels in and around the old town cost little, hearty meals with local beer or wine are cheap, and buses, trains and taxis are inexpensive. Restaurants on Council Square and lift passes at the ski resort in peak season cost more, and the old town is pricier than the Transylvanian countryside, but a stay here still goes a long way.

Brasov has a regional cultural life a visitor can dip into: the city's philharmonic orchestra, a small opera company staging the standard repertoire and operetta, and a drama theatre performing in Romanian. The most memorable experience for most visitors is an organ recital in the Black Church, whose great organ is heard in concerts through the summer. Open-air concerts fill Council Square in the warm months, but there is little live music of note beyond that.

Brasov has no bathing tradition of its own. Relaxation comes from hotel spas, many of them in the mountain resort of Poiana Brasov, and the pools and saunas of the city's water park. The real restorative quality is the pace: a small, quiet town where an afternoon on a terrace under the mountains is easy to come by. Romania's old spa towns with mineral springs lie further out in the Carpathians, worth a detour for the curious.