Corvin Castle

Despite being surrounded by steel mills, Corvin Castle is Transylvania's most spellbinding fortress. You’ll be thunderstruck the moment you walk over the drawbridge, with pointed turrets rising above, into the stone courtyard. Built atop a 14th-century stone fortress by Ioan of Hunedoara, new elements and fortifications were later added to Corvin Castle by Matia Corvin and Gabriel Bethlen. The castle well is thought to have been cursed by three Turkish prisoners when they were condemned to death in spite of a promise that they would be freed after its completion. Equally chilling is the Bear Pit, where prisoners were thrown to animals after their usefulness expired.

Architectural highlights include the late-Gothic Knights Hall, with armour, cannonballs and a bulky bronze of Ioan of Hunedoara, and the 1440-built Mace Tower.

Peleş Castle

Over 40 years, dozens of builders, artists and wood-carvers brought Peleş Castle into existence. The neo-Renaissance masterpiece was commissioned by Romania’s first king, Carol I, and its first stone laid in 1875. Today this former royal summer residence is a wildly popular tourist attraction. Visits are by compulsory 40-minute guided tour; photographing inside costs a steep additional 32 lei. Inside, not a single corner is empty of silk rugs, Murano glass, carved walnut or polished marble.

Merry Cemetery