May to September is the best time to visit Romania, with the warmest weather for exploring Transylvania and the cities. May, June and September offer a quieter, more affordable alternative to the July and August peak. Winters are cold, with ski resorts including Poiana Brașov and Sinaia drawing visitors from December. There are highlights year-round: the Sighișoara Medieval Festival transforms Europe's last inhabited citadel with jousting knights and troubadours every July, and Maramureș's painted wooden churches and monasteries draw visitors throughout the warmer months to see centuries-old frescoes and folk architecture.

The best things to do in Romania include exploring Bran Castle, wandering the medieval towns of Sighișoara and Sibiu, and exploring Bucharest.

• Exploring Bran Castle, popularly linked to the Dracula legend

• Wandering Sighișoara's UNESCO-listed medieval old town, one of Europe's few inhabited citadels

• Touring Sibiu's Saxon old town and fortified churches

• Visiting Bucharest's Old Town and the Palace of the Parliament

• Hiking or skiing in the Carpathian Mountains, around Brașov and Poiana Brașov

• Wildlife watching in the Danube Delta, a UNESCO World Heritage Site

• Discovering Maramureș's UNESCO-listed wooden churches, and the colourful, humorous headstones of Săpânța's Merry Cemetery

• Marvelling at Bucovina's painted monasteries, decorated with vivid 15th and 16th-century frescoes both inside and out

Romania is reachable from London via a change of trains in Brussels or Paris, connecting onward through Munich or Vienna to an overnight sleeper train into Transylvania, stopping at towns including Brașov and Sighișoara before reaching Bucharest. Within Romania, an extensive rail network connects towns and cities across the country, including the popular Bucharest to Brașov train, which runs several times daily and takes around 2 to 3 hours through the Carpathian foothills.