Published: 15th Nov 17 3rd edition 352 pages This new, third edition of Bradt's
Romania: Transylvania remains the only standalone English language guide to this
legendary and enchanting region. Comprehensive chapter-per-county coverage is
offered, including details to cater for the diverse range of travellers to the
region, from city breaks to rural escapes, ski enthusiasts to charity
volunteers. Thoroughly updated, this new edition reflects all the changes of the
past few years, from improved transport infrastructure (in particular the
regional airports at Cluj, Sibiu and Târgu Mures) to the completion of new
motorway routes, such as that between Sibiu and Deva. Also covered are a number
of striking new accommodation options: for example the sustainable guesthouse in
Valea Zalanului owned by HRH The Prince of Wales, and the mountaintop retreat of
Raven's Nest in the Apuseni Mountains. More attractions have opened up, such as
Baroque palaces formerly owned by Hungarian aristocrats, seized under the
Communist regime and now being restored by the descendants of their original
owners. And the region is developing its offer for new types of tourism, such as
summer rock festivals, notably the Untold Festival at Cluj and Electric Castle
Festival at Bontida. Transylvania, literally the 'land beyond the forest', is a
wild, wooded, intensely romantic region, filled with mountains, gorges and
valleys, myths and legends, dragons, bears, wolves - and vampires. Bram Stoker
called it 'one of the wildest and least-known parts of Europe' a description
which remains true today. One of the most beautiful regions in central Europe
and home to three UNESCO World Heritage Sites, Transylvania preserves its
cultural and artistic treasures in a unique landscape, bordered on three sides
by the Carpathian Mountains. The hay meadows of the lower Carpathians form a
man-made, high nature-value grassland ecosystem of extraordinary diversity,
offering a beautiful display of wild flowers. The Carpathians are home too to
lynx, wild boar, and one of Europe's largest populations of brown bear. Other
natural phenomena include the Scarisoara ice cave in the Apuseni Mountains and
the Sfanta Ana volcanic crater lake in Harghita. Whatever your interests, with
Bradt's Romania: Transylvania, you can discover all of the region's many and
varied attractions.