Romania

Rating: ★★★★★ (4.8 / 5)

Romania is a country of wild Carpathian mountains, ornate painted monasteries, and a rich folk culture that has survived centuries of invasion, Ottoman influence, and communist rule with remarkable continuity. Transylvania, with its fortified Saxon towns, medieval castles, and bear-roamed forests, captures the imagination like few other regions in Europe, and the legend of Dracula only adds to the sense of gothic romance that pervades the landscape. Bucharest, the capital, offers a fascinating mix of Belle Epoque grandeur and communist-era gigantism, while the Danube Delta in the east is one of the continent's great wildlife sanctuaries, a vast wetland of reed beds, pelicans, and extraordinary biodiversity.