Sighișoara: A Charming Transylvanian Town with a Rich History (2024)

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Stepping Back in Time: Exploring Sighisoara

Sighișoara is a beautiful medieval town in Transylvania, Romania. It is one of the best-preserved fortified towns in Europe, and has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The town is known for its narrow streets, winding staircases, and colorful houses. It is also said to be the birthplace of Vlad the Impaler, the inspiration for the Count Dracula character.

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Best Things to Do in Sighișoara

There aren’t a TON of things to do in Sighișoara – and that’s the beauty of it. Get lost in the maze of cobblestone streets of the old town, and take breaks in between strolling aimlessly at the cute cafes. While there’s a good chance that you’d see everything worth seeing by just wandering around Sighișoara, make sure to check out the highlights of Sighișoara, listed below!

Explore the Old Town: The Old Town is a maze of narrow streets and colorful houses. There are tons of clothing stores, souvenir shops, restaurants, and cafes to explore. If its in your budget, we recommend staying here!
Visit the Clock Tower: This 14th-century tower is the symbol of Sighișoara and offers stunning views of the town. It’s ominous presence and dark nature definitely fits the Dracula vibe!
Climb the Covered Stairway: These stairs connect the lower and upper parts of the old town, and were built in order to get from one to the other in the winter. This is a great place for a photo opp!
Do a Walking Tour: There are many walking tours available that will introduce you to the history and culture of Sighișoara. We recommend doing this at the beginning of your stay to have a greater appreciation for Sighișoara, AND get tips for the best things to do from a local!
Visit the Church on the Hill: This 13th-century church is the highest point in Sighișoara and offers stunning views of the surrounding countryside. Beware, these views may persuade you to explore greater Transylvania!
Visit the Vlad the Impaler Museum: This museum is dedicated to the life and legend of Vlad the Impaler, aka Count Dracula! A lot of Romanians hate that they are known for Dracula over all else, but it’s worth learning about the origins of Dracula!

Day Trips from Sighișoara

Sighișoara is an amazing place to base yourself and explore the surrounding areas. We recommend renting a car to have the most freedom, but there are also tour and public transport options for a lot of the activities surrounding Sighișoara.

Visit Salina Turda: This salt mine turned underground theme park is a must see when in Romania, and it’s only a two hour drive from Sighișoara. We went while we were in Romania, and you can read our tips and tricks for visiting.
Hike in the Carpathian Mountains: Italy has the Dolomites, Switzerland has the Alps, and Romania has the Carpathian Mountains. The Carpathian Mountains are located just outside of Sighișoara and offer tons of stunning hiking trails.
Bear Watch in the Carpathian Forest: Romania contains around 60% of Europe’s brown bears, so it’s a great place to go bear watching! This is a safe and controlled activity – no need to fear!

Best Time to Visit Sighișoara

Romania is a stunning place to visit year round, but the best time to visit Sighișoara is definitely during the summer months, from May to September. These months boast great temperatures that are perfect for exploring beautiful Transylvania and doing some hiking! It can get hot during the summer, but it’s usually not uncomfortably hot in Romania.

Though summer is a great time to visit Romania, I also feel like so many of these Transylvanian towns would be absolutely enchanting in the winter. This would definitely limit the number of activities available (and you’d need some warm clothes!), but a snowy Transylvania is something on my bucket list.

How Long to Stay in Sighișoara

Sighișoara is pretty small town so you honestly don’t even need to stay overnight. We stayed for two nights and found that it was a lovely, relaxing place to hang out, but if you’re on a time crunch it’s probably best to stay in a bigger city and doing a day trip to Sighișoara. The best way to get around Romania is using a rental car, but if you don’t rent a car you can use the public transportation or go with a tour. If you prefer to travel by tour, you can check out some options below:

Where to Stay in Sighișoara

Sighișoara is very small, so you’ll likely be within walking distance to the Sibiu fortress area no matter where you’re staying. That being said, the fortress area is the best part of Sibiu to stay in, as that’s the closest area to restaurants and the best sightseeing spots.

Sighișoara Accommodations

How to Get to Sighișoara

Sibiu is extremely easy to get to via any mode of transportation! If you have the means, we recommend using a rental car to explore Transylvania so you can get off the beaten path easily, but if you don’t rent a car, Romania is still very easy to navigate.

How to Get to Sighișoara by Plane

The nearest airport is Târgu Mureș Transilvania Airport (TGM), which is about 80 kilometers away and currently services flights from Budapest, Dortmund, London, Memmington, Antalya, Hurghada, and Heraklion. At this point, you cannot fly directly from within Romania to Sighișoara, so if you plan to visit Sighișoara from inside of Romania, going by train or bus is the better option.

If you fly into Târgu Mureș, you can take a 1-1.5 hour bus to Sighișoara; these buses run super often between 6:30 am and 8 pm and typically cost 21 lei (about 5 USD). You can check the timetables here.

Book Cheap Flights with Skyscanner

How to Get to Sighișoara by Train

Sighișoara Railway Station is well connected to major Romanian cities and neighboring countries. Trains offer a comfortable and scenic way to travel around Romania – we did most of our Romania traveling with trains and it was lovely! Popular train itineraries:

Sibiu to Sighișoara: 2 hours and 15 minutes
Brașov to Sighișoara: 3.5 – 4 hours
Bucharest to Sighișoara: 6 hours
Cluj-Napoca to Sighișoara: 3.5 hours

Check your Train Itinerary and Buy Tickets on CFR

How to Get to Sighișoara by Bus

We recommend using the trains over the buses for a more pleasant experience, but sometimes bus schedules work out better! Sighișoara is very easy to get to by bus from most Romanian cities and towns.

Check Bus Schedules on Autogari

Keep Exploring Romania….

Our Favorite Travel Resources

Accommodations: We use Booking.com for hotels and HostelWorld for hostels. We also use VRBO or TrustedHousesitters for longer stays.

Flights: We recommend using Skyscanner to find the cheapest and best flights.

Ground Transport: We use 12Go and Omio for buses and private transfers, and rentalcars.com and Discover Cars for rental cars.

Activities: GetYourGuide and Viator are the best websites for booking organized tours.

International Medical Insurance: We highly recommend SafetyWing for Digital Nomads and HeyMondo for those not traveling full-time, or who frequently engage in higher-risk adventure activities.

eSIM: We recommend Airalo or Holafly for getting data internationally.

Check out our Travel Resources Page for more of our favorite travel-related products and services!

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FAQs

What is Sighișoara known for?

This small city is known for its well-preserved medieval architecture, including its fortified walls, towers, and churches. It is also known as the birthplace of Vlad the Impaler, the inspiration for the fictional character Dracula.

How To Pronounce Sighișoara?

Here’s our best phonetic spelling: Sig-he-shwar-ah

Is Sighișoara worth visiting?

Yes, Sighișoara is definitely worth visiting. It is a beautiful and historic town with a lot to offer visitors. There isn’t too much to do outside of exploring old town, but there are lots of day trip options and it’s a great place to relax and rejuvinate.

Sighișoara: A Charming Transylvanian Town with a Rich History