Enjoy a fantastic day away from the city! Visit Europe's largest bear sanctuary in Zarnesti, the home of almost 90 brown bears, and head deep into the Carpathian Mountains to explore the legends of Dracula and Vlad the Impaler at spooky Bran Castle, then return to Bucharest in the evening.

You'll leave Bucharest to explore Libearty Bear Sanctuary, where more than 69 hectares of forest with rivers and ponds are now the home of almost 90 brown bears. Most of the bears in the Sanctuary were rescued from the most miserable and small cages, where they were used as a form of entertainment for tourist attractions. Since 2008, this wild place can be visited, and you'll see bears climbing trees, playing in the water pools, or just lazing in the meadows.

Next, in about one hour of driving through the Carpathian Mountains, you'll arrive at Bran Castle. Also called Dracula's Castle, it was originally built as a fortress and is surrounded by an aura of mystery and legend. It owes its fame to its imposing towers and turrets as well as to the myth created around Bram Stocker's Dracula. Along the way, the castle had a strategic mission as the border between Transylvania and Wallachia. Narrow, winding stairways lead through some 60 timber rooms, many connected by underground passages, which house collections of furniture, weapons, and armor dating from the 14th to the 19th centuries.