Above: Bran Castle, inaccurately billed as Dracula's Castle, in Brașov, Romania

Today the scenic beauty of Transylvania, a vast green province in the heart of Romania, remains as miraculously unblemished as when I first glimpsed it nearly 30 years ago. What has changed, however, is that this fascinating and undiscovered corner of Europe now has a number of charming guesthouses, along with some very good restaurants, which make it a pleasant and comfortable place in which to travel. The roads are also better and so is the signage, although you should come equipped with both a GPS and paper road maps.

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