Throughout the mountains of Transylvania, you’ll find numerous castles. While Bran Castle is more famous (as it was the inspiration for Dracula’s Castle), Peles Castle is so much more interesting to visit. The castle exterior is lovely, but the inside is a mix of eclectic decor that flows magnificently well.
It’s like you’ll visit Peles Castle on a day trip from Brasov or Bucharest, so here’s everything you need to know about planning your visit.
About Peles Castle
Compared to many other castles in Europe, Peles Castle is relatively modern. Construction began in 1873 and the castle was completed in 1914. It was originally built for King Carol 1 and built to be used as a summer palace.
For a few decades, it was used as a summer palace as intended, but when communism took over in Romania, Nicolae Ceauşescu closed the area to the public. Following the Romanian Revolution in 1989, it was reopened to the public and has been a popular tourist spot ever since.
Tickets for Peles Castle
I highly recommend picking up your ticket to Peles Castle in advance. Tickets can and do sell out, which shocks many people. Romania isn’t one of those places where you expect to see that happening. I didn’t consider it either until I met some other travelers who told me I had to book early. So, a week before my visit, I went and looked and all of the morning slots were booked. The lesson here is that if you need a specific time slot (especially the first time slot of the day), book early.
There are ticket machines at Peles Castle, but when I looked at them at 10:30 am on the day I visited, all of the tickets were sold out for that day. Avoid disappointment and book in advance.
Secondly, I highly recommend making sure that you book from the official site to get the best deal for your ticket. If you just Google “Peles Castle” one of the first results is a site that looks legitimate. It sells tickets for 29 euros. You can buy from this site and the tickets are valid, but the official price (at least when I visited) was 100 LEI (or about 19 euros). It’s your choice.
Here’s the official site where you’ll pay the official rate for tickets to Peles Castle.
How to Get to Peles Castle
You have a few options for visiting Peles Castle and it’s up to you what works best in your itinerary.
By Car
If you already have a rental car, you can drive straight to Peles Castle, park and explore. You’ll still have a bit of walking since there’s no parking directly at the castle, but plenty of people visit Peles and Pelisor Castles by car.
By Tour
For those without a car and who are short on time, I think a guided tour could be the best option. Tours depart daily from Brasov and from Bucharest and typically visit both Peles Castle and Bran Castle.
The biggest thing I’ve noticed when researching though is that you need to pay attention to what’s actually included in your tour fee. Several of the tours offered on sites like GetYourGuide don’t actually include entrance into the castles themselves.
By Train
I chose to visit Peles Castle without a car. I used the train and it was a convenient journey from Brasov, though you could theoretically do it from Bucharest as well (just be prepared for a longer train ride). Regardless of your starting point, you’ll want to get to Sinaia train station. From the station, it’s a 20 to 30 minute walk up to the castle.
When I did this, I bought my train ticket from Brasov to Sinaia the day before, but I waited until I was in Sinaia to purchase my return journey since I didn’t know exactly how long I’d need in Sinaia. Since the trains weren’t full (and I did this on a Saturday in August), it’s what I would recommend for you as well. There trains between Brasov and Sinaia are pretty frequent so you should have no problem getting a ticket back to Brasov later in the day.
Tips to Make Your Peles Castle Day Trip Better
So you’re going to visit Peles Castle. Here’s a few tips I have to make your day a little better.
Book Your Ticket Early
I’ve already mentioned booking your ticket early, but I’m going to mention it one more time. There’d be nothing worse than showing up only to find out that you can’t tour the interior of the castle.
Be Strategic About Your Arrival Time
At the time of writing, tickets to Peles Castle come with timed entries and they are broken up into four time slots throughout the day. The first time slot is 9:30 to 11:00 and then there’s 11:00 to 12:30 and so on.
If you’re like me, you’ll see that you have the time slot for 11:00 to 12:30, so you’ll plan to enter the castle at 11:00. Don’t do this. Everyone tries to enter at the very start of their time slot and the castle gets busy. To get the best experience, try to enter the castle about halfway through your timed entry. So for the 11:00 to 12:30 time slot, try to enter around 11:45 or so.
Here’s what happens. Everyone starts lining up just before the start of their time slot. Then, to prevent overcrowding, they let in 20 to 30 people at a time. It’s just enough to break up the group, but if you’re in the middle of that line, you’ll still find yourself surrounded by a bunch of people. About halfway through the time slot, the line eases up and you should be able to walk right in and be surrounded by less people.
When I visited, tour groups were also put through the same line as the everyday ticket holders. This made things even more chaotic and I had to be strategic in each room I visited to enjoy myself but also not get caught in a tour group.
I think that these castles are on the right track with their timed entries, but they still need a bit of work. It’s too chaotic and I think spacing things out with more entry windows would go a long way. Until that happens, you have to be extra strategic to avoid crowds.
Visit Pelisor Castle First
If you’re also planning a visit to nearby Pelisor Castle, I highly recommend visiting Pelisor Castle first. That’s not because Pelisor Castle is bad, but rather it’s less impressive than Peles Castle. Peles Castle is over the top and Pelisor Castle feels more ordinary with its apartments. There was one room that I thought was incredible, but overall, it was just ok.
So, if you arrive early and have some time to kill before your visit to Peles Castle, squeeze in your visit to Pelisor Castle first. There’s less lines here, but they still have the same chaotic system as Peles Castle where you’ll have to wait despite having your timed entry.
As a note, Pelisor Castle is less visited than Peles Castle. I had no problem buying a ticket for the current time slot the day of. When I finished at Peles Castle, I walked over to the ticket machine, bought a ticket for Pelisor Castle, and joined the line to enter.
Buy Your Ticket from the Correct Website
I’ve mentioned this earlier, but I want to mention it again. If you search “Peles Castle” the first official looking website that comes up sells tickets for much more than their face value. This is especially true for Pelisor Castle which only costs 30 LEI but the website had 29 euros listed.
Save your money and book from the correct website. It’s the same ticket, why pay more?
Reminder that this is the official website for Peles and Pelisor Castle tickets.
More Things to Do in Sinaia
There is more to the town of Sinaia than just Peles Castle (though Peles Castle is undoubtedly the highlight). So, if you have a little more time in Sinaia, here’s my top recommendations.
Pelisor Castle
Just a short walk away from Peles Castle is Pelisor Castle. This is a much smaller castle and it’s less extravagant (though there is one room that is absolutely gorgeous). This castle feels more like touring apartments than what you might picture as a castle.
Entrance to Pelisor Castle is 30 LEI (at the time of writing) and while I enjoyed my visit, I much preferred Peles Castle. If you’re planning to visit both, I recommend visiting Pelisor Castle before Peles Castle to avoid disappointment.
Dimitrie Ghica Park
In many of my recent posts, I’ve included parks and Sinaia is no exception. I had a little bit of time in the morning and the afternoon and enjoyed sitting in the park. The park was much livelier in the afternoon, but I had a nice stroll during both visits.
Sinaia Monastery
If you arrived by train, you’ll pass by the Sinaia Monastery on your walk to Peles Castle, so I recommend stopping in for a very quick visit. You can take a peak into Holy Trinity Orthodox Church to see the iconography decorating the interior.
Final Thoughts
I went to Peles Castle because I felt like I had to and I’m so glad I visited. Of the three castles I visited near Brasov, Peles Castle was by far the best. While you absolutely need to prepare for crowds, a little planning can make your visit that much better. Don’t overlook Peles Castle on your visit to Romania.
