PIAŢA CETĂŢII

Colorful and surrounded by pleasant terraces, the Place de la Citadelle(piața Cetății) is the heart of the old town. It was here that markets were held, judgments handed down and executions carried out. Note the stag house(casa cu Cerb), with its animal fresco topped by a trophy. This ^17th-century residence, a perfect example of the Transylvanian Renaissance style, is one of the city's most beautiful. Recently renovated, it is now occupied by a pension-restaurant.

Other houses in the area are well worth a look. A little further down, on the way back down to the Clock Tower, you'll see the yellow casa Vlad Dracul on your right, named after the father of the man who inspired the character of Dracula, the voivode Vlad Țepeș. This is the house where the aforementioned Țepeș is said to have been born and raised, between 1431 and 1435. Today, it houses a medieval restaurant with, upstairs, a very kitschy attraction for tourists in search of the vampire (admission €2). If you eat there, you can also see a beautiful ^15th-century fresco depicting Vlad Dracul. A little further down, opposite the monastery church, the Venetian House, built in the ^17th century and renovated in a neo-Gothic Venetian style in the ^19th century, is easily identifiable, with its window frames imitating the Venetian style.

At the end of Strada Bastionului, you'll find the Catholic church. Dating from 1894, its style is eclectic, both neo-Gothic and neo-Romanesque.