During my time in Romania, I got to pay a visit to Bușteni! It’s not a particularly large town, but there are a few great things you can do there!
One of the town’s biggest claims to fame is Cantacuzino Castle, the filming location for the Netflix show Wednesday! Since they only used the exterior of the castle for filming, the interior will be a complete surprise!
The Town
We arrived in Bușteni by train from Predeal, where I was staying and working at a summer camp.
It’s a small town, and you’ll probably immediately notice the cross atop the massive, mist-covered Bucegi mountains that overlook it.
We had several hours before our scheduled tour of the castle, so our group split up to explore the town. We headed off to shops and parks or just walked the streets to see what we found.
Bușteni had a park that was small and seemed somewhat lackluster. It had benches and some greenery, but that was about it. Around the back of the park, though, I saw a nice, new-looking playground and a small amphitheater. This definitely changed my mind about it a bit!
Walking the streets, we visited a few shops, saw some restaurants, and just explored around for a while until we decided to move on. There’s a decent bit of stuff to check out as a tourist, but nothing out of the ordinary. We mainly visited grocery stores and clothing shops just for something to do.
While walking, we did see a few signs advertising ATV trips in the mountains. If I had the time, that would have been really fun. If you’re headed out here and a Bucegi Mountain ATV trip interests you, it might be worth checking out!
Cantacuzino Castle
So, after exploring for a bit, we finally headed for the castle. It’s across the train tracks from the main town of Bușteni, so there’s only one bridge you can take to get there, but the view along the walk is pretty nice!
When you go up the road next to the castle— by car or by foot— there will be a big rock wall on your left, after which you’ll do a quick 180 to see a big sign that says “Welcome to the filming place of Wednesday”!
The Castle Grounds
The castle grounds are quite nice! It’s on the peak of the hill, so everything else flows down from it in a sea of green. Fountains, flowers, trees, and shrubbery surround you on all sides.
Various cardboard cutouts for Wednesday-themed pictures are placed all over the area, and it’s very clear that they’re playing into the show’s popularity for tourism. In my opinion, these decorations don’t take away from the experience, especially because they’re nowhere to be found once you go inside the castle!
There are also several large swings, and since we had some extra time, we all took turns on them. They’re tied really high up in the trees, which means you can get them swinging pretty far!
We didn’t see the area behind the castle until afterwards, but I’ll just touch on it now.
There are a few sculptures and statues around the grounds, including a piece from Picasso himself!
In addition, behind the castle you’ll find a few photoshoot locations, including the location of the archery scene from Wednesday’s first season, with the castle in full view behind. There’s also a secret room. I’m not supposed to talk about it, because it’s secret…
But I will anyway. It’s not actually that secret, that’s just how they refer to it. It’s a recreation of Wednesday and Enid’s room from the show, with the window from their room that you can take a picture in front of!
It isn’t the actual set for the room, though. Just a recreation of it for photoshoots. You can pay for a professional photo or take one yourself.
There’s some room to explore around the grounds behind the castle, going up the hill onto a small lookout or just wandering some of the grassy paths to get pictures and such.
Inside the Castle
It always seems to be the case with castles that the inside feels way bigger than the outside.
The castle on the outside felt somewhat small (especially when compared with something like Stirling Castle in Scotland), as did Peleș Castle in Sinaia. But as soon as you walk in, your entire perception of it changes. High-ceilinged rooms give way to more high-ceilinged rooms. Then they somehow lead to other rooms that seem like they shouldn’t be able to fit into the building at all!
Unfortunately, much of the original wallpaper and art on the castle was destroyed or irrevocably covered up during Romania’s communist era. Only one room has retained the original designs (thanks to a worker who went to great lengths to make sure it stayed)!
During the tour, you come out onto a balcony with great views of Bușteni, and a perfect spot for pictures! If you’re in a group, then your guide will probably offer to take a group photo. Ours did, at least!
The next room was one of the highlights of the whole thing for me. They have a room with Roman artifacts and old weapons to look at.
Then the guide asked for a volunteer while holding a replica of a shield.
I volunteered, and several of the people in my group also volunteered me. He handed me the shield, then gave me a sword and a helmet, all adjusted to the proper weight of the Roman gear. It’s pretty heavy!
Some of my friends took pictures of me, and the fact that I was wearing a red shirt made everything match so much better. I looked like a proper Roman legionary!
A few other people got pictures in the same gear, and we finished out our tour of the castle.
Finding Food in Bușteni
After departing from the castle, we all split up again either to leave the town or to go find food.
With my group, we ate at a restaurant called La Turcu’. It had a big enclosed terrace area to eat, so we had some good views of our surroundings. I got a pasta dish with a smoothie, and really enjoyed it!
After that, we made our way through the rain to reach the train station for our departure back to Predeal.
Conclusion
Bușteni is a great place to take a day trip for Cantacuzino Castle, or to stay longer if you want to take a trip into the mountains.
Either way, I wouldn’t plan on spending your whole trip to Romania in Bușteni, but it’s definitely worth visiting while you’re in the area! If you have extra time, you could always visit Sinaia, Bran, or Bucharest!
You made me laugh when you started talking about the secret room!