Step inside the real-life Nevermore Academy! Explore the filming location of Wednesday, a beautiful castle nestled in the picturesque Carpathian Mountains.
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If you watched the Netflix series Wednesday, you may have noticed the gloomy building housing Nevermore Academy. The building is Cantacuzino Castle, a Neo-Romanian castle built in the early 20th century by a noble Romanian family.
The castle has always been an important attraction in the region, but is now drawing even more visitors since it appeared in the famous Netflix show. If you want to visit Cantacuzino Castle, keep reading to learn more about its history, location, and tour options.
A brief history of the Cantacuzino Castle
Cantacuzino Castle was finished in 1911 at the request of Prince Gheorghe Grigore Cantacuzino, who served as Romania’s prime minister twice between 1899 and 1907. The prince was also known as “the nabob” due to his wealth, which he used, among other things, to build three palaces, including Cantacuzino Castle.
The Cantacuzino family descends from an ancient Greek family, the Kantakouzenos, one of the most prominent families of the Byzantine Empire. The first traces of the Cantacuzino family’s presence in Romania date to the 16th century. The family had many notable members who held political positions, including several ministers and mayors of Bucharest.
The nabob was among the most prominent members of the Cantacuzino family. Aside from the Cantacuzino Castle, he ordered the construction of the Cantacuzino Palace in Bucharest and the one in Florești known as the Petit Trianon Palace.
Cantacuzino Castle was built in the Neo-Romanian style and served as the residence of the Cantacuzino family until 1930. The interior was decorated with elaborate ornaments and furniture, with wall paintings made by Venetian artists. The windows were in Murano glass, and the floor in the main hall was in Italian glazed ceramics.
Unfortunately, the castle suffered irreversible changes during the communist period. The building served as a sanatorium for several years, and during this time, the walls were painted with a thick layer of oil paint. Recent attempts to restore the original walls are proving very complicated.
Nowadays, the only original paintings you can see are those in the ballroom, since they were covered with layers of paper that preserved them when they got painted over. Furthermore, the original furniture was confiscated, so the pieces you see now are replicas.
Where is Cantacuzino Castle?
Cantacuzino Castle is in Bușteni, a small mountain town in the Prahova Valley. The valley is a picturesque location in the Muntenia region, home to many historical landmarks and tourist attractions, including Peleș Castle, Sinaia and Azuga ski resorts, and the scenic Bucegi Mountains.
You can visit Cantacuzino Castle on a day trip from Bucharest or Brașov. However, you can also spend one night or two in the area, either in Bușteni or a nearby town like Sinaia. You’ll find plenty of accommodation options throughout the Prahova Valley. I recommend checking Booking.com for a wide range of accommodation options.
How to get to Cantacuzino Castle
The closest city to Bușteni and Cantacuzino Castle is Brașov. By car, it takes just over half an hour to reach the castle. If you don’t have a car, you can catch the train from Brașov, which takes about one hour to Bușteni. The castle is a 15-minute walk from the train station.
If you want to visit Cantacuzino Castle from Bucharest, you can either drive for roughly two hours or catch the train for around one hour and 40 minutes.
The airport in Brașov is finally operational, although only a few routes from some major European cities are currently available. For now, your best option remains to fly to Bucharest. You can find cheap flights from many locations across Europe. I recommend searching on Skyscanner, it’s my go-to platform for finding the best deals!
Ticket options for Cantacuzino Castle
You have a few ticket options to visit the Cantacuzino Castle. You can access the castle grounds, interior, and exhibition gallery. You can only access the castle interior on a guided tour, which takes place every hour. However, the guided tour is only in Romania. You can still join it and admire the beautiful interiors. If you want a guided tour in English, you must reserve it in advance.
The ticket for the complete visit, including castle grounds, indoor guided tour, and exhibition gallery, costs 75 RON (roughly €15). If you just want to visit the castle grounds and either the exhibition or the inside of the castle, the ticket costs 55 RON (around €11). You can now also purchase your tickets online on the Cantacuzino Castle website.
The guided tour of the interior lasts around one hour and starts five minutes after each hour, the first one at 10.05. I joined the first tour, and there were only a few other visitors, despite it being a Saturday, so I would say it’s a good idea to get there early. There were more people when I finished the tour.
Check out more information about the schedules, tours, and exhibitions on the Cantacuzino Castle website. On-site, you’ll also find a restaurant and a bar with a gorgeous terrace where you can have a coffee while admiring the spectacular mountain view. In 2025, they also added a “Secret Room” where you can get a Wednesday-style picture. I have yet to check this one out, hopefully soon.
Filming location of Netflix’s Wednesday
In the clear light of a sunny day and against the light blue winter sky, it’s hard to recognize Cantacuzino Castle as the gloomy Nevermore Academy. Of course, CGI had something to do with the creepy transformation, but if you look carefully, you’ll notice the resemblance.
The castle served as a filming location for the outdoor scenes, and you can still see the targets that Wednesday shoots in the archery scene in episode two. But other scenes were shot in different locations in Romania. A few worth mentioning are the ones from Wednesday’s previous school and the swimming pool from episode one, shot in Bucharest, the scenes in the botany class, shot in the Bucharest Botanical Garden, and the ball scene, shot in Casa Monteoru, also in Bucharest. Check out this video for more Wednesday filming locations in Romania.
What else to see near Bușteni
There is much more to see near Bușteni aside from Wednesday’s filming location. If you only have one day to spend in the area, you can combine your visit to Cantacuzino Castle with Sinaia Monastery and Peleș Castle. These two landmarks are located in the small town of Sinaia, only 10 minutes by train from Bușteni.
You’ll likely fly to Bucharest, but I recommend visiting Brașov and spending at least one night there. The city in the Transylvania region is one of the most beautiful in Romania, home to a charming historical center. If you need convincing, check out this article on the reasons to visit Brașov.
Finally, you can also join a guided tour that includes several locations, like this tour of three castles, Peleș, Bran, and Cantacuzino. Here are other tours from Bucharest.
If you visit Bușteni, Cantacuzino Castle, and any other locations of the Netflix show Wednesday, let me know your thoughts in the comments section. Enjoy your visit!
Travel Resources
| Website/App | Category | Description | Book Here |
|---|---|---|---|
| Booking.com | Accommodation | My favorite website for great accommodations for different budgets. | Find a Place |
| Kiwi.com | Flights | My new favorite platform for finding affordable flights. | Find Flights |
| Omio | Transportation | You can book everything from buses and trains to ferry rides. | Transportation |
| SafetyWing | Insurance | One of the best travel medical insurances for frequent travelers. | Get Insured |
| Manawa | Activities | A great platform to book activities and adventures with local hosts. | Find Activities |
| GetYourGuide | Activities | My go-to platform for tours and experiences with lots of options. | Experiences |
| Viator | Activities | A great alternative for activities all over the world. | Experiences |
| GuruWalk | Free tours | A great platform for free walking tours (tipping is recommended). | Book a tour |
| DiscoverCars | Car rental | My go-to platform for car rental anywhere in the world. | Rent a Car |
| Airalo | eSIM | My favorite app for buying digital SIM cards when traveling abroad. | Get an eSIM |
| Saily | eSIM | A great alternative to Airalo, with cheaper plans in some destinations. | Get an eSIM |
| Xe | Currency | A currency converter showing real-time rates. Website or app. | Get Xe App |
| Maps.me | Navigation | My favorite navigation app for hiking trails and remote areas. | Get Maps |
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