Some capital cities don’t get the recognition that they deserve and the Romanian city of Bucharest is surely one of them. I had very little knowledge of the city and only know it as a popular stag weekend destination or a transit to get to Romania’s popular Transylvania region. Though it is both of those things, I quickly realised that Bucharest is so much more than that. It is beautiful, interesting, complex, quirky and loaded with culture and history, which is why it’s often called the “Paris of the East”.  

I visited this city as a spontaneous long weekend away with my husband and sister. We were in the middle of a house renovation and wanted to have a quick and cheap getaway so when we saw return flights from London to Bucharest for £30, we didn’t think twice about booking them!

Best time to visit Bucharest

One think you’ll want to think about when planning your trip to Bucharest is what time is the best to go. Even though the city is not one of most popular tourist destinations, you would want to find the balance between good weather and smaller crowds. We went in the shoulder season; mid-March and it was perfect. I would recommend the spring months of April – June or the autumn months of September and October. During these months, it not sweltering hot and the hotel rates are much lower than in high season (summer months!).

Getting around the city

As soon as you arrive at Henri Coanda International Airport, you can either take a taxi, bus or private transfer to the city centre. As we were doing this trip on a budget, we decided to take the bus its only around €0.85 each way. There is only one single bus line connecting the airport to the city centre that is the 783 bus and the trip to the central P. Unirri stop takes around 40-60 minutes depending on the traffic.

To get around the city, you have a whole suite of public transport methods to choose from included the metro, trams and busses. Uber is also very popular here. We used the metro often as it’s the quickest and easiest way to get around.

Where to stay

During your time visiting Bucharest, you’re going to be covering a lot – so make sure you book your accommodation somewhere central so its easy to get to everywhere. We booked our hotel 10-minutes’ walk from the Old Town which was walking distance to everything! It was called K+K Elisabeta Hotel. This modern boutique is located on a quiet street and a 2-minute walk to University Square and the Universitate metro station.

Day 1 – Exploring Bucharest Main Sights

As soon we checked in to the hotel, we dropped our bags off and set off to start the itinerary we had planned.

Stop 1: Eat at Grand Café Van Gogh

We knew we were going to be hungry so we walked from the hotel to Grand Café Van Gogh. This famous café located in the old town is a must-see, especially if love art from none other than the post-impressionist painter, Vincent van Gogh. It it set in such a beautiful and elegantly designed bistro with his Van Gogh’s paintings on each wall and lots of Van Gogh-inspired umbrellas handing upside down from the ceiling The attention to detail was perfect. The food was delicious with Khaled ordering the eggs benedict and I had a fruit pancake.

Stop 2: Relax at the Stravropoleos Monastery

We then walked 2-minutes to get to the Stravopoleos Monastery. This beautiful little orthodox church is hidden inside of the Old Town of Bucharest. A Greek month built it in the X111th century and is a combination of Romanian and Byzantine elements. It was such a beautiful place to sit and relax in – especially as we had it all to ourselves.

Stop 3: Visiting the Carturesti Carusel Bookstore

Just around the corner and a 3-minutes’ walk from the Monastery is the Carturesti Carusel. This gorgeous bookstore is a prime example of how social media can make a place famous. It translates to “Carousel of Light” and after exploring the 6 floors and over 10,000 books, you will definitely leave enlightened. It has an elegant interior and a beautiful white spiral staircase – definitely worth visiting!

Stop 4: Eat an éclair at French Revolution

We had a free Communism vs Monarchy tour booked with https://freetourinbucharest.com starting at 3pm, but whilst waiting for the tour to start, Khaled and I indulged in the best éclair we have ever eaten at French Revolution, which is located just around the corner from the Roman Athenaeum. This place is worth the hype as they are known for their impressive variety of small yet addictive eclairs. The menu goes well beyond the traditional vanilla cream and chocolate and instead have flavours like salted caramel, calamansi and raspberry mascarpone.

Stop 5: Go on a free walking tour on “Communism vs Monarchy”

Khaled and I are history nerds and would never pass down an opportunity to learn about Bucharest’s Communist era. We would definitely recommend this tour to anyone and everyone as you truly appreciate why the city and understand its people – it was so insightful. Starting at the Romanian Athenaeum, the tour guide explained how it is home to the George Enescu Philharmonic Orchestic. It has a 41-metre-high dome that tops the stunning building that hosts classical concerts throughout the year.

We then walked to the Revolution Square which is a flat expanse of land surrounded by stark communist buildings. This was where the 1989 protest that led to the downfall of Ceausescu and Communism in Romania.

This is the monument of Rebirth, a towering column topped by an object that resemble an olive – this commemorates those who perished during the uprising. It was also here on the 21^st December 1989 that Ceausescu gave an ill-fated speech designed to settle the unrest surging through the country. Protest erupted in Romania’s second largest city of Timisoara, which resulted in a massacre which then sparked violent riots across the country. Realising the futility of his speech, he and his wife made a dramatic rooftop escape by helicopter.  Intercepted by the military a few days later, there was a show trial on Christmas Day of 1989. Both Ceausescu and his wife Elena was accused of committing genocide in Timisoara and so in just one hour, the trial concluded and they were both sentenced to death. Wasting no time, the military dragged out their bodies to the public square and was executed on live TV by a firing squad of soldiers which resulted in 24 years of dictatorship coming a bloody end.

I had no idea about the revolution that took place in Romania so this tour was definitely an eye-opener.  We then walked past Victoria Avenue to get to the oldest garden in Bucharest – the Cismigiu Park. This beautiful suburban park is a charming sport to retreat from the bustling city.

From Cismigiu Gardens, the tour headed to its last stop – the Parcul Izvor, a green space which had uninterrupted views of the Palace of Parliament. The tour guide explained how this is perhaps Ceausescu’s most ambitious building project as it’s the second largest parliament in the world after the Pentagon. It is also the world’s heaviest building due to the 1 million cubic metres of marble that decorates its interiors. Commissioned by Ceausescu in the 1980s, this Palace is home to Romania’s parliament and its ministries – it looks a layered wedding cake and the photos do not this building justice. It took 400 architects to construct and was led by a 28-year-old woman!! There are also secret tunnels underneath so Ceausescu could travel to the airport during a revolution – he never used them but Top Gear did and filmed an episode here.

Stop 6: Paraclisul Catedralei Neamiliu

After the tour, we decided to walk around the area before having dinner. We started hearing the most beautiful choir sing in Romanian and to this day, I get goosebumps just thinking about how soulful their voices were. We walked into this cathedral called Paracliul Catedralei Neamiliu. It is off the beaten track and very local, so there isn’t much information about it online – but its definitely worth popping in.

Stop 7: Dinner at Caru Cu Bere Restaurant

After a long day of walking, we were getting hangry, so we walked back into the old town and went to Caru Cu Bere for dinner. This is the oldest brewery in Bucharest and opened in1875. It has an iconic Gothic style architecture and looks and feels very traditional with its vaulted ceilings and stained-glass windows. We had Zacusa for starters and a beef dish for dinner. The restaurant also features performances of Romanian folk dances which was so pleasant to watch after dinner – the atmosphere was amazing!

Stop 8: Shisha at Pasajul Macca Villacrosse  

Khaled and I debated long and hard whether we wanted to have shisha after dinner in the famous Pasajul Macca Villacrosse. We were unbelievably tired but at the same time, wanted to experience its vibrant night life. I am so glad we did decide to go as this street came alive in the evening with many shisha shops and restaurants open and people were all sitting outside socialising. We also appreciated how cheap everything is here as the shisha only costs around £7 where in London, it would be around £30!

It was around 11pm (yes we are getting old) so we headed back to the hotel and called it a night. All we knew was that we were pleasantly surprised with this city, especially as we didn’t know what to expect when we booked the trip.

Day 2 – Relax at Therme Bucharest

We woke up bright and early and after the long day of walking yesterday, we were SO ready to relax in Europe’s largest spa. We first headed for some breakfast at the M60. It was around 30 minutes walk from our hotel so as the weather was quite pleasant, we thought it’d be a nice walk in the morning. When we got there, it was so easy to miss as its down a quiet street. When we eventually found it, we loved the modern design and the chilled atmosphere. The food was delicious and the presentation was on point.

After breakfast, we walked 2 minutes to Piata Romana where there are supposedly free busses provided by Therme which runs every two hours, starting at 9am and ending its daily programme at midnight every day. However, we couldn’t locate it and so decided to keep it easy and Uber it there – it was only a 25 minutes journey.

Ok, Khaled and I have been to quite a few spas in Europe- but this was like no other “spa” we had been to before. Hands down, this is one of THE best thing to do in Bucharest and after going through a long house renovation, this was exactly what we needed. As the largest thermal spa in Europe, it is 30,000 square metres, hosts 8 pools and is divided into 3 areas:

1. The Palm – This is the main pool and earns its name from the 500 palm trees that fills it. There are heated beds, therapeutic pools each with different minerals to benefit your skin and wellbeing.
2. The Elysium – This hosts 6 themed saunas, from Nordic style where you enter sub-zero temperatures to an amazing cinema sauna that played David Attenborough wildlife documents as you sat and baked in the heat.
3. The Galaxy – This is more aimed at children and families as there are flumes and a wave pool.

There are also different packages to choose from. Most families purchase Galaxy tickets only due to the age restrictions. Palms get you into Galaxy and Palm. Elysium permits you access to all 3 areas. We bought our tickets only in advance (make sure you do as they sell out quickly!) and we purchased the Elysium package for around £23 pp. We received an electronic bracelet which you simply “beeped” into the various areas and to your locker. You can also use the wristband the same way you’d use contactless so that you could make drinks and food purchases while you sit in the pool and then pay your tab at the end. This system is brilliant as you don’t have to worry about anything. We ordered a few of these chocolates milkshakes and they were to die for! There are also a few restaurants there so you could pick which ever you want – all reasonable priced. We chose the Thai curry option which was delicious.

All the saunas in Elysium represent a location and are decorated as such. For example, the Amazon Sauna has posters on the wall that represent the Amazon trees, Alhambra Sauce has Moroccan inspired décor etc. I loved all of them – my favourite of course being Hollywood Sauna where you can watch David Attenborough but also the Himalayan sauna which was made almost entirely of pink Himalayan salt.

Each sauce has a schedule for a specific treatment, which is included in the price. Khaled and I tried a few. I almost died in the Amazon Sauna as it was just unbelievably hot and the man who was leading the activity was just flapping this huge leaf around making it even hotter. I had to leave half way – these activities are definitely not for the faint-hearted!

We had the best day here and would say it’s a must when coming to Bucharest! After spending a day relaxing the spa, we caught the free bus that is specifically for Therme Bucharest, which took us back to the accommodation. We spent the evening catching up with my sister who will be joining us for the rest of the trip!

Day 3 – Day trip to the Castles

On the third day we went on an organised day trip to explore the most famous castles in Romania, including Peles Castle, Bran Castle and some free time in Brasov in the Old town. We found this organised trip on Getyourguide.com. I explained more about this day trip here.

We got back by 8pm and the first thing we wanted to do was get some dinner! We asked a few locals where they would recommend and they suggested the Vatra Restaurant. Just off a quiet street north of Old Town, this beautifully decorated building has been serving traditional Romanian cuisine since 2001. As we entered, we were warmly greeted as our table was prepared. We ordered Zacusa (roasted eggplants, mushrooms and other veg) again for starters and a few mains to share. The food was so delicious and I would definitely recommend this restaurant if you are going to visit Bucharest!

As my sister was meeting a friend, we had to quickly get to the other side of the old town in 10-minutes and so Yaz and Khaled decided to take a scooter there. What is now becoming a European city trip tradition for us, we hired out the scooter and was on our way. We dropped her off in front of the café as Bucharest seemed quite scary at night and for a female walking alone. After dropping her off, I suddenly got paranoid whether she was going to be alright (you know when you get that bad feeling), so I tried finding a way of seeing her without her seeing me. At this point, Khaled was convinced i lost it and he found this whole thing hilarious but after coming up with different ideas, we settled in going to to a rooftop bar, right next to the garden café she was in so we could see from above. I know, genius!

We found this bar called Nomad Skybar and we took the elevator up 2 floors to the rooftop. It is slightly pricier than average for Bucharest but it is a very bougie bar. It was really nice chatting and sipping on our Oreo milkshake after such a long day, waiting for Yaz to finish.  

Day 4 – Shopping and Back Home

 We woke up feeling super refreshed but ready to go home. We packed our bags and checked out of the accommodation. Just down the road, there was a ‘Luca’ store – this is bakery chain and they always have long queues outside. We grabbed a few pastries and sat down in a coffee shop next door. We understood the hype as the pastries were so fresh and for some a reasonable price (30p per pastry!).

After our breakfast, we wanted to do a few things in the morning before calling it a day. Our first stop was Pasajul Victoria, also known as umbrella street. This is one of the most colour places in Bucharest and is notable for the vibrant decorative umbrellas suspended above the street.

We then did last minute souvenirs shopping in the old town for our families, i definetely recommed getting htem before going to the airport as they are a lot cheaper here.

We then made a final pit-stop to Hanu’ Liu Manuc Restaurant, another famous traditional restaurant in Bucharest and was actually a historic inn. We ordered this delicious dessert which was similar to a donut with creme inside before catching an Uber to the airport.

We loved our four days in Bucharest and would recommend a short weekend break to everyone!