A cheap, chaotic capital of Belle Epoque boulevards, communist megastructures and a buzzing old town.
Bucharest works best as a 2-day city break. Bucharest is a city of grand French-style boulevards that once earned it the nickname Little Paris, colliding head-on with Ceausescu's vast communist civic centre and the monstrous Palace of the Parliament. Between them runs a lively cobbled old town of terraces, bars and churches that stays loud past midnight. It is a rough-edged place with cheap prices and real energy, easy to underrate and easy to enjoy once you stop expecting a museum-piece. It also makes a fine base for the painted monasteries or for the fairy-tale Peles Castle up in the Carpathians. This guide splits two or three days so you get the boulevards, the megastructures and the old town without wasting time on the sprawl.
Ideal stay
2 days
Best months
May · Jun · Sep
Mid budget
90 EUR/day
Airport
Henri Coanda airport sits about 18km north of the centre
Four picks that cover the realistic range, from splurge to budget. Prices are low-season starting points; check live rates for your dates.
Special occasions€€€Belle Epoque grand hotel · Calea Victoriei
A restored 1886 grand hotel on Calea Victoriei, the oldest in the city, with period rooms behind an ornate facade on Bucharest's grand boulevard. The Athenaeum, the National Art Museum and the old town are all a short walk away.
from ~180 EUR/night
Check prices
First visit€€Old town boutique · Old Town (Lipscani)
A warm, wood-panelled small hotel on a pedestrian street in the heart of Lipscani, long a traveller favourite for its value and location. The Stavropoleos church, Caru cu Bere and the old town bars are all a minute from the door.
from ~80 EUR/night
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Couples€€Leafy boutique retreat · Dorobanti and Floreasca
A calm, elegant boutique hotel on a quiet street just off the northern boulevards, a short walk from the Athenaeum and the Cismigiu gardens. It is a restful, better-value alternative to the big central hotels.
from ~90 EUR/night
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Budget€Old town party hostel · Old Town (Lipscani)
A lively, well-run hostel right in the Lipscani old town, with dorms and private rooms above the bars and terraces. It is about as cheap and central as a bed gets in one of Europe's most affordable capitals.
from ~15 EUR/night
Check pricesReal hotel photos · prices are indicative from-rates, not live quotes · booking links support the site at no extra cost
A little history
Bucharest first appears in records in 1459, tied by legend to Vlad the Impaler, the prince who inspired Dracula, and it grew into the capital of Wallachia and then, in 1862, of a united Romania. Around 1900 French-trained architects covered it in Belle Epoque boulevards and palaces, earning it the nickname Little Paris of the East, complete with its own Arc de Triomphe. That elegance was gutted twice: by a huge earthquake in 1977, and then by the dictator Nicolae Ceausescu, who in the 1980s bulldozed a fifth of the old centre to raise his monstrous Palace of the Parliament and the Stalinist boulevards around it. Ceausescu was overthrown and executed in the December 1989 revolution, which boiled over in what is now Revolution Square, and Bucharest is today the fast, cheap and contradictory capital of an EU Romania.
Bucharest is known for
Pick the itinerary that matches your trip. Each one is a full day-by-day plan, not a list of 30 things to squeeze in.
2
days
Two full days is enough for the core of Bucharest. The centre is walkable and cheap, so the Palace of the Parliament, Calea Victoriei with the Athenaeum and the National Art Museum, Revolution Square and the whole cobbled old town fit comfortably without a rush.
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3
days
Three days is the comfortable amount for Bucharest: the same walkable centre and old town as the two-day trip, plus a full day for the green north or a day trip out to the mountains. The centre and the Palace of the Parliament and the cobbled old town fill a relaxed first two days, and the third buys you the Village Museum, the lake at King Michael I Park and the northern cafes of Dorobanti, or instead a Peles Castle run up to Sinaia in the Carpathians.
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Bucharest has a walkable center, so the neighborhood you pick sets the tone of the whole trip.
Old Town (Lipscani)
First visit
The cobbled historic centre packs the tiny Stavropoleos church, the old Caru cu Bere beer hall and a dense grid of bars, terraces and restaurants into a few walkable blocks.
Calea Victoriei
First visit
The grand boulevard threads past palaces, the Romanian Athenaeum concert hall, the National Museum of Art in the former royal palace and Revolution Square where Ceausescu gave his last speech.
Centru Civic
First visit
This is Ceausescu's civic centre, the district he bulldozed and rebuilt in the 1980s around the colossal Palace of the Parliament and the wide Unirii boulevard with its fountains.
Colored months are the sweet spot. Struck-through months come with a warning. Each page covers weather, crowds, prices and what to pack.
Tight budget?
Bucharest on a budget: same trip, around 45 EUR a day
Read the budget guide →
Pairs well with
2 days is the sweet spot for Bucharest. The centre is walkable and cheap, so the Palace of the Parliament, Calea Victoriei with the Athenaeum and the National Art Museum, Revolution Square and the whole cobbled old town fit comfortably without a rush
The best months are May, June, September. Think twice about January / August: Deep winter with highs near 2C, hard frosts and snow on the boulevards, so pack proper boots and a warm coat. Rooms are at their cheapest and the museums are quiet, but daylight is short and many terraces are boarded up until spring.
Bucharest sits around the European average. Plan roughly 45 EUR per day on a tight budget, 90 EUR for a comfortable mid-range trip, and 180 EUR and up if you want top hotels and restaurants.
Old Town (Lipscani) is the safest first-visit base. The cobbled historic centre packs the tiny Stavropoleos church, the old Caru cu Bere beer hall and a dense grid of bars, terraces and restaurants into a few walkable blocks. It is atmospheric by day and turns into the city's loud, crowded party quarter after dark, spilling out onto the pavements at weekends. Base here on a first, short trip when you want everything on your doorstep and do not mind the noise.
Yes. Bucharest has a walkable center, so most of a short trip is done on foot. Henri Coanda airport sits about 18km north of the centre, and there are three sensible ways in. The express bus 783 runs from the arrivals area to Piata Unirii in the middle of town in roughly 40 to 50 minutes for a few lei, paid with an Activ card from the machine at the stop. A train links the airport to Gara de Nord, the main station, in about 40 minutes. A Bolt or a taxi ordered from the touch-screen machines in arrivals runs around 40 to 60 lei, roughly 10 to 12 EUR, but ignore the drivers who approach you at the doors, as they are the ones who overcharge.
Henri Coanda airport sits about 18km north of the centre, and there are three sensible ways in. The express bus 783 runs from the arrivals area to Piata Unirii in the middle of town in roughly 40 to 50 minutes for a few lei, paid with an Activ card from the machine at the stop. A train links the airport to Gara de Nord, the main station, in about 40 minutes. A Bolt or a taxi ordered from the touch-screen machines in arrivals runs around 40 to 60 lei, roughly 10 to 12 EUR, but ignore the drivers who approach you at the doors, as they are the ones who overcharge. It is the cheapest and usually the fastest option.
Bucharest is best known for Palace of the Parliament, Belle Epoque boulevards, Lipscani old town, The Athenaeum, Very cheap prices, The Dracula legend. Bucharest first appears in records in 1459, tied by legend to Vlad the Impaler, the prince who inspired Dracula, and it grew into the capital of Wallachia and then, in 1862, of a united Romania.