Having known previously nothing about the place, I was pleasantly surprised when Bucharest turned out to be a very charming capital city indeed. Home to a quaint Old Town and intriguing landmarks ranging from communist to modern times, this city shouldn’t be overlooked while traveling onward to Romania’s popular Transylvania region!
How to get there:
Bucharest has a nice international airport connecting travelers from all over the world. I hopped over on a short flight from Belgrade, Serbia. Bucharest also has bustling train and bus stations which you can take to reach the city from other destinations, though this takes probably 10x the amount of time than flying does since Romania is a rather large country to travel overland.
Where to stay/getting around:
The most charming part of Bucharest is hands down the Old Town area. Use this as a point of reference when booking your accommodation. There are a wide range of options available from super luxurious hotels to cheap hostels. I stayed in an adorable one called Antique Hostel Bucharest for $10 per night for a dorm room.
Though Bucharest is a sprawling metropolitan city, its tourist attractions are relatively compact. You can easily walk to and from each site. There is also an efficient public transportation system of buses available, especially helpful when getting to/from the airport.
What to do:
Pretty much my entire time in Bucharest, it was down pouring rain. Somehow, though, that didn’t stop the Old Town from being just as full of life and enjoyable as ever. Here you will find cobble-stoned streets, lively bars, and tons of eclectic shops and restaurants that are vibrant at both day and night with tourists and locals alike. I wasn’t about to let the rain ruin my exploration – I bought an umbrella and got blissfully lost through the winding, narrow streets of the Old Town for a few delightful hours.
One of the entire country’s most famous landmarks in located in Bucharest. It’s the Palace of the Parliament, a massive building that houses the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies of the Romanian government. Naturally I was intrigued since I’m rather obsessed with international politics. When I visited, I learned that this is the largest administrative building in the entire world, and it’s also the heaviest building in the entire world! Those are some impressive records that matched a very impressive building. Don’t miss out on this while visiting Bucharest! Kicking myself because I left my camera at my hostel this day and didn’t take a photo, but just imagine a massive, white, glorious political structure pictured below :P.
There are also several day trips available to other nearby sights of interest in Romania. There’s the infamous Pele’s Castle, nearby town of Brasov, or Dracula’s Castle aka Bran Castle. I did a long day trip to the last one, which I wrote more about here.
Though Bucharest has lots more to offer, this was essentially all I did with my time in the city before I ventured out into the Transylvanian region. This city has somewhat of a bad reputation for being boring and underwhelming, but I had quite the opposite experience. I was pleasantly surprised with its mixture of impressive architectural feats + it’s alluring and charismatic Old Town.
Did you think Bucharest was similarly inviting, or do you agree with the general consensus that it’s a boring city (even though you’re wrong :P)?
