Romania
Bucharest is the most underrated capital in Europe, a city where Belle Époque palaces, Orthodox churches and communist megastructures share the same boulevards.
Its centre was once nicknamed Little Paris for its French-trained architects, and you still see it in the domed Romanian Athenaeum, the former Royal Palace that now holds the national art collection, and the grand hotels of Calea Victoriei. Then the scale changes: the Palace of the Parliament, built under Nicolae Ceaușescu, is one of the largest buildings on earth, and his private villa in Primăverii shows how the dictator actually lived. Between them sit the lanes of the Old Town, a jewel-box monastery, a white spiral of a bookshop and an open-air museum of whole village houses. Beyond the city, a day trip reaches Peleș Castle in the Carpathians and Bran, the castle of the Dracula legend. This guide picks the tickets worth booking, the free sights worth your time and the right hotel for your trip.
Palace of the Parliament
Ceaușescu’s colossal palace, one of the largest buildings in the world, seen on a guided tour of marble halls, vast chandeliers and the balcony over the boulevard he built to lead to it. The one thing every visitor to Bucharest does.
Bran Castle and Peleș Castle Day Trip
The classic Transylvania day out from Bucharest: the fairy-tale royal palace of Peleș in the Carpathian resort of Sinaia, Bran Castle of the Dracula legend, and a walk through medieval Brașov, all in one small-group minibus day.
Bucharest Old Town and Stavropoleos Monastery
The historic core around Lipscani street: the ruins of the Old Princely Court, a galleried merchants’ inn, banks in Belle Époque palaces and the exquisite little Stavropoleos Monastery. Free to wander and lively from lunch to late.
Romanian Athenaeum
Bucharest’s domed concert hall and its most beautiful building, home of the George Enescu Philharmonic. The best way in is a concert under the painted frieze of Romanian history that rings the great hall.
Ceaușescu’s colossal palace, one of the largest buildings in the world, seen on a guided tour of marble halls, vast chandeliers and the balcony over the boulevard he built to lead to it. The one thing every visitor to Bucharest does.
The classic Transylvania day out from Bucharest: the fairy-tale royal palace of Peleș in the Carpathian resort of Sinaia, Bran Castle of the Dracula legend, and a walk through medieval Brașov, all in one small-group minibus day.
The historic core around Lipscani street: the ruins of the Old Princely Court, a galleried merchants’ inn, banks in Belle Époque palaces and the exquisite little Stavropoleos Monastery. Free to wander and lively from lunch to late.
Bucharest’s domed concert hall and its most beautiful building, home of the George Enescu Philharmonic. The best way in is a concert under the painted frieze of Romanian history that rings the great hall.
A whole Romanian countryside in a lakeside park: wooden churches, thatched farmhouses, windmills and watermills moved here from every region of the country. One of Europe’s oldest open-air museums and a lovely half day.
The national art collection in the former Royal Palace on Calea Victoriei, with glowing medieval icons, Romanian masters such as Grigorescu and early Brâncuși, and a gallery of European painting. Bucharest’s best museum.
The working seat of Romania’s president, part of which is a museum of royal apartments, salons and a rebuilt monastery church. Seen on a guided tour that takes you behind the gates of a palace few visitors reach.
The private home of Nicolae and Elena Ceaușescu in the leafy Primăverii district, preserved with its mosaic pool, private cinema, gilded bathrooms and the dictator’s wardrobe. The most revealing communist-era visit in Bucharest.
A restored nineteenth-century building on Lipscani turned into one of the most beautiful bookshops in the world: white balconies spiralling up around a light-filled atrium, with a bistro at the top. Free and unforgettable.
An interactive museum of optical illusions, tilted rooms, mirror tricks and sensory puzzles, open daily until late. The easiest win for families and rainy days, near Cotroceni Palace.
Hotels we would book ourselves, from splurges to good-value bases.
Revolution Square (Calea Victoriei)
Bucharest’s legendary grand hotel, open since 1914 beside the Romanian Athenaeum, with a spa and indoor pool, the famous English Bar and Revolution Square on the doorstep.
Check rates →Calea Victoriei
A big, full-service hotel on Calea Victoriei with an outdoor pool and pool bar, a spa, a sushi bar, the Aristocool cocktail bar and the National Museum of Art a short walk away.
Check rates →Calea Victoriei (by the Old Town)
A dependable four-star on Calea Victoriei, a couple of minutes from the Old Town and the National Museum of Art, with an indoor pool, hammam and gym and a wine-focused restaurant.
Check rates →Cișmigiu Gardens
A restored 1900 building with an Art Nouveau facade and original dome, facing Cișmigiu Gardens, where every room is a spacious apartment. Great value for families and longer stays.
Check rates →Old Town (Lipscani)
A small, characterful hotel in a historic Old Town building across from the National Bank, with just 16 rooms, wooden floors and a cosy restaurant. The best-value base inside the historic centre.
Check rates →The practical primer for a first visit: the tickets worth booking, the ID and closing-day traps, getting in from the airport, and how to fit the Palace of the Parliament, the Old Town, the museums and a castle day trip into three days.
How to choose your base in Bucharest, from a legendary grand hotel by the Athenaeum and a pool hotel on Calea Victoriei to apartments by Cișmigiu Gardens and a 16-room Old Town hideaway, matched to the trip you want.
