3 nights in Bucharest

This month I visited Romania for the first time, staying in the city of Bucharest.

Being 26 weeks pregnant and this being the last international city break for a while, I splashed out the extra to stay really central in the lovely 4 star Hotel Cismigui.

Super centrally located within walking distance of Old Town, I’d recommend this hotel for any trip to Bucharest. The breakfast was certainly unique with it’s girly decor complete with teddy bear companion!

At night the breakfast area is converted to a popular restaurant for dinner. Located on the 6th floor with a view of the iconic Palace of Parliament. One of the largest buildings in the world!

Breakfast here really set a great tone for the day.

During my stay in Bucharest I mainly wandered the streets visiting various restaurants, bars and stores. In terms of tourist attractions I must admit Bucharest doesn’t have a brilliant selection on offer. A few art galleries, national history museum and the Palace of Parliament as mentioned above. I chose not to visit any of these as it’s not something that really took my fancy.

That being said, there are some pretty buildings to admire and a historical Village museum that did look to be rather interesting! I’m sure it is worth a visit if you are interested in learning about Romanian history.

The main attraction for Bucharest is the Old town. Just like with any city, it’s streets are lined with various restaurants, gift shops and street food vendors.

One thing we did find interesting is the range of prices from one restaurant to another or the drink prices in different bars. For example one bar we stopped for a beer and soft drink – 35 LEI (Around £7). Another bar within a 3 minute walk, same order, 18 LEI (Around £3.50)

I know you do pay for setting and this differs in most places but it was interesting to see the contrast. Luckily money wasn’t on the agenda as we continued to enjoy our little holiday.

As we didn’t do anything particularly touristy in Bucharest I can’t tell you what tourist attractions to visit! I can however recommend all the places we stopped by for food and drink as they all had something to offer. So if you ever plan to visit Bucharest and need some ideas! >> Stay tuned for a post on this coming soon.

Finally we did take a walk around Cismigui Gradina but the lake is drained in winter so there wasn’t much to see. I’m sure in Summer it’s very different!

The main reason for visiting Bucharest with no plans to visit any attractions in the city was so we could head to Translyvania. A bit of a way out of the city but well worth the trip. You can reach here very easily by booking one of the trips that run daily.

For our plans we booked the full day Dracula Castle tour through TripAdvisor with Eastern European Experience. On this tour you visit Peles Castle, Bran Castle and Brasov. You can read my blog for more details about each place by clicking on the links below should you wish!

— Peles Castle
— Bran Castle
— Brasov

I HIGHLY recommend this tour. Not just because there isn’t loads to do in Bucharest but because it is a great way to see more of Romania. At the low cost of only £20pp at the time of writing this, it was worth every penny and more!!

You can find the exact tour I did on Tripadvisor here.

Bucharest made for a great city break and we certainly had a great time! Would I return? No… But only because a weekend break is the perfect amount of time to see everything you need to here.

I imagine on a warmer day, with the selection of restaurants and outdoor seating this city had on offer, it would make for a brilliant summer break!

Perhaps I’ll return 30 years down the line, retired as part of a cruise down the Danube.. We’ll see.