3 days in Bucharest

Day by day

1. Day 1: Palace of the Parliament and Romanian Athenaeum

   Palace of the Parliament, Romanian Athenaeum and Old Town and Lipscani, then Old Town in the evening.

   1. Morning

      Palace of the Parliament

      Begun under Nicolae Ceaușescu in the 1980s after a large area of the old city was demolished, this marble colossus is one of the largest administrative buildings in the world.

   2. Late morning

      Romanian Athenaeum

      The best way inside is to attend a concert; tickets are often inexpensive compared with Western Europe.

   3. Lunch

      Lunch: Sarmale

      Traditional Romanian restaurants across the city, including beer halls in the Old Town.

   4. Afternoon

      Old Town and Lipscani

      Bucharest's historic merchant quarter is named after Lipscani street, where traders once sold goods from Leipzig.

   5. Evening

      Old Town

      Dozens of bars, pubs and clubs in a few lanes around Lipscani and Strada Smârdan, busiest from Thursday to Saturday.

2. Day 2: Stavropoleos Monastery and Cărturești Carusel

   Stavropoleos Monastery, Cărturești Carusel and Calea Victoriei, then Piața Romană and Amzei in the evening.

   1. Morning

      Stavropoleos Monastery

      Step into the courtyard behind the church to see the collection of carved stone crosses.

   2. Late morning

      Cărturești Carusel

      A restored 19th-century building on Lipscani street converted into a bookshop with white spiralling balconies under a glass roof.

   3. Lunch

      Lunch: Mămăligă

      Every traditional restaurant; ask for 'mămăligă cu brânză și smântână'.

   4. Afternoon

      Calea Victoriei

      Walk it north from the CEC Palace and duck into the curved Macca-Villacrosse Passage for coffee.

   5. Evening

      Piața Romană and Amzei

      Cocktail bars and student pubs in the side streets.

3. Day 3: Revolution Square and National Museum of Art of Romania

   Revolution Square, National Museum of Art of Romania and Cișmigiu Gardens, then Herăstrău and Floreasca in the evening.

   1. Morning

      Revolution Square

      On 21 December 1989, Ceaușescu gave his last speech from the balcony of the former Communist Party headquarters here before fleeing by helicopter from the roof the next day.

   2. Late morning

      National Museum of Art of Romania

      Start with the medieval art galleries, which are the collection's strongest and least known.

   3. Lunch

      Lunch: Mici

      Beer gardens, grill terraces and markets; a summer and May Day favourite.

   4. Afternoon

      Cișmigiu Gardens

      One of the city's oldest public parks, laid out in the 19th century, has a lake with rowing boats in summer and an ice rink in winter, a Roman Garden of busts of writers, and shaded paths a few minutes from the Old Town.

   5. Evening

      Herăstrău and Floreasca

      Summer lakeside terraces and upmarket clubs in the north.

Before you go

• Palace of the Parliament: Visits are by guided tour only; reserve a time slot in advance, especially in summer and for English-language tours.
• Romanian Athenaeum: Popular concerts and the biennial George Enescu Festival sell out; book on the Philharmonic's site.

If it rains

• Swap in National Museum of the Romanian Peasant (Piața Romană and Amzei): Look out for craft fairs in the courtyard on some weekends, where village artisans sell directly.
• Swap in Grigore Antipa Natural History Museum (Piața Romană and Amzei): Pair it with the Peasant Museum and the Arcul de Triumf on the same walk along Kiseleff Road.
• Swap in Primăverii Palace (Dorobanți and Floreasca): Combine it with the Palace of the Parliament on the same day for a full picture of the era.

Where to stay for this itinerary

With 3 nights, Old Town keeps most of this route within easy reach. For a calmer or cheaper base, Calea Victoriei and Revolution Square ($$$$) suits first-timers, culture, luxury and couples. Compare every area.

Pace and daylight

The sights in this plan add up to roughly 11–12 hours of visiting over 3 days, before meals and getting between them. Daylight runs from about 8.9 hours in December to 15.5 hours in June, so in winter start early and keep museums for the afternoon.

More or fewer days

• One day in Bucharest
• 2 days in Bucharest

Questions travellers ask