City Information      Boka lågprisflyg -            Queensway Travel
Airport
Otopeni International Airport is located some 20km north of the city centre. Extensive refurbishment included an extension to the west of the main terminal serving British Airways, Air France, KLM, and Austrian Airlines, among others. Flight time from London is 3 hrs 20 mins. 
Baneasa airport is Bucharest’s domestic terminal, midway between the city and Otopeni. Most flights are operated by Tarom, Romania’s national airline. There are daily weekday departures to several cities including Timisoara, Cluj, Iasi, Oradea and Suceava. Internal flights are the most efficient way of doing business outside the capital, since rail travel in Romania is frustratingly slow. 
Duty-free facilities are adequate, though the gift shops in the departure lounges tend to be more expensive than elsewhere in Romania. There is a well-stocked, reasonably priced mini-supermarket on the arrival floor with a newspaper kiosk close by, plus Avis and several banks and bureaux de change. Dining possibilities extend only as far as cafeterias.
Airport to City Centre
Taxis wait outside the main terminal exit. The 25-min journey into Bucharest should cost around $12-$15, although it might take persistent bargaining skills for the driver to agree to this price. Alternatively, Sky offers shared and private limousine services for between $10 and $30, and can arrange the return trip. Look for the desks near the exits of the arrival lounges. The municipal RATB city bus service 783 departs at half-hour intervals and costs 50c for the 40-min journey to Piata Unirii, stopping en route at the Hotel Sofitel, Piata Victoriei, Piata Romana and university. Buy your ticket from the kiosk immediately outside the main terminal exit. The AIBO shuttle bus costs $1 per person.
Orientation
Bucharest has experienced rapid growth over the past three decades and is now home to 2.3 million people, equivalent to 10% of Romania’s population. However, the city centre has remained compact and easily negotiable on foot. Sadly, much of Bucharest’s historical centre was ripped out to make way for former dictator Ceausescu’s massive People’s Palace – the world’s largest building after the Pentagon in Washington – and the Civic Centre of government buildings, offices and apartment blocks that surround it. This project is slowly being completed and dominates the area south of the Lipscani district. 
Bulevardul Lascar Catargiu is an elegant street of embassies and villas situated south of Piata Victoriei. Leading off the north-western side of this square is Primavara, one of Bucharest’s best preserved districts, home to many former communist officials, embassies and diplomats. South of the square, Calea Victoriei heads down to the main banking and financial district. Off to the east of the street is the historic Lipscani area, home to some of the oldest buildings in the city as well as street markets, antique and art shops, antiquarian bookshops as well as many banks, insurance companies and offices. To the north of the Lipscani area, Piata Universitate (University Sq) was the scene of some of the most important moments in the 1989 revolution. Towering over the square is the Hotel Inter-Continental, one of Bucharest’s landmark buildings. North of the hotel is Bulevardul Magheru, a busy shopping street that’s also home to several hotels and restaurants.
Excursions      Paket Resor -      Queensway Travel
On a hot summer’s day, follow the locals to Lake Snagov, some 30km north of the city, off the road leading to Ploiesti and Sinaia. The lake is lined with houses of the well-to-do, several of them belonging to the State including the villa once used by the late Nicolae Ceausescu and his wife Elena, but there remain enough open spaces for a pleasant walk. Closer to hand – and equally popular – is Lake Herestrau in the northern suburbs of Bucharest, with entrances to the park at Piata Aviatorilor, Arcul de Triompf and near Casa Scintei. Boating, fishing and other water sports are on offer, and for the land-lover there are several cafés, restaurants and nightspots. 
The village of Mogosoia is a good place to delve into Romanian history. Constantin Brincoveanu, a 17c Romanian prince and one of the country’s best-known pre-independence leaders and patrons of the arts, built his palace here, while the grounds have been adapted to form a sculpture park for the vast Soviet-style statues of communist heroes and leaders torn down after 1989.
Getting Around
Metered taxis can be hailed on the street or at taxi ranks outside the major hotels. Try to keep to the more reliable licensed taxis, which display a registration number in a white-on-black disc painted on the door. Expect fares to rise by 35c every km, though this can vary considerably, so check the price before you set off. 
Public transport is reliable and inexpensive, albeit dilapidated and crowded. The bus and tram network is extensive and complemented by a fairly comprehensive 3-line metro system. In the city centre, the blue M2 line connects stations in Piatas Victoriei, Romana, Universitate and Unirii, while the northern ends of the red M1 and green M3 lines converge on Gara de Nord, the main train station. Bus tickets are bought in yellow RATB booths located near main stops, and metro tickets purchased in stations, either for single journeys or the better value re-usable travelcards.
What to see
Muzeul Satului: The Village Museum offers an interesting illustration of Romania’s rich rural heritage and traditions, plus an excellent gift shop selling traditional handicrafts and clothing. Founded in 1936, this was one of the first ethnographic museums in the world, with almost 300 authentic rural buildings brought from all over Romania and set in a 10-hectare park on the edge of Lake Herastrau.
Muzeul Taranului Roman: The former Museum of the Communist Party re-opened as the Peasant Museum in the early 1990s under director Horea Bernea. Since re-opening, the imaginative and moving display depicting the traditional lifestyle and Christianity of the Romanian peasant has won local and international acclaim, including the European Museum of the Year award. Bernea and his team have expanded the museum’s historical collection, collecting new material threatened with obliteration – from handmade peasant’s clothing, embroidery, and woodwork, to recordings of traditional music and a wooden church. 
National Gallery: Shooting and fire damage sustained during the 1989 revolution scuppered the consistent renovation this building has undergone since it was the seat of the Romanian royal household following independence in 1878. Among the masters old and modern, the permanent collections include: ancient Romanian art from the 10c to 16c; 19c and 20c Romanian art, including work by Brancusi; 14c-18c Italian works and 16c-18c Spanish schools, including work by El Greco, Murillo, and Velasquez.
George Enescu Music Museum: Worth visiting as much for its architecture as for its collection, this impressive turn-of-the-century villa honours composer and musician George Enescu, whose pupils included Yehudi Menuhin. Every three years, Romania holds an international Enescu music festival, the last of which in 1998 attracted Menuhin and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, among others.
Casa Poporului: Nicolae Ceausescu’s vast palace – the world’s second largest building – is now open to the public. Incomplete at the time of the dictator’s execution in 1989, finishing the parliament and constitutional court has been something of a burden on post-communist Romania. Guided tours of the west wing are available, with some awe-inspiring statistics. Strada Izvor. 
Churches: Dotted amid the communist tower blocks that form the dominant motif of Bucharest’s urban landscape are some very beautiful churches, well worth stopping to visit: Cretulescu, built 1720-22, Bucur, built in the first half of the 18c, Stavropoleos, built in the 1720s, and Sfintu Gheorghe Nou, built in the late 17c.
Shopping     Paketresa -         Queensway Travel
Bucharest has not traditionally been one of Europe’s premier shopping destinations, but things have definitely improved with the opening of Bucharest’s first large, Western-style mall, situated off Piata Unirii at 55-59 Calea Vitan. This four-floor mall has dozens of boutiques, outlets of international chains like the Body Shop, a food court, an internet café, a dry cleaners, a supermarket, and a multi-screen cinema, all in one handy location.
If you don’t fancy the city’s fledgling consumer culture, there are some attractive local handicrafts worth looking out for. Tablecloths, woven rugs and other embroidered items are sold in Artizanat shops all over the centre. These tend to stock identical items, but one of the larger outlets is on Calea Victoriei next to the Hotel Continental. The giftshops of the Village Museum and Peasant Museums sell an even wider range of traditional goods including pottery, books and icons. 
There are several good antiquarian bookshops in Bucharest, including a section in the bookshop at Sala Dalles on Magheru. For antiques and work by local artists, including icons, head for Hanul cu Tei, a small arcade of shops in the Lipscani area just south of the banking district. 
The local industry of high-quality textile production for export means that local retail outlets have sprung up offering designer clothing at reasonable prices. For ladies’ wear, try Stephanie Anais at 35 Bulevardul Balcescu, just down from Piata Romana.
Where to walk
Bucharest lacks the architecture of Prague or Budapest. Built on a far less grand scale, much of the historic centre was destroyed by Ceausescu’s megalomaniac building schemes. Nevertheless, the city has many lovely churches and some beautiful early 20c villas in attractive residential districts. 
Lipscani is one of the oldest surviving districts of the city and the faded splendour of the ornate architecture attests to the wealth of Bucharest’s former merchant classes. A walk around the area should include the palace ruins of Curtea Veche, and finish off with a beer at Hanul Manuc. Now home to a restaurant and offices, this was built in 1808 as a trading centre and stopover point for merchants travelling between East and West by a rich Armenian trader. Spacious and very attractive, the building is constructed round a large courtyard, and in summer, meals can be taken outdoors on the first floor gallery. 
Another interesting way to spend a couple of hours is walking the length of Calea Victoriei, one of the most historically interesting streets, ending in Piata Revolutiei with its former royal palace, the National Library, the Athenaeum and the Cretulescu church. Cismigiu Gardens is an elegantly landscaped park to the east of Piata Revolutiei, thronged in summer with chess-playing pensioners.
Weather and Climate
Romanian winters tend to be very cold, with snow and temperatures well below freezing, usually accompanied by a bitter easterly wind from Nov to Feb. Summers are very hot, with temperatures often reaching and sometimes exceeding 40°C in Jul and Aug.

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