Do I need to exchange money before arriving in Bucharest?

Romania uses the Romanian leu (RON), not the euro. You don't need to exchange in advance. ATMs are everywhere in the center and at the airport. Withdraw in RON and decline any "dynamic currency conversion" the ATM offers, as it applies an unfavorable rate. Card payments are widely accepted in restaurants, shops, and supermarkets, though small kiosks and market vendors still prefer cash.

Is English widely spoken in Bucharest?

In the center, Lipscani, Floreasca, and Dorobanți, most people under 40 speak conversational English. Romania has historically favored French as a second language, so older residents may default to French before English. In outer neighborhoods and markets like Obor, English is less common. Learning "mulțumesc" (thank you) and "bună ziua" (good day) goes a long way.

How do I get from the airport to the city center?

Henri Coandă Airport (OTP) is about 17 kilometers north of the center. The Express Bus 783 runs to Piața Unirii and costs 3.50 RON, taking about 40 minutes. A train connection to Gara de Nord opened in 2023 and takes around 25 minutes. Bolt and Uber cost roughly 50-80 RON depending on traffic and time of day. Avoid unlicensed taxis inside the terminal.

Is the Old Town worth visiting or is it too touristy?

It depends on when you go. On a Tuesday afternoon, the Old Town is pleasant for walking along Strada Lipscani and visiting Hanul lui Manuc or the Curtea Veche ruins, which date to Vlad Țepeș's 15th-century court. On a Friday or Saturday night, it transforms into a loud, dense bar district. Some visitors love the energy. Others find it overwhelming. The architecture is worth seeing regardless, so consider a daytime visit if crowds bother you.

How many days should I spend in Bucharest?

Three full days covers the main landmarks, a couple of neighborhoods on foot, and at least one good meal that goes longer than planned. If you want to add a day trip to Sinaia or Brașov, budget 4-5 days total. Some travelers use Bucharest as a 2-day stopover before heading to Transylvania, which works but tends to leave the city feeling rushed.

Is Bucharest walkable?

The center is walkable, roughly a 30-minute walk from Piața Romană south to Piața Unirii. Sidewalks can be uneven, and drivers don't always yield at crosswalks. For longer distances, the metro is efficient. The stretch along Calea Victoriei from the Athenaeum to the National Museum of Art is the city's most pleasant walking route, especially on weekends when parts of it are closed to traffic.

What should I tip in restaurants and cafes?

Tipping around 10% is standard in sit-down restaurants if the service was decent. Some places add a service charge, so check the bill first. In cafes and bars, rounding up or leaving 5-10 RON is common. Taxi and rideshare drivers don't expect tips, but rounding up to the nearest 5 RON is a normal gesture.

Things to Do in Bucharest: A Complete Guide

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Air 50 good

PM2.5 12.7 · PM10 17.5

Sun 06:58 → 19:20

1 USD 4.58 RON

Bucharest sits on the Wallachian Plain, its skyline still dominated by the Palace of the Parliament: the heaviest building on earth by some reckonings, a monument to Ceaușescu's megalomania that required demolishing a fifth of the historic centre. That act of erasure is the key to understanding the modern city: Bucharest is defined as much by what was destroyed as by what survived. What survived is considerable. The Lipscani quarter, once the commercial heart of a city that styled itself the Paris of the East in the interwar years, keeps its tight network of streets lined with ornate plasterwork above ground-floor bars and bookshops. North of the centre, tree-lined boulevards around Herăstrău Park: locals still use the old name, though it was officially renamed for King Michael I: give way to art nouveau villas in Dorobanți and Primăverii, neighbourhoods where the former nomenklatura built their homes. A first-time visitor's day tends to find its own rhythm: mornings in the old town, where coffee is strong, cheap, and served without ceremony; afternoons farther north at the Village Museum, which preserves dozens of relocated rural houses along the lakeshore; evenings back in the centre, where the food runs on ciorba de burtă, mici from sidewalk grills, and natural wine sourced from Dealu Mare vineyards about an hour up the road. Public transport works if you stay patient: the metro has four lines and a monthly pass costs less than a single London zone-one fare. The city does not perform for tourists the way Prague or Budapest does. It continues being itself, which means construction dust on your shoes, a crumbling facade next to a freshly renovated one, and the persistent feeling that you have arrived somewhere still mid-argument with its own history, still deciding what to keep and what to let go.