What should I avoid in Bucharest?

The taxi situation at Henri Coandă Airport is the single biggest headache for first-time visitors to Bucharest. Licensed cabs charge 1.39-3.50 RON per kilometer, which puts the 17-kilometer ride to Piața Universității at roughly 50-70 RON ($11-15 at today's rate of 4.54 RON to the dollar). Unlicensed drivers in the arrivals hall quote €40-50 for that same trip. They approach before you clear the exit doors, some wearing fake ID badges. The fix is simple. Download Bolt before you land. It works from the departures-level pickup zone, and a ride to central Bucharest runs 45-65 RON. The Express Bus 783 costs about 3.50 RON and reaches Piața Unirii in 40 minutes, but the ticket machines accept only Romanian coins or contactless cards, so have a tap-to-pay card ready or buy an STB travel card at the airport relay kiosk.

Centru Vechi, the Old Town pedestrian zone around Strada Lipscani and Strada Șelari, pulls in most first-timers by 9pm. The walk is fine. The trouble starts when you sit down. Bars along the main strip charge 35-50 RON ($8-11) for a cocktail that runs 20-25 RON on Strada Arthur Verona near Piața Romană. Some spots tack on a 'terrace supplement' of 10-15% without mentioning it beforehand. Check the bill line by line. The restaurants with laminated English photo menus on the sidewalk tend to serve reheated ciorbă de burtă and mici that bear no resemblance to the charcoal-grilled links you'd smell sizzling at Obor Market on a Saturday morning. For proper ciorbă, the sour tripe soup with a sharp vinegar tang and a thick cap of sour cream, try Caru' cu Bere on Strada Stavropoleos. It's in every guidebook for a reason. The 1899 neo-Gothic interior with its painted ceilings and stained-glass panels earns the 15-minute wait for a table.

The exchange offices near Gara de Nord and along Calea Victoriei close to the National Museum of Romanian History advertise '0% commission' on sandwich boards out front. The catch is the spread. They might post a buy rate of 4.20 RON per dollar when the interbank rate sits around 4.54. That gap is a 7-8% hidden fee on every transaction. Better options include Banca Transilvania ATMs or BRD branches for fair rates. Avoid the Euronet ATMs, the bright yellow machines at every metro station. They default to 'dynamic currency conversion,' which locks your withdrawal into a 5-8% markup by converting to your home currency on the spot. When the screen asks whether to charge in RON or your home currency, always pick RON. That one tap saves roughly $5-10 per 1,000 RON withdrawal.

The Palace of the Parliament, started in 1985 under Ceaușescu, requires booking at least 24 hours ahead through the official site, and you'll need your passport at the gate. Walk-up visitors get turned away daily. The standard 45-minute tour covers perhaps 5% of the building's 365,000 square meters and feels rushed. Worth noting, the north entrance on Strada Izvor bakes in afternoon sun with no shade, and July temperatures in Bucharest regularly push past 35°C. Budget your water. One more thing on the periphery. Stray dogs dropped from an estimated 65,000 in 2013 after the city's neutering campaigns, but packs still appear in outer areas like Pantelimon and Ferentari after dark. They tend to sleep through the day and patrol in loose groups of 4-6 around construction sites and vacant lots once the sun goes down.