Bucharest
A Belle Époque capital on Calea Victoriei, where an old private bank and a hotel of 1873 now take guests, and a business airport sits inside the city limits.
- Arrival
- Bucharest Henri Coandă International · OTP
- To the city
- About 30 minutes by car
- Private jets
- Țiriac Air FBO at OTP; Băneasa for business aviation
- Best time
- April to October
The city
Calea Victoriei and the old banks.
The Grand Hotel du Boulevard opened in 1873 at the crossing of Calea Victoriei and Elisabeta Boulevard, the first in the city with electric light and a lift. Restored by Corinthia, it holds two MICHELIN Keys. A few streets away the Marmorosch-Blank bank has become a hotel, its restaurant named after one of the founding partners and a bar in the old vault.
From April to October the afternoons run from eighteen to twenty-nine degrees; May and June are the wettest months, and October the driest of the year. In winter the highs fall close to freezing.
Arriving
Otopeni, and a field closer in.
Henri Coandă, at Otopeni, lies seventeen kilometres north of the city and is open around the clock. Băneasa (Aurel Vlaicu) is much nearer, eight and a half kilometres from the centre.
- Athens 1 h 20
- Vienna 1 h 25
- Ibiza 3 h 05
- Nairobi 7 h 00 long-range jet
- Singapore 11 h 50 long-range jet
When to go
April to October.
Continental, with long warm summers. July and August reach twenty-nine degrees, June brings the heaviest rain, and from December to February the afternoons hover between one and four degrees.
- 1° J 41
- 4° F 39
- 11° M 39
- 18° A 46
- 24° M 70
- 27° J 77
- 29° J 58
- 29° A 59
- 25° S 44
- 18° O 32
- 10° N 51
- 4° D 45
What to see and do
Days in and around Bucharest.
-
Landmark
The Romanian Athenaeum
The domed concert hall on George Enescu Square, next door to the Athénée Palace.
-
Landmark
Calea Victoriei
The old avenue of palaces, banks and hotels running north from the river to the Athenaeum.
-
Landmark
The Palace of Parliament
The vast palace on Dealul Spirii, the hill that rises behind the JW Marriott.
-
Opera & music
Romanian National Opera
Opera and ballet have played in this richly decorated house since it opened in 1954 with Tchaikovsky's Queen of Spades.
Official site -
Culture
National Museum of Art of Romania
Housed in the former Royal Palace, the museum shows medieval icons and carved altars, modern Romanian art including Brâncuși, and Old European Masters.
Official site -
Culture
Dimitrie Gusti National Village Museum
On the shore of Herăstrău Park, houses, churches and workshops moved from Romania's regions form an open air village, the oldest a 1722 wooden church from Maramureș.
Official site -
Culture
Mogoșoaia Palace
Completed in 1702 for Prince Constantin Brâncoveanu, the palace mixes Byzantine, Ottoman, Renaissance and Baroque styles and houses the Museum of Brâncovenesc Art.
-
Culture
Snagov Monastery
This 15th century monastery stands on a small island at the north end of Snagov Lake and claims to hold the grave of Vlad Ţepeş.
-
Wellness
Therme București
Since 2016, thermal water drawn from 3,100 metres down has fed the heated pools and themed saunas of this complex, planted with some 500 palm trees.
Where to stay
Grand hotels of the Belle Époque.
Shown for information. We have no arrangement with any of these hotels.
- Corinthia Grand Hotel du Boulevard The hotel of 1873 where royal receptions were once held, restored with its marble staircases and the Boulevard 73 ballroom.
- The Marmorosch, Autograph Collection The former Marmorosch-Blank bank on Doamnei Street, 217 rooms, with a bar in the vault and a spa cut into dark stone.
- JW Marriott Bucharest Grand Hotel Beside the Palace of Parliament, with a steakhouse, an indoor pool and a spa.
- InterContinental Athénée Palace Next to the Athenaeum since 1914, reopened under the InterContinental name in 2023, with the stained-glass Le Diplomate ballroom.
- Epoque Hotel, Relais & Châteaux An all-suite hotel in a neo-Romanian building, with balconies over the garden and a spa.
Where to dine
The best tables in town.
No MICHELIN restaurant guide covers Romania. Scores from Gault&Millau Romania 2019, the latest edition we could find, shown for information. We have no arrangement with any of these restaurants.
- Bistro Ateneu Gault&Millau 2019, 15.5/20 Bistro Strada Nicolae Golescu
- Kaiamo Gault&Millau 2019, 15/20 Modern Romanian Strada Ermil Pangrati
- The Artist Gault&Millau 2019, 15/20 Fine dining Calea Victoriei
Elsewhere in Romania
More reasons to come.
- Brașov A Saxon town in the Carpathians, with Bran castle half an hour away.
- Sibiu Squares watched by roof windows like eyes, in the heart of Transylvania.
- Sighișoara A citadel still lived in, where Vlad the Impaler was born.
- Cluj-Napoca A university city, and the festivals of its summer.
- Tulcea Reed channels and pelicans of the Danube Delta, explored from the water.
Flying to Bucharest?
Choose how you arrive.
A Business or First Class seat on a scheduled airline, or an aircraft of your own. Tell us the date and how many are travelling, and we reply with one final price, our margin included.