5București.guide
ROENDE

A guide to the city

Bucharest
in five.

A short guide to Bucharest: in every area of the city, five places to explore, five to eat and five to stay. Chosen by people, not algorithms.

Old TownParliamentNorthTineretului
City sketch, not to scaleAll places on the map →

Areas of the city

We split Bucharest into areas you can explore on foot or by metro. Each has good places in all three categories, and more will follow as we check them.

City centreCentrul VechiBucharest's historic centre between Calea Victoriei and Brătianu Boulevard, with pedestrian streets, churches from the 16th to 18th centuries, the ruins of the Princely Court, bank palaces from around 1900 and the city's best-known old restaurants.~1 km from Piața UniversitățiiArmenească și Grădina IcoaneiThe old quarters east of the central boulevards, between Kilometre Zero and the Icoanei Garden: churches from the 18th to the 20th century, the Choral Temple, the Armenian Church, quiet streets of old villas and Piața Rosetti in the middle.~1 km from Piața UniversitățiiCalea VictorieiCalea Victoriei, the old Mogoșoaia Bridge road, with Revolution Square, where the Ceaușescu regime ended, and the Romanian Athenaeum, the former Royal Palace and Cișmigiu Gardens a few steps away.~4 km from Piața UniversitățiiParlament și CotroceniThe south side of central Bucharest, dominated by the Palace of the Parliament, with Patriarchate Hill, Carol I Park and the villa district of Cotroceni, where the former royal palace stands next to the Botanical Garden.~5 km from Piața UniversitățiiNordul BucureștiuluiNorthern Bucharest, from Piața Victoriei to the Herăstrău and Floreasca lakes: Kiseleff Road with the Arch of Triumph, the Village Museum and the Antipa Museum, King Michael I Park and the interwar villas of Dorobanți and Primăverii.~5 km from Piața UniversitățiiTineretului și VăcăreștiSouth-east Bucharest, from Radu Vodă Hill near Piața Unirii down to Tineretului Park and the urban delta of Văcărești: old monasteries, Bellu Cemetery with the graves of Eminescu and Caragiale, Arghezi's house and quiet districts such as Timpuri Noi.

Photo: Centrul Vechi: Jocelyn Erskine-Kellie / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Armenească și Grădina Icoanei: Yair-haklai / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Calea Victoriei: Diego Delso / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Parlament și Cotroceni: Chainwit. / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Nordul Bucureștiului: Chainwit. / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Tineretului și Văcărești: Ștefan Jurcă from Munich, Germany / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0

Where to start

Places to see, picked by us. The rest are waiting on each area's page.

Mănăstirea StavropoleosBrâncovenesc-style church of 1724Mănăstirea StavropoleosSmall Brâncovenesc-style church built in 1724 by the archimandrite Ioanichie Stratonikeas, now a convent, with a collection of old icons and a lapidarium in the courtyard.Centrul VechiBiserica Sfântul Gheorghe Nou și Kilometrul 0Brâncovenesc churchBiserica Sfântul Gheorghe Nou și Kilometrul 0The last church founded by Prince Constantin Brâncoveanu, built in 1705–1707, where the prince is buried; beside it stands the Kilometre Zero marker of Romania's roads.Armenească și Grădina IcoaneiAteneul RomânHistoric concert hallAteneul RomânThe round, domed concert hall built between 1886 and 1888 to plans by the French architect Albert Galleron, home of the George Enescu Philharmonic.Calea VictorieiCatedrala Patriarhală și Dealul PatriarhieiHistoric church complexCatedrala Patriarhală și Dealul PatriarhieiThe complex on the hill next to Piața Unirii, with the Patriarchal Cathedral of 1654–1658, the bell tower, the Patriarchal Residence and the Palace of the Patriarchate.Parlament și Cotroceni

Photo: Mănăstirea Stavropoleos: Ștefan Jurcă / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0 · Biserica Sfântul Gheorghe Nou și Kilometrul 0: Neoclassicism Enthusiast / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Ateneul Român: Josep Renalias / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0 · Catedrala Patriarhală și Dealul Patriarhiei: Ștefan Jurcă / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0

Pocket guide

A weekend ahead?
The guide comes along.

Every area in one PDF: all the places in the guide, with opening hours, phone numbers and an area map. It opens without internet too.

Centrul VechiPDF · 0.7 MBArmenească și Grădina IcoaneiPDF · 0.7 MBCalea VictorieiPDF · 0.8 MBParlament și CotroceniPDF · 0.6 MBNordul BucureștiuluiPDF · 0.6 MBTineretului și VăcăreștiPDF · 0.6 MB

Neighbouring county

A guide made the same way for the county around Bucharest, from the RO-MANIA NETWORK network. All counties in the network →

Ilfov.infoGuide to Ilfov County

Why only five?

  1. Five helps you choose.A list of 40 restaurants leaves the searching to you. Five means we already chose.
  2. Every place has a reason.Each entry says in one line why it made the list.
  3. Different places, not clones.We pick places that are not alike, so everyone finds what suits them.
  4. The list changes, it doesn't grow.When a place comes in, another goes out. We review the selection regularly.