I visited Romania in April of 2026 and was amazed by what this country has to offer. This is one of Europe’s most underrated destinations – it has castles, mountains, and vibrant cities, meaning there’s a little something for everyone. If Romania’s charm has caught your attention, keep reading to discover the can’t-miss places and experiences that make it so unforgettable.
Where to Stay
I stayed at two different hotels during my time in Bucharest and loved both, for different reasons. If you want to stay at a very nice hotel, it’s no contest – you will love the Intercontinental Athenee Palace. It’s an incredible five-star hotel with a gorgeous spa and an incredible bar. If you are interested in booking this hotel, please let me know – my clients get perks like a $100 property credit, free breakfast, room upgrades, and early/late checkout.
I also stayed at the Moxy Bucharest Old Town – the primary benefit being it’s proximity to the Old Town area. This is a nice four-star hotel that is perfectly located to explore most of the main sights in Bucharest. If you are looking for something even more budget-friendly, I have read great things about the T5 Social Hostel.
Day 1: Old Town Bucharest
On your first day in Bucharest, I would spend time walking around and exploring the old town area after having breakfast at your hotel. Starting off near University Square, first you can visit Saint Nicholas Church. Then head down to Carturesti Carusel – it’s a gorgeous, multi-story bookstore with a cafe on the top floor.
In this same area you will find several nice souvenir shops. Patio culture is huge in Bucharest, so you will also see rows and rows of restaurants with highly decorated patios that are perfect for a quick drink or snack, or just a chance to sit down for a bit!
Another sight that you must visit is the Church of the Stavropoleos. This monastery is free to enter and is absolutely stunning, inside and outside. Make sure to walk around the back to check out the courtyard as well! I kept walking past this place multiple times a day because I loved it so much.
Nearby, you can check out the Zlatari Church and the beauty of the Palace of Deposits and Consignments. I was able to stop inside of the church during the service and watched for a few minutes which I always find interesting.
In the afternoon, you can visit the National Museum of Romanian History. It’s not an extremely large museum, but it only costs $7 to enter, so I think it’s worth a visit. There is also a Museum of Communism in the Old Town that is small, but worth checking out if you want to learn more about what it was like living under Communist rule.
For dinner and drinks, you can visit one of my favorite spots in Bucharest, the Van Gogh Cafe. As the name suggests, every inch of the walls is covered in Van Gogh paintings. The cafe has delicious food and drinks and is open from 8am to 11pm or midnight. I love breakfast food so I did have an eggs benedict, but they also have true dinner meals. If you’re like me, you’ll enjoy this place so much you’ll go twice!
Day 2: Amazing Architecture
On your second day, you can start just west of Old Town at the Holocaust memorial. It’s very small, but still quite powerful. Afterwards, you can cross the river to Izvor Park and walk towards the Palace of Parliament.
The Palace of Parliament is actually the heaviest building in the world! It is possible to tour the inside, but you must arrange the tour in advance. I chose to just check it out from the outside, since it’s quite impressive on its own.
Next, you’ll walk towards the National Cathedral (which shows up on Google Maps as Catedrala Mantiuirii Neamului). At the time of writing, it’s not possible to visit the inside of the cathedral, but it’s absolutely worth a visit from the outside. The golden domes and the size of this cathedral are truly impressive and makes for a great photo spot.
Just to the side of the National Cathedral is another small church called Saint John Chrysostom church – you’d almost miss it because it’s so small comparatively, but the inside of this church is absolutely stunning.
If you walk back across the river you can walk through Cismigiu Gardens. This is a gorgeous area to walk around, and during the summer there are options to take a boat on the water or have a drink at one of the little cafes in the park.
On this day you might also plan a visit to Therme Bucharest. It’s Europe’s largest wellness and relaxation center and makes you feel like you’ve been transported to a tropical oasis. It’s about 30 minutes outside of Bucharest, so you can either take an Uber or book transportation through Get Your Guide. I did not make it to Therme on this trip (so these pictures are not my own), but I think it would be a great way to spend an afternoon!
For dinner, it’s highly recommended to visit Caru’ cu bere. This restaurant is the perfect spot to try local Romanian dishes and often has live entertainment to enhance the experience. After dinner, I suggest grabbing a drink at The Vault. It’s located inside a hotel that’s in a former bank, and the bank vault has been repurposed as a cocktail lounge. They’ve left the old safety deposit boxes in place, so it really feels like you are inside a bank vault. The cocktail I had was insanely delicious, but I only had one because the drinks here are about $18 USD each.
Day 3: Castles Day Trip
You can’t take a trip to Romania without a visit to Transylvania – I booked a guided tour that took us to three locations: Peles Castle, Brasov, and Bran Castle. The whole day is spent driving through the Carpathian Mountains, so you get some incredible views along the way.
Our first stop of the day was Peles Castle, which is about 2 hours from Bucharest. This castle was built by the King of Romania at the time (Napoleon Bonaparte’s cousin, by the way) to rival the Habsburgs’ Schonbrunn Palace in Vienna.
On this tour, you could pay the guide in cash to book your castle entry for you, or you could choose to pay at the door. I chose to pay at the door because I wanted to be able to go at my own pace, but that meant I was in the general queue and entered the castle about 30 minutes later than my group. I would recommend just booking with the guide to make sure you maximize your time inside, especially during summer when the line would be even longer.
This castle has the benefit of being incredibly impressive both inside and out. If you are only going to pay to enter one castle, make it this one! There’s a nice viewpoint just down the hill that takes about 10-15 minutes to visit, so save time at the end for that.
Next, the tour takes you to Brasov, which is a popular town where many people base themselves when visiting Transylvania. We were given about an hour and a half to get lunch here and explore. With my free time I visited the Black Church, Catherine’s Gate, and Council Square.
The final stop was to Bran Castle, another half hour from Brasov. Bran Castle is known as Dracula’s Castle, but it’s connection to the legend at Dracula is loose at best. I chose not to go inside this castle, because the inside is essentially empty – instead, I used my time to do the short (but steep) hike to the Bran Cross to get an incredible view of the castle. Most of the photos you see of the castle online are taken from this viewpoint.
The drive back to Bucharest takes about 3 hours, and by the time you get back after this tour, you’re likely to be quite tired like I was! I just had a snack and went straight to bed.
Day 4: Last Day in Bucharest
On your last full day in Bucharest, I recommend mixing some relaxation in with your touring. For an afternoon brunch there is no better spot than Cookie Beacon – the food is out of this world, and you will want to take one of their stuffed cookies to go.
You can’t leave Bucharest without visiting the Romanian Athanaeum. Unfortunately you have to pay the ~$3.50 entry fee in cash – I assume they would take Euros, but if not you can find a currency exchange and get a small amount of Romanian Lei. This concert hall is stunning inside, and it’s nice to just sit and experience it for a moment.
If you happen to be staying at the Intercontinental Athenee Palace, the spa is fantastic and is worth a visit. Otherwise, this would be a great time to visit Therme outside of the city. Another popular spot to tour is the Royal Palace of Bucharest, which was unfortunately closed on the day I planned to visit. Other things to see that are further from the center of town include Casa Ceausescu and the Arcul de Triumf (yes, it looks just like the one in Paris)!
If you want to extend your stay in Europe, you can easily continue on to Sofia, Bulgaria by bus, which takes about 7-7.5 hours. This is what I did, and I think Romania + Bulgaria are great countries to visit together!
Final Thoughts
Romania really impressed me – I was blown away by the scenery (the Carpathain mountains are out of this world), the architecture, the castles and the city. If you have longer than 3-4 days in Romania, I would highly recommend spending a night in Brasov or spending the night at a mountain resort.
If you are interested in visiting Romania, here are the most important things I would tell you:
- The language barrier is almost non-existent: Unless you are in a tiny remote village, almost everyone speaks English. I don’t think I even encountered a person that wasn’t fluent, so there’s no need to worry about language.
- Cash is not necessary (mostly): I was able to use credit cards everywhere, with the exception of the Romanian Athenaeum. It was worth getting cash, though, because I can’t imagine skipping the Athenaeum!
- There are no big-box stores in central Bucharest: All of the big stores like H&M, Zara, Decathlon, etc are located in malls outside of the city center. This gives Bucharest a more curated feel, but it does mean you’ll have to travel if you end up needing a department store for any reason.
If you’ve made it this far and are interested in booking Romania trip for yourself, I would love to be your travel advisor! Shoot me an email at courtney.brooks@fora.travel to get started.
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