Weekend in Bucharest

This is by far one of the best trips of my life. If you want to have fun without spending a fortune, Bucharest is the city for you.

Here are some hot tips to save money, eat tasty Romanian food and enjoy nightlife.

Dates: 7th Feb 2020 - 10th Feb 2020

Budget: 200€ (175£ - 220$)

Currency: leu (RON)

Flights, Accommodation and Weather

After the Christmas holidays, three friends of mine and I decided to book a flight and go somewhere cheap together for a weekend. We didn't plan much: a month prior, we surfed on Skyscanner.com to decide our destination, as it is a pretty useful website to save money on flights. If you've never used it, check it out. We flew from Milan to Bucharest OTP, which is around 20 minutes by car from the city centre.

For the accommodation, we used Booking.com as it often gives free cancellation options and sometimes pre-payment isn't needed. Thanks to this platform, we found a shared apartment on one of the main streets of the city. The flat was modern and clean and it was just a ten minute walk from the centre of Bucharest.

Overall, for flights and accommodation, we spent around 45€ each (40£ - 50$).

Everybody knows we are a bit extra, so we couldn't but make matching jumpers to go around the city as a friend squad. However, the weather was pretty cold, therefore it was a bit difficult to show them off from under our coats, scarves and gloves.

Little advice: visit Bucharest during hotter seasons or bring warm clothes as Romania is freezing in February.

Restaurants and Romanian Cuisine

Caru cu Bere

Caru cu Bere is a traditional Romanian restaurant on the outline of the Old Town. It has many seats inside as well as a couple of tables in an external heated area. Here you can find real dishes of the Romanian cuisine, but keep in mind that its central position may attract many tourists as well (such as us). Nonetheless, prices are quite reasonable: it offered four different student menus which included a main, side and drink (either lemonade or beer) for the cost of around 20 lei each (4€ - 3,60£ - 4,50$).

Service is fast, nice and they all wear traditional Romanian clothes (which is a plus, but again, quite touristic).

Dracula Medieval Feast

This restaurant is right in the centre of the Old Town and it also offers traditional food. We happened to eat there on a Saturday night, so it was very full and, therefore, service was slightly slow. However, a band of local musicians was playing Romanian music, entertaining guests and letting people taste the full Bucharest experience.

Menu was vast and offered different options including mainly meat and vegetables. However, there were some fish options as well (not sure about vegan).

Starter, main, side and a shared jug of wine cost us around 30 lei each (6€ - 5£ - 7$).

Gregory's

Gregory's is a cheap option to eat something quick and tasty. It offers a variety of panini, sandwiches and salads as well as cakes and sweet treats. A couple of hours before closing, all fresh products are 50% off, so you could get a tasty sandwich for 5 lei (1€ - 90p - 1,10$).

Excalibur

This is literally the best restaurant we've been to in Bucharest. It's slightly out of the city centre, but its so unique that it deserves a visit.

Menu is averagely varied and it offers different options, including vegetarian. Some dishes require to be ordered 24h before due to the medieval-style preparation. However, if you decide to eat here last minute, you won't be disappointed either.

Due to the currency exchange, prices are relatively cheap for what you get, but be careful as quantities are underrated. I decided to order the 'Excalibur's Sword' as it was not indicated as a sharing option, unlike other dishes on the menu. I did not know that it consisted in a whole roasted chicken with tons of veg (and a wooden Excalibur sword that I got to take home!). This is definitely a must if you visit Bucharest.

Entourage Centrul Vechi

We found this restaurant by a chance on a street in the Old Town of the city. It was a bit of a change as it doesn't offer traditional food, but English-style all day breakfasts and international dishes.

Nonetheless, it was a really nice place with a cosy atmosphere. Food was tasty as well and price was average.

Soup Up!

Soup Up! is a little fast food restaurant located a little norther from the city centre. It offers a fair variety of soups, salads and crouton. Everything is vegetarian and some are vegan.

Price was quite low compared to the quantity and quality of the food. Really enjoyed it (probably due to a strong hangover) and I would really suggest it if you end up wandering in that part of the city.

Nightlife

Before landing in Bucharest, we had researched all the pubs and clubs of the city to have a lot of fun without spending much. However, Bucharest's city centre is packed with different clubs and bars, so my suggestion is: walk around and just enter where you feel comfortable.

Here are some of the best places we've been to.

Oktoberfest Pub

This bar is the best place where you want to start your night. It has huge tables with averagely strong lighting and cheap drinks. There's only one thing you can do here: drinking games. If you forgot a deck of cards at home, go to the nearest shop where you can find one. There's no better place in Bucharest to play King's Cup, Stop the Bus and so on. If you never heard these names, check this post.

Beers: 6 lei (1,20€ - 1,10£ - 1,30$)

Shots: 5 lei (1€ - 90p - 1,10$)

Cocktails: 10 lei (2,10€ - 1,80£ - 2,25$)

Mojo Music Club

If you like pubs with wooden floors, music and beer this will be your favourite bar.

Ground floor offers you a couple of tables, toilets and the bar. The latter sells pints for 5 lei (1€ - 90p - 1,10$).

However, the magic is upstairs. Tons of tables full of people you can chat with and a stage with microphones for karaoke. Screens are all over the walls and the choice of songs is extremely vary. Be early, though, as the queue gets long quite quickly.

Revenge Club

Revenge was definitely our spot. It's a gay-friendly club not far from Mojo. Free entrance, cloakroom to leave your jacket is 1 leu (0,21€ - 18p - 22c) and drinks are dirty cheap for a nightclub. Beers and shots are around 5 lei (1€ - 90p - 1,10$) and cocktails are 8 lei (1,60€ - 1,40£ - 1,80$).

Music is a mixture of commercial, remixed pop and techno and bartenders are very nice (find a guy with a long beard - he gave us tons of free shots).

It's quite an informal club, so you can find different kinds of people. We met very friendly couples and it was a pleasure to come back here every night.

If you just want to dance and you don't particularly care about the place itself, Revenge is what you need.

Get Around

Bucharest sights are kinda spread around the city, therefore it might be a bit difficult to get around by foot. We spent most of our time in the Old Town, so we didn't use public transport. However, to get to the centre from the airport and back or to go home after nights out we used Bolt.

Bolt is an Estonian transportation platform that you can use easily from an app on your phone. A lot of promo codes for new subscribers allow you to get a ride for 10 lei (2,10€ - 1,80£ - 2,25$), which you can divide with your friends.

I personally believe that if you're travelling with a couple of friends, Bolt is your best option to move around in Bucharest.

To Sum Up

In conclusion, I believe Bucharest is a cheap destination for those who are interested in nightlife and good food. However, I do not think there is a lot to visit in terms of sights and museums. If you are looking for a city for your stag, hen or just to party, Romania's capital city is right for you.