Itineraries for Your Trip to Bucharest
2 Days in Bucharest for First Timers
Before arriving in Bucharest, I had a very narrow idea of the city, expecting nothing but the shadow of its troubled years under Communism and raucous nightlife. This was despite weeks already in Romania that had challenged my preconceptions. It took little to no time for Bucharest’s color and depth to shine through, from its legacy as the “Paris of the East” to the local sense of humor, sharpened over hard years.
While Bucharest makes an excellent base for broader explorations of Romania through day trips, you can cover a lot of the city sights with just two days in Bucharest. Follow this 2-day Bucharest itinerary for first-timers, designed to set you up for a memorable visit.
Make sure to layer up when visiting outside of summer, as Bucharest can get deceptively cool.
If you only have time for one thing, make it Lipscani, Bucharest’s Old Town.
For your first time in Bucharest, it’s best to start with a walking tour of the city. Explore the historic neighborhood of Lipscani, home to numerous city highlights, including the Stavropoleos Monastery and Macca-Villacrosse Passage. Continue to the immense Palace of Parliament and learn how this Communist-era landmark reshaped Bucharest. While walking, ask your guide for their local recommendations on what to do in Bucharest for first-time visitors.
Following an Old Town lunch, set off on foot or by tuk-tuk to see what else Bucharest’s city center has to offer. Venture along Victoriei Street to see how the city’s architectural gems, such as CEC Palace, helped earn it the nickname of “Little Paris.” As you proceed, stop at the Romanian Athenaeum to admire its exceptional ceiling, before concluding at Revolution Square, a pivotal site of the 1989 revolution.
Rest your feet after covering a lot of ground and many of the must-see Bucharest attractions with an evening of indulgence. While there are food and drink tours that continue to guide you around the city, including lively pub crawls, a more relaxed approach is to sit down for a tasting of various local and regional wines, accompanied by a hearty meal, to sample some Romanian cuisine.
Variety is important when deciding how to spend two days in Bucharest, so start day two by leaving the city center behind and traveling north to the Arcul de Triumf. After a quick photo with the monument, cross the road into the sprawling grounds of King Michael I Park. Stroll its forest paths, admire its gardens, and visit the National Village Museum for an introduction to Romanian rural life.
Bucharest is at the heart of Romanian culture, whether you’re talking about art, history, or food. Leverage a street food tour to unlock Bucharest’s food scene and the current trends it's following. Alternatively, learn about Romanian art through tours of the National Museum of Art and the broader themes of the country’s history at the Romanian Peasant Museum and National Museum of Romanian History.
With your last night, one way to say goodbye to Bucharest is an evening sampling local craft beer or filling up on mici—ground meat sausages, roasted pork knuckle, and mamaliga—Romanian polenta. However, a fun approach to rounding out two days in Bucharest for first-timers is to join a ghost tour of the city, where you'll hear dark and spooky stories that reveal a different side to Bucharest.
