Bucharest in your pocket, mini-guide includes Old Town : map, hotels, restaurants, bars, sights

100 Pages·2011·6.57 MB·English

by  In Your Pocket Ltd

Hotels Restaurants Cafés Nightlife Sightseeing Events Maps
BUCHAREST “In Your Pocket: A cheeky, well-
written series of guidebooks.”
The New York Times
June - July 2011
Do Not Pass Go!
We take a trip around the
Bucharest Monopoly board
Old Town/Lipscani
In Your Pocket
A 14-page special on
Bucharest’s Old Town
N°71 - 12.00 lei
bucharest.inyourpocket.com
Contents
Contents 5
E S S E N T I A L C I T Y G U I D E S
Contents
Basics 8
Everything you wanted to know about Bucharest
and Romania, but were afraid to ask
Arrival & Transport 12
Navigating Bucharest
Culture & Events 16
The opera season is well underway again
Bucharest Monopoly 24
A trip around the Bucharest Monopoly board
Where to Stay 32
From palaces of gold to flea pits
Go straight to page 24, do not pass go, do not collect
$200 salary, and take a trip with Bucharest In Your
Pocket all the way around the Bucharest Monopoly
board.
Restaurants 44
Where to eat, and where to get food poisoning
Cafes 60
So many, we’ve given them their own chapter
Nightlife 62
Clubs, bars, pubs and the like
Sightseeing
What to see 70
Where to spend your days
Old Town 74
The heart and soul of the city
Shopping, Directory & Children 88
Everything from malls and souvenirs to
pharmacies and dentists and private schools
Maps & Street Register
Northern Bucharest 94
Flowers, playgrounds and free bicylce hire: believe it or not, Central & Southern Bucharest 96
but Bucharest’s parks are now one of the city’s biggest
Street Register & Hotel Map Index 98
attractions. Go on, Rediscover Bucharest’s Parks, on
pages 22-23.
b u c h a r e s t . i n y o u r p o c k e t . c o m J u n e - J u l y 2 0 1 1
6 Foreword
Maybe it’s just the fact that we’ve been living in
The World In Your Pocket
Bucharest for so long we’ve grown accustomed
to its vagaries and peccadilloes, but if you ask
Northern Estonia
us, the city has never looked better. On a warm Ireland
Russia
summer’s evening sitting on a Lipscani or city Ireland Latvia
centre terrace, spriţ in hand (made with local wine, Lithuania
of course), there are few places we would rather be.
Belarus
For all its bad press - and it still gets slated more
Netherlands
than praised in the international media - Bucharest Poland
is a modern, vibrant city we are happy to live in, all Germany Ukraine
Czech
the more so given the fact that we get to tell visitors Republic
all about the place too.
Austria
This issue, as part of our mission to get you Switzerland
Slovenia Romania
to Rediscover Bucharest, we have dedicated a Croatia
major feature to bringing some of the lesser known Bosnia Serbia
Bulgaria
parts of the city to your attention, by way of a
Montenegro Kosovo
throrough tour of the Bucharest Monopoly board. FYR Macedonia
Albania
For some time we have recommended taking
Greece
home a copy of the Bucharest edition as a unique
souvenir, so we thought it was about time to took
In Your Pocket has broken much new ground of
a fresh look at the stories behind the street names
late, publishing new guides in the Netherlands
on the board. You can read all about it on pages (Tilburg, with Amsterdam to follow very soon), in
24-27. Austria (Vienna), in Croatia (Šibenik), in Swit-
zerland (Zurich) and in Belarus (Minsk). This
We also this issue take an in depth look at
year will also see the first non-European Pockets
Bucharest’s parks: rapidly becoming one of rolled out in South Africa and Mozambique.
the city’s best features, thanks to the fantastic We also continue to roll out iPhone apps to all
our cities. We will be launching even more In Your
playgrounds and recreational facilities for kids of all
Pocket guides as apps throughout this year: to
ages they offer. You will find the feature on pages find out which cities we will be covering, and to
22-23. keep up to date with all In Your Pocket news, like
In Your Pocket on Facebook (facebook.com/
Whatever you do with your time in Bucharest,
inyourpocket) or follow us on Twitter (twitter.
enjoy the city. Bucharest - more than most cities - com/inyourpocket).
really is what you make of it.
E d i t o r i a l Copyright notice
Editor Craig Turp Text, photos and maps copyright
Researcher Raluca Tanasa IYP Romania Srl 1999-2011 unless
E S S E N T I A L C I T Y G U I D E S
Photography © Craig Turp/IYP otherwise stated. All rights reserved.
Romania Srl unless otherwise stated. No part of this publication may be
Bucharest In Your Pocket Cover photo View over Bucharest reexptraocdtusc feodr itnh ea npyu rfoproms,e e oxfc ietsp tr ebvriefw ,
Str. Stefan Burileanu 1-3 towards IMGB © Dreamstime. without written permission from the
Bl. 21E, Sc. 1, Ap. 8 copyright owner. The trademark In Your
014191 Bucuresti, Romania Sales Pocket is used under license from UAB
t
faelx. ([phone] 2128 eTom caoil ntota bcut cohura
Foreword
8 BasiCs BasiCs
So where am I exactly?
Bucharest, capital of Romania. Situated in that part of
the world which will - to those of a certain age - always
be known as Eastern Europe, it would be more accurate
to describe Bucharest’s geographical location as south-
eastern Europe.
Founded, legend has it, in the 14th century, Bucharest
is in that part of Romania known as Wallachia, one
of the three historic principalities which make up the
modern country (the others are Moldavia and Transyl-
vania). Romania as a nation state is relatively new: while
Moldavia and Wallachia have been united as a single
country since 1859, Romania took on its modern form
only on December 1st, 1918, when the Romanians of
Transylvania voted to join in the fun.
The official population of Bucharest is just over two
million people, but as many migrants from the rest of
the country do not bother to register as citizens of the
capital, the true number is thought to be closer to three
million.
Bucharest is close to the Danube ( just 69 kilometres to
the south), which serves as the border between Romania
and Bulgaria. The main crossing point is at Giurgiu,
linked by a bridge with Ruse, the Bulgarian town on the
other side of the river, whose pleasant centre is well
worth a day trip if you are at a loose end. Alas you will
need a car, as train services between Bucharest and
Ruse (and the rest of Bulgaria) are poor.
Bucharest is around 240 kilometres from Constanta
and the Black Sea coast, but as the A2 motorway only
goes as far as Cernavoda, even the maddest of drivers
fail to do the trip in much under three hours. Like most
trains in Romania, the Bucharest - Constanta service is
Crime & Safety slow and it takes four and a half hours.
If you keep your nose clean, then we have always found to be To the north of Bucharest is Ploiesti - the centre of
Bucharest a safer place than many - indeed if not all - other Romania’s oil industry, and beyond that the Carpathian
cities in Europe. There is almost no violent crime. However, Mountains, a two hour drive away.
if you go looking for trouble by visiting rough areas, such as
Ferentari or Salaj, then the chances are you will find plenty.
Petty crime on the other hand is a major problem.
Pickpockets are ubiquitous on public transport (especially
the routes to and from the Gara de Nord), in crowded bars
and pubs and even in restaurants. Then of course there are
the city’s stray dogs to worry about.
Etiquette
In their own homes, Romanians are by and large fabulous
hosts. So much so that making friends and getting yourself
invited should be top of your list of things to do while in
the country! You had better be hungry, because the food
never stops coming, on and on, dish after dish. You must
bring something: flowers, chocolates or a bottle of good
whisky.
You will probably be offered local brandy, ţuica. It will grow
on you. Most Romanians love to chat about their country, its
Bucharest In Your Pocket bucharest.inyourpocket.com
BasiCs BasiCs 9
politics, problems and history. Don’t be surprised if they ask you A Word From the Mayor
very direct questions. In all cases, be diplomatic in response.
I am one of the over two million
Left Luggage inhabitants of Bucharest. This
There are left luggage facilities at Gara de Nord, but no is where I was born, and where
luggage lockers. You will find the left luggage counter I grew up. I know both the bright
opposite the Wasteels of fice, a short walk from the and dark sides of every nook
platforms. The charge is cursory: 4 lei per small bag per and cranny. I have learned
24 hours, 7 lei for a bigger bag. Note that the office keeps the history of each stone, and
irregular hours (with staff taking breaks seemingly willy-nilly), experienced romance while
so always make sure there will be someone on hand to give wandering in Herastrau Park
you back your bag when you want to pick it up. or admiring the city by night.
There is no left luggage facility at either Otopeni or I have traveled a lot, but I have always come back
Baneasa airport. home with infinite joy in order to discover my Bucharest
over and over again. I am sure that there would have been
When Things Go Wrong no better place in Romania to build my medical career,
with all the professional and academic opportunities
In an emergency call 112. You do not need to use the city that a capital city like Bucharest can offer. Yet I under-
code, whether calling from a landline or a mobile. You wll stood that for everything you get in this life you have to
be asked which service you require (Politia/Police, Ambu- give something back. That is why now, as the Mayor of
lanta/Ambulance or Pompierii/Firemen). Emergency call Bucharest, I commit myself to giving the people of this
centre operators should speak English or French but in our city a place to live in, not just a place to dwell in.
experience they do not always do so. At least make sure you Bucharest is Romania’s most important cultural, econo-
know the name of the street you are calling from. mic, financial and political centre. It generates more than 20
If you get into trouble with the Police, demand to call per cent of the country’s GDP and is inhabited by more than
your embassy. There is a list on pages 91 and 93. The 10 per cent of the Romanian population. All major financial,
city‘s main police station is the brand new building at political and executive institutions are based here.
(B-4) Str. Lascar Cartagiu 22, tel. [phone]. As one of 27 European capital, Bucharest is eager
The best Casualty Unit (Emergency Room) in the to share its cultural heritage with the community and
city is at Spitalul de Urgente, (C-3) Calea Floreasca 8, the whole world. I therefore invite you to explore this
next to Dinamo Stadium. More details in the Health box wonderful city, to discover its mystery and take its pulse:
on page 11. There is a list of Pharmacies on page 93, Bucharest is always ready to surprise and impress its
and an English speaking Dentist on page 91. guests with its eternal and motley poetry.
Sorin Oprescu, Mayor of Bucharest
bucharest.inyourpocket.com June - July 2011
BasiCs