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Leg Room List #8: Bucharest & Beyond

Leg Room List #8: Bucharest & Beyond

Leg Room List (LRL) – a place to add crowd-sourced recommendations from locals and my own personal travels. A living and constantly breathing list that made the big hop from iPhone Notes to this website. PS: your thoughts as locals or adoptive denizens are gold – please share.

 

Eastern Europe has never been hotter. 

 

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To Stay

The Marmorosch - new, Autograph collection hotel
AirBnb – stay central / north
Grand Hotel Continental – good location
Grand Boutique Hotel – smaller
Radisson Blu – good location
Athenee Palace Hilton – good location
JW Marriott
Epoque – smaller
Hotel Cismigiu
Rembrandt – in old town Bucharest; smaller

To Have Coffee or Tea

Adding this as top of the list because Bucharest has a great café culture and the city has many cool spots.

Origo
Steam – several locations
Utopia - Primaverii & Dorobanti
Artichoke
Zissou
Bob Coffee Lab
Trofic
Coffee place with honest food
Boiler coffee
M60
T-Zero
Stradale
FORM Fusion
Salon Golescu

Tea spots
Infinitea
Camera din fata
Serendipity
Carturesti – nice terrace in summer

To Drink

Apollo 111 – converted space in an old building; warehouse-style; also home to a theatre
Fix – same building as Apollo 111
A1 bar
The Owl Cocktail House
Alt+Shift (also a restaurant; above Control club)
Biutiful by the lake (open only in summer)
Uanderful / Frattelini
Spatiu Tehnic
Gradina Eden
La Dianei 4
Acuarella – beautiful garden in summer
Papiota
Primus - pub
Terminus – pub

To Eat

Casa di David (Italian)
Fior di poesia (Italian)
Casa Doina (Romanian)
Maize
Zexe Dorobanti (traditional Romanian)
Grano (Italian)
Noua
Unico Vero (Italian)
Bone
Kane
Kaiamo
Liberte (for a dessert called “savarina”)
Velocita (ice cream and coffee)
Simbio
Il Mulino (Italian)
Linea (rooftop has amazing views)
Aubergine
Bistrot Francais
La Brasserie
Mahala (modern Romanian)
Caru cu Bere (Romanian, beautiful building, with shows)
Mesogios (Greek / seafood)
Le Bab (kebab / Middle Eastern)
Isoletta (seafood)
Fish House (seafood)
Ancora (seafood)
Nicolai (French)
Fior di latte (Italian)
Energiea
Piccolo Mondo (Lebanese)
Studio Hermes
Vivo Burger
Burger Bus
EMTE Burger
Arawma (raw vegan)
Agape Cuisine
Mara Mura
Noa
Dristor Shawarma – must do after a night out… multiple locations, including on in old town, open 24/7
Mamizza (pizza)
Mercato Comunale (street food / urban market)

Breakfast / brunch

Frudisiac
Trofic
Cereal Crunch Cafe
Fratellini
Pain Plaisir
Arome
A.R.C. Bakery

To Dance

Control
Spatiu Tehnic (they do some nice parties with Romanian tech-house djs; nice vibe, drinks, food)
Gradina Monteoru (whenever they have parties)
Expirat
E3 Entourage
Uanderful
Gaia parties
Interbelic
Guesthouse – the second home of Romanian electronic music djs
Brunch Affair party
Fratelli
Eden (whenever they have events)
Kristal – electronic
LOFT (they also do 2 really fun outdoor pop-ups in winter in the mountains, 2h away from Bucharest)

For the best of Romanian electronic music, attend any of the Sunrise events in Bucharest or around the country: Sunwaves Festival (2x / year, 1 May and mid-August), SNRS 48 and others; check residentadvisor.net or Sunrise Facebook page for events)

To Check Out

Old Town Bucharest – pedestrian areas with various sights, restaurants and bars
Carturesti Carousel book store
Drive by People’s House, second largest building in the world after the Pentagon
Walk on Calea Vuctoriei, see George Enescu Museum building, Romanian Atheneum and several beautiful old buildings
Interesting Times Bureau – take one of their city tours: http://interestingtimes.ro/alternative-tour/[interestingtimes.ro] 

Art
Village Museum (Museul Satului)
Museum of Modern Art
Museum of Contemporary Art
Veda Popovici
Centrul Claca
Giuvlipei Roma theatre
Ioana Paun
Elisabeta Vrana

Music
Arpiar: Raresh, Pedro (aka Petre Inspirescu), Rhadoo
Virtually all Romanians that feature on Sunwaves lineup: Praslea, Cristi Cons, Cap, Dan Andrei, Herodot, Cezar, Priku, Vlad Caia, Dubtil, Barac, Gescu…)
Golan
Midnight Breakfast
Otherside

Shop
Lana Dumitru
Murmur
Moja.ro concept store
Molecule F concept store
Styland
Manokhi
Aer wear
Trialfa jewelry
Carti, dulciuri si flori – for a nice gift of books, gorgeous flower bouquets and delicious desserts

To Go

Every season has its charm but I would recommend spring/summer as the best time (April-June for Bucharest; July-August for seaside and mountains)

To Note

If you have a few extra days, it’s worth going into the mountains and Transylvania for the natural and historic beauties of the country extend far beyond its capital.

Mountains / Transylvania (2-3 days at least)

Painted Monasteries in Moldova (4-5 days)

It would require some extra days and planning ahead (worthwhile visiting the whole region) but a real cultural heritage that’s worth a visit; Voronet is the most famous (its blue frescoes are world-renown), with others here: http://romaniatourism.com/painted-monasteries.html[romaniatourism.com]

Black Sea Coast

Last but not least, if you’re just up for some non-stop fun, you could hit up the Black Sea coast, where you might not find the best beaches or water you’ve ever seen but you’ll surely enjoy the party-side. Some options:

  • Constanta -- Romania’s largest port; check out the Old Casino building and eat fish / check out any of these restaurants: Pescaria lui Matei, Scapino, Irish Pub, Crazy, Toscana, Bacaro Port

  • Mamaia -- the ultimate beach party place, with clubs, restaurants and bars all on the long strip of beach

  • Vama Veche – the longstanding hippie sea resort is increasingly becoming the preferred seaside destination for those avoiding the Mamaia glam and opting for a more lowkey spot; lots of hipster restaurants and beach bars (more like shacks) and some interesting new music events

Lightly…

Lightly…

Leg Room List #7: Milano

Leg Room List #7: Milano