Exploring Bucharest, Romania's Intriguing Capital City (Day 1)
During the spring of 2025, my family embarked upon an adventure around Eastern and Central Europe along with a Danube River cruise aboard the beautiful AmaBella with AmaWaterways.
And our first stop? Bucharest, Romania. Despite being a group of relatively intrepid travelers, this would be the first time any of our group of eight would have visited this charming if perplexing city. I'll share more of our 20 day adventure as we continue, but all trips must have a beginning. And ours starts here in the Romanian capital of Bucharest.
Let me show you how this twenty day adventure began!
I'm going to save the adventure of actually getting to Romania later in the posting (which will also serve as a small review for our experience heading to Europe on American/British Airways), and I have created a separate posting dedicated to the beautiful hotel that we were staying in, The Marmorosch Bucharest, Autograph Collection, which will be posted soon. Definitely check out that post to see how stunning the hotel is, and why it would make an excellent place to stay and have access to the best parts of Bucharest within easy walking distance.
But for now, let's get started with our first day of exploration.
Bucharest is the capital of Romania, located within Eastern Europe. Prior to 1989, Romania had been a part of the Soviet bloc of countries, though it operated somewhat independently. Famously led by dictator Nicolae Ceauşescu, Romania broke free during a violent revolution in December of 1989, with consequences that still reverberate today. Any visitor to Bucharest will be greeted by remnants of this time, from the Soviet-inspired architecture, to the world's second largest building (by volume), the Parliament building. But we'll explore more of that later.
For now, our goal was to get oriented with the city, to help better understand this country that we would be spending the next few days in.
Because this was the first day of a long trip, and coming all the way from the other side of the world, we knew day one would be up in the air due to jet lag. Therefore, we had no fixed plans, though I had a list of things to try to accomplish, if possible. And as I type this I realize that's not 100% true - we had fixed dinner plans, as well as tickets for a musical performance at the Romanian Athenaeum afterwards. But the main part of the day was wide open.
We figured that after breakfast, we'd start our day with a small walking tour of our neighborhood, to help us get our bearings. Because we weren't sure how we'd all be feeling jet lag wise, we figured better to not hire a guide and have a fixed time and place, and instead just do a casual wander around. In hindsight, it would have been great to have someone with more knowledge with us to give us a better contextual background, but alas. We used this website, GPS My City, for the self-guided tour of the Old Town. We didn't manage to do everything on the tour because we decided to check a big thing off of my list in the middle of it. More on that to come.
We also didn't start our tour from the tour's beginning, but since we were right next to the Museum of the National Bank of Romania, it seemed to make the most sense. It dates back to the WWII era, and with its striking classical architecture, it leaves a pleasant impression. Across the street you can find a little worse for wear Soviet era structures, so the two offer a nice contrast between each other.
Next, we turned the corner to arrive at the Macca-Villacross Passage. Constructed in the late 19th century, this covered shopping arcade is incredibly striking. The passage has served different functions and audiences over the years, and today you can find multiple cafes under its yellow hued roofs.
Starting back off on our tour from the street, we next wandered towards the National Museum of Romanian History. Unfortunately, we were not able to go into any of these museums, but when we next return, they serve as possible places of interest.
We turned off of the main street and began to wander some of the pedestrian friendly back roads. We were on our way to one of the tour's must-sees, Stavropoleos Convent.
This convent was built in the early 1700s, with its name, Stavropoleus, coming from the Greek word, Stauropolis, meaning "City of the Cross in Greek." The style of the church was built in an interesting, and slightly unfamiliar way to me.
"Architecturally, the church and remaining convent buildings showcase the exquisite Brancovenesc style-an iconic synthesis of Byzantine, Ottoman, Italian Renaissance, and local influences. You’ll notice its intricately carved stone portico, trilobate arches, floral motifs, and framed religious medallions adorning the facade." (Source)
The convent is still active today, and its beautiful design makes for a must-see when in Bucharest.
It's also incredibly close to one of the city's most famous restaurants, Care' cu Bere (the Beer Wagon). We would visit this restaurant the next day, and I'll share more about that experience in the next posting.
We next moved on to Smarden Street, which is a dynamic and vibrant pedestrian street filled with restaurants and shops. When we would walk through here later, there were lots of parties happening, so this is the place to go if you're looking to let a little loose. However, while we were there, I discovered we could make a guided tour of Casa Ceaușescu, home of Romania's notorious dictator Nicolae and his equally maniacal wife Elena Ceaușescu.
As a quick refresher, in case you don't quite recall their downfall during the last days of the Iron Curtain, the two of them were rounded up, prosecuted at a kangaroo court, and summarily executed by a firing squad for their crimes on Christmas Day, 1989. (To read more about their downfall, this BBC article provides some useful context). I was determined to visit their "mansion," to help give context to the place we would visit a few days later, the obscenely massive "People's Palace," home of the Romanian Parliament, still considered one of the largest buildings in the world. I'll have more on that visit in a later posting.
The mansion is a little further away from the Old Town, and each group took an Uber. Note that in Romania, you're not likely to find Uber's any bigger than a Toyota Corolla at home, so if you're hoping to squeeze a group of 4 in one car, even in an UberX, prepare to get very, very cozy.
The tour of the house was interesting, a real time capsule of garish taste from the 1970s-1980s. Pictures are not allowed to be taken inside the property, but I managed to capture this one below of their bathroom to give you an idea.
However, you're able to tour the various apartments of Nicolae and Elena, plus their two children who also had separate living areas. You could also catch a glance of their swimming pool, which you can see in this video taken below from a different visitor.
Lastly, you can opt to conclude the tour with an additional video. I was hoping the video would provide a little more context about the Ceaușescus, as it turned out I was essentially the only one in my group who knew anything about them. Unfortunately, the video almost seemed to celebrate them, and it felt like a weird way to end the tour. (The tour guide provided a great balance of sharing about the house, but also highlighting their exorbinance, especially considering the conditions they forced their citizens to live under). I would skip the video in the future.
Afterwards, you could wander over to a small gift shop/café and see some of the resident peacocks who still call the property home. If you're planning on visiting Romania, and in particular Bucharest, I definitely recommend doing some background research on the Ceaușescus as it will help you better understand the context of this fascinating place.
Admittedly, this stop was not the most lighthearted, but we had more plans later in the evening to pick things back up. Since we had such a large party, I had made reservations at AveForchetta, located very close to our hotel and not too far away from the Romanian Athenaeum, where we would be seeing a concert to round out the evening.
I picked this particular restaurant because it had Italian food, something I knew our group would enjoy, and also gluten free options (hooray for me!). It also had exceptional reviews. The restaurant was super easy to communicate with, and even was flexible when we needed to add more guests to our reservation. It didn't hurt that the food was incredible. Highly, highly recommend.
Because of our large group size, the restaurant required us to order a certain amount of appetizers, to help space out the orders. I picked a few crowd pleasers, but sadly didn't capture some photos of them until it was either too late, or not at all.
However, I did capture my gluten free pasta dish below, the beef ragu, as well as Ben's dish.
After dinner, it was time to head to our concert. We walked down Calea Victoriei, home of Bucharest's most interesting and beautiful architecture. (We didn't spend as much time doing this walk, and would definitely be something I would add to a future trip to the city).
Then we arrived at the Romanian Athenaeum. Even if you can't time your trip to coincide with a concert, I highly recommend looking to do a tour of this stunning structure. Its inside is incredibly unique and fascinating. However, if you can see a performance here, I highly recommend it. The performing space is intimate, beautiful, and perfect for soaring musical performances. For me, this was a highlight of my trip to Bucharest.
Lastly, because it wouldn't be a Brooke vacation if we didn't maximize our time in a destination as much as we possibly could, we ended the night by meeting up with my cousin Carly's cousin and spouse at a local wine bar. There, we all caught up, shared a few drinks, and toasted to a fun next few days together, as they would be tagging along to our trip to Transylvania.
Lastly, we wanted a quick snack before heading back to bed, especially being jet lagged and our bodies not quite knowing it was late in the evening. We passed by a döner restaurant, and thought this might do the trick. What we didn't realize at the time was that it would have an item we would forever compare other similar items up against for all eternity (or at least until the fall of 2026 when this is being written).
And those items, dear readers, are french fries.
According to my cousin Carly, these were the best fries she has ever eaten - crunchy exterior, soft, fluffy interior and the perfect hot temperature. It's too bad I don't have a single picture from inside the restaurant (but you can click on this link to Lipie Döner Kebap to learn more about it) - even more shocking because I tend to take pictures of everything, but alas! If you've been drinking or are just a little bit peckish, these fries were super satisfying, and the perfect way to end our first evening in Bucharest.
It was finally time for bed to prepare ourselves for some more adventures in Romania. Until then!
Getting To Romania - A Small Adventure
As I had mentioned above, getting to Bucharest was a bit of an adventure, and didn't go exactly as planned. However, things certainly could have been worse.
We started off our trip by flying to Los Angeles. This is not the typical way to get to Romania, but we had scoped out cheaper business class airfare from LAX than from Seattle, and even with adding extra one way airfare on Alaska from SEA-LAX plus a one night stay at the Los Angeles Airport Marriott, we STILL saved about $1000 per person!
This part of the trip was the easy part, as it all went off seamlessly. I even managed to order some of my favorite gluten free pastries to take on board the flight with me from Modern Bread and Bagel, having it delivered at 8am by UberEats. Everything was starting off perfectly.
Because of my status with Marriott's rewards program, Bonvoy, I was also able to get us lounge access for Ben to have breakfast. And because of Ben's relationship with the hotel's general manager, we were upgraded to a nice corner room with a very yummy amenity awaiting us. Those snacks would come in handy later in the trip.
After checking out of our hotel, it was time to head to the airport and check into our flight. Fortunately, because we had booked business class, we also received entry into American Airline's Flagship Lounge in Terminal 4. The space was comfortable and relatively quiet, and also had a very well stocked bar as well as delicious looking food options. As you may or may not know, I don't eat gluten or dairy, but there were a few options for me. However, I was glad I stocked up with some GF options beforehand.
Finally, it was time to board our flight. Everything seemed to be going exactly to plan, which was good, because we were the first group of our party of 4 couples to depart from 4 different airports, and would be some of the last to arrive in London Heathrow. I was also the person who had planned the trip, and Ben and I were the reason all 4 groups were traveling together. Wouldn't it be funny if everyone met up in London without us...? 🙃😬
Upon boarding, we were greeted by our relatively private lay flat seats. This plane was a tad bit older, but the pods were comfortable and private enough. While they didn't offer a door to close like some of the newer business class suite offerings, it still had enough bells and whistles to make the effort to get down to Los Angeles worth it for such a long flight. Note the arm rest on the aisle, as it lays flat during take off and landing, but can be raised up to provide a more comfortable positioning for your arm. This style of armrest would ultimately be the reason for the ensuing events for the rest of our day.
And due to my dietary restrictions, I had gone ahead and ordered my main meal ahead of time. However, here's a quick view of the menu to give you idea of what was on offer in April 2025.
As mentioned, plenty of room to spread out and get comfortable. I'm about 6 feet tall, and Ben is 6'3", so the more legroom and space, the better.
However, it was around this time that things started to go off the rails a little bit. We were notified that there was a small mechanical issue that was being looked at. Once, they fixed everything and filled out the paperwork, we'd be on our way. This made Ben and I a bit nervous, as we already had a tight connection. However, we figured, if we could take off in about half an hour, we could still probably make our flight to Bucharest.
Alas, once the mechanical issue was fixed, that aforementioned armrest would ultimately doom our connection. A few seats away, one of those armrests was raised and then got stuck (I don't blame the person for raising it - I tested mine out when I got seated). And because it's considered a danger during takeoff, we couldn't leave until the armrest was fixed and the ensuing paperwork was completed.
We didn't know it at the time, but this second half an hour delay would mean a long layover for us at London Heathrow while our remaining party would have to navigate their way from the airport in Bucharest to the hotel on their own.
Still hoping our flight would make up some time in the air, once we were on our way, we still believed there was a possibility of making our connection at Heathrow. In the meantime, we were served our first meal of the flight, a dinner service with some pre-meal nuts and drink. I don't consume alcohol anymore, so ginger ale and sparkling water for me, please.
A collection of some of the other courses, including an arugula salad along with pan seared shrimp, followed by the smoke braised brisket. For dessert, I opted for the fruit and cheese plate, sending the cheese over to Ben for him to enjoy. I had hoped for a few more pieces of fruit, but for you dairy lovers out there, this was a solid showing. Note that I didn't order the GF option since I could select a (seemingly) gluten free dish in advance.
After not sleeping for most of the trip, it was finally time for breakfast, which included a small cheesy egg dish along with seasoned potatoes and a fruit plate. I wouldn't say that any of the food was noteworthy, but when you're on a long flight, it's definitely something you look forward to.
Around this time, I had fired up the airline's wifi (which I opted to pay for an hour's worth of service) to get in contact with my mom and cousin who I knew would be landing in Heathrow around that time. I was hoping they could find out if we could get help with our connection. In Hawai‘i, if there is a tight connection, sometimes they send a cart to pick you up and whisk you to your next stop. Surely, an airport as sophisticated as Heathrow would have something similar?
It turns out that their first jaunt to a help desk was for naught - the lady behind the desk kept asking them if I needed a wheelchair. Since I did not need one, they sent my mom and cousin to a different help desk, where they found out that we would be doomed to staying in London for a few extra hours than we bargained for. I was then able to communicate with the hotel while still in the air that we would need one less car to pick the group up, and also we'd need the second car to pick Ben and I much later in the evening.
Even though this was not ideal, I was glad to know this in advance of getting off the plane because Ben and I would have been on a mad dash through the no-man's land before you get to security at Heathrow Airport. It seems we might have gotten all the way there only to be turned around, as our ticket would no longer have been valid - while we were in the air, British Airways had rebooked us on a later flight to Bucharest, leaving around 3pm. This sounded well and good, except that it was now around 7am, and we had been traveling since the morning before. Our long day of travel was just doomed to be an even longer day of travel.
So what happens when your flight gets rebooked and you're in this no-man's land? It turns out there's a ticketing counter between your plane and security where you can line up and get your new tickets issued. Fortunately, since we were in business class and some of the first off the plane, we arrived with no line whatsoever, and were able to move on to security.
Once past security, we were off to find the business class lounge. Let me tell you as someone who has been stuck in Heathrow for hours with and without British Airways lounge access, do whatever you can to get yourself a spot in their lounges. Heathrow is one of the most miserable places to spend hours of your time in the general terminal area, especially in Terminal 5, where they insist everyone must hang out in the A concourse before finding out your flight is 3 concourses away, making for a mad last minute dash to your flight via planes, trains and automobiles (aka buses).
The business class lounge is down a not particularly inviting hallway, but truly is an oasis from the hustle and bustle of the general chaos in the concourse area.
Once we showed our credentials to the check-in desk, it was off to find a (relatively) quiet corner to relax for the next 6 hours or so.
And wouldn't you know, for the third time in one day, we were greeted with another chance to have breakfast.
There was also a very nice wine and champagne collection...
...including some wines from our neck of the woods in the Pacific Northwest!
One of the perks to the British Airways business class lounge in Terminal 5 is that they also have showers. Since we had been traveling for what felt like an eternity, and would only last for an unknown many more hours, I wanted to refresh and take a shower. I have done this at a number of airports, and can't recommend it enough.
While the shower rooms are not the height of luxury, they are comfortable and clean enough to get the job done.
Note that they can often be booked up, so if you have a tighter layover, you may not be in luck. However, if you have some extra time and want to wash the grime of flying off of you, definitely inquire as to whether or not your airport/lounge has access to showers.
Finally, many, many hours of half sleeping while sitting upright in a chair later, it was time to board our flight to Bucharest. And we were excited that we were still able to secure business class seats, so that these last few hours of travel would be comfortable and relaxing.
...except that it turns out that business class seats on British Airways (and perhaps all of Europe's flights inter-Europe) are nothing more exciting than your regular coach seat, just with an empty middle seat between you. Hooray?
Our plane was so old that neither Ben or I had any legroom. In fact, had there been a person in the middle seat, I'm not sure how we would have survived the flight. You can see how Ben had to angle his legs just to be able to keep them in the row - it was very, very uncomfortable.
I will say that the British Airways staff were very warm and friendly. Since Ben and I were in the last row of business class, my preferred dish (the gluten free, dairy free option of a curry) was taken by the man in front of me. I was so worn out by the long travel day and being up for about 24 hours at that point that I was almost in tears, since I knew we would get to Bucharest late and would not be in the mood to find a restaurant to eat something before we would collapse in bed. The staff offered to get me any item from their economy menu for free, but the only thing I could get from that was the dried mango. Combined with some of the snacks from the night before at the hotel in LA, plus my gluten free haul from Modern Bread and Bagel, it would all have to suffice.
Finally (!!), many hours after our journey started, we made it to Romania. Did our line take forever to cross the border since the non-EU border guards were investigating a couple of people with dubious passports? You bet!
But once we were through, we were greeted by our driver, who whisked us off to our beautiful hotel. There, we would be greeted by a glass of champagne, very friendly staff, and an absolutely beautiful room. But that, my friend, is a story for a different day. To learn more about how our first real day went in Bucharest, just jump back up to the top and start this posting all over again!
Ready to Explore?
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If you're looking to visit Belgrade either on land or by river cruise, allow me to help plan your next trip. Click on this link to learn more about AmaWaterway's Danube River cruises, and reach out if you are interested in planning your own travel adventure
Day One of Exploring Bucharest Details
Day(s) of travel: Departed Seattle April 1st and arrived in Bucharest April 3rd, 2025
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