Exploring Bucharest: City Travel Guide

This weekend we had such gorgeous weather in London (it was sunny and in the mid 50’s) that it feels a bit late to be posting about a freezing Christmas trip but hey, it is still Winter and better late than never.  I have already shared my experiences visiting both the Peles Castle and the famed Dracula’s Castle when I visited Romania but I also wanted to share a few photos from my trip to the capital city.  I spent a day exploring Bucharest with no real plans expect for some hot spots flagged via Trip Advisor and some recommendations from a coworker. 

I started my morning in search of coffee and got waylaid by not only the massive he Palace of the Parliament –   the second largest administrative building in the world after The Pentagon – but also the adorable Christmas market that was set up in front of it.   Even at 10am there was more mulled wine than I have ever seen in one place and people going all in with the delicous pastries. 

I went from there on a walk but very quickly learned that exploring Bucharest is not something you can entirely do on foot – it is very spread out for a capital city – 88 square miles – and the 6th largest in the EU based on population even though they don’t use the Euro.  Instead I re-jiggered my plans and headed to the famed book store and the coffee shop. 

If you are planning to visit Bucharest and Cărturești Carusel is not on your list, do yourself a favor and add it right now. This bookstore in the old town of Bucharest is gorgeous with it’s bright lighting, spiral staircases, top floor cafe, and floor to ceiling bookshelves in a multitude of languages. I bought a few Christmas presents and souvineers here as well as snapped a few photos with the staircases. From there it is only a ten minute walk to a quaint coffee shop called Origo which I also recommend visiting.