Bucharest Travel Guide
Bucharest is easier to enjoy when you group sights by neighbourhood. Give the Parliament a booked slot, leave time for Calea Victoriei and use the metro for the longer gaps between them.
Example spending plans
Use these room and meal budgets to plan a day. They are spending choices, not average prices or available room offers. Replace the room amount with your full booking price, including tax. If sharing, divide only the private-room cost. Airport and intercity travel are extra.
These are separate spending choices, not price or quality rankings. The alternative plan may have a lower total when its room, meal or activity allowances differ.
Simple stay
€60 / day
A bed, simple meals, local travel and an activity allowance.
Editorial planning estimate: 12 Sep 2026
A spending estimate, not a live price quote.
See the five allowances
- Room or bed budget
- €22
- Food and drinks
- €19
- Local transit
- €4
- Sightseeing and entry
- €10
- Miscellaneous
- €5
Private room
€125 / day
A private room, meals, local travel and an activity allowance.
Editorial planning estimate: 12 Sep 2026
A spending estimate, not a live price quote.
See the five allowances
- Room or bed budget
- €65
- Food and drinks
- €30
- Local transit
- €5
- Sightseeing and entry
- €17
- Miscellaneous
- €8
Alternative private room
€202 / day
A second private-room spending plan. Compare the five allowances before choosing.
Editorial planning estimate: 12 Sep 2026
A spending estimate, not a live price quote.
See the five allowances
- Room or bed budget
- €105
- Food and drinks
- €48
- Local transit
- €12
- Sightseeing and entry
- €25
- Miscellaneous
- €12
Example for one traveller using one individual bed. Chosen allowances, not measured average prices or bookable offers. Replace the room and visits with your choices. Add intercity travel and airport journeys separately; replace the attraction allowance instead of counting admission twice. If no suitable bed is available, use the full room quote for your party.
At A Glance
- Currency
- RON
- Ideal stay
- 3 days
- Walkability
- Walkable neighbourhoods; metro for longer trips
- Best value season
- Compare spring and autumn dates outside major events
Put the booked visit first
Start with the visit that has the least flexibility. For the Palace of Parliament, a group of one to nine people reserves by phone a day ahead and pays on site. The standard adult tour is 85 RON. Terrace and basement tours are currently unavailable, so check the actual tour before buying an agency package.
Leave the rest of that half-day loose. The building occupies a large site, and arriving at the wrong side can make a short walk much longer. Use the entrance instructions provided with your reservation.
Pick a base you can reach easily
Universitate and Romană are useful places to start a room search if you want a central location with a metro nearby. The Old Town suits evenings out, but a room above a bar may be a poor choice before an early train. Look at the entrance location and recent noise comments, not just the distance shown on a booking map.
Keep Calea Victoriei and its nearby streets together for a walk with a café stop. Leave a different block of time for a park or a museum farther away. You do not need to cross the city for every meal.
Choose the right local ticket
A Metrorex single is 5 RON, ten journeys cost 40 RON and a metro-only 24-hour ticket costs 12 RON. A combined Metrorex-STB ticket is a separate product: the 120-minute version costs 7 RON. Check the name of the product before paying if you expect to change between a bus and the metro.
Make a realistic food and sightseeing plan
For lunch, compare the listed dishes and portion choices before sitting down. A set menu is only useful if it includes what you want to eat. Keep paid visits separate from the food and room allowances in the budget calculator, and enter your actual accommodation cost.
On a wet day, choose one substantial indoor visit and a nearby meal. On departure day, leave enough time to collect bags and reach the station; the airport train arrives at Gara de Nord, not in the Old Town.
Useful sources: Parliament visits, Metrorex tickets, airport train.
Top sights and admission costs
Admission choices, ticket prices and practical advice for your visit.
Palace of Parliament: standard tour
RON 85.00Booking and rates: Reserve the tour before coming. Individual parties of 1–9 book by phone 24 hours ahead; groups of 10 or more use the separate advance group process. Bring the required original identity document and allow for security.
Ways to save: Children under 7 enter free; ages 7–18 have a 40 RON ticket. Other reductions require the stated documents.
Check current pricesWhere to Stay
Look around Universitate or Romană for a central base with metro access. Before booking in the Old Town, check recent comments about evening noise and the route to the entrance with luggage.
Getting Around
Metro-only and combined metro-and-bus tickets are different products. A metro single costs 5 RON; a 24-hour metro ticket costs 12 RON. Choose by the journeys you expect to make.
Airport transfers
View the airport transfer guide
Henri Coandă Airport (Otopeni) (OTP)
CFR Călători airport train (CFR Direct Airport Train)
6.50 RONCFR’s airport train takes about 20–25 minutes to București Nord, before any metro or bus connection. The 6.50 RON ticket has no reserved seat. Buy before boarding or use the onboard contactless terminal; the conductor fare is higher. Other rail operators sell their own tickets.
Check current pricesSTB bus 100 (Express Bus 100)
3.00 RONBus 100 serves the city centre. The 3 RON surface ticket lasts 90 minutes and does not include the metro. During terminal works, airport buses 100 and 442 use Departures only; follow the current airport signs. Contactless payment is available.
Check current pricesEating for Less
Read the full lunch menu before ordering. A soup-and-main offer can suit a sightseeing day, but drinks, bread and side dishes may be separate. Keep a bakery stop for a lighter meal.
Worth Paying For
The Parliament tour is worth considering if you want to see the interiors and understand the scale of the building. It needs advance arrangements and time for security.
Skip / Save Your Money
Skip a transport pass on a day spent mainly around one neighbourhood. Two metro singles cost less than the metro-only day ticket.
Common Tourist Traps & Money Mistakes
Buy Parliament admission through its own reservation process, or compare exactly what an agency adds. Do not mistake a reseller's package price for the museum's standard ticket.