Street in Bucharest
Bucharest’s Old Town (Lipscani) is a compact grid of pedestrian streets between Calea Victoriei and the Dambovita River. Free to walk. The cobblestone lanes hold pubs, restaurants, bookshops, and the ruins of the Old Princely Court (Curtea Veche), where Vlad the Impaler once held court. Budget travelers drink cheap beer in the outdoor terraces, explore the courtyard ruins for free, and eat at one of the many restaurants where a full meal costs under ten euros.
Practical
On foot
Free and low-cost routes that stop at Bucharest Old Town.
The Bucharest Contrasts Walk is a self-guided route through the city's layered history, from Revolution Square to the old town to the dictator's palace. Free. Budget travelers walk from democracy to dictatorship in two hours and understand why Bucharest is the most complicated capital in Europe.
Nearby
Other places worth the walk, and what each one costs.
Calea Victoriei is Bucharest's most historic boulevard, running from the Dambovita River to Piata Victoriei. Free to walk.
Cismigiu Gardens is Bucharest's oldest and most central park, 16 hectares of shaded paths, an artificial lake with rowing boats (cheap in summer), a Roman Garden, and a Writers' Alley lined with busts of Romanian poets. Free.
Also known as the Old Princely Court Church, this is the oldest surviving church in Bucharest, dating to the 16th century. Free to enter, it sits next to the ruins of Vlad the Impaler's court in the heart of the old town.
Herastrau Park is Bucharest's largest park, wrapping around a lake in the northern part of the city. Free.
The Macca-Vilacrosse Passage is a fork-shaped glass-roofed arcade in the center of Bucharest, built in the 1890s and bathed in amber light from the yellow glass canopy. Free to walk through.
A 19th-century caravanserai and the oldest surviving inn in Bucharest, with a courtyard that now houses a restaurant and beer garden. Free to enter the courtyard and look around, it sits at the edge of the old town and represents the city's Ottoman-era trading heritage.
Working out what Bucharest costs?
The whole of Bucharest