As part of our summer holidays this year, we spent two days and one night in Bucharest, the capital city of Romania. While I went here with the idea that it would be somewhat like Budapest (a city I love), I quickly realised this was not the case. I have concluded that Bucharest is a place I won’t be rushing back to but we enjoyed it all the same. Keep reading to see what we got up to!

We arrived to Bucharest Henri Coandă International Airport (OTP) and took an Uber straight to Therme București. While getting there by bus is cheap, it was expected to take an hour. We decided to travel by Uber which was a twenty minute drive and cost us just over €8. Already we knew this two-day trip was going to be much cheaper than any day out in Ireland.

Therme București is an indoor spa and wellness facility with various ticket prices. We paid for full access which was approx. €40 per person and this gave us all-areas access which includes the main indoor and outdoor pools, bubble pools, mineral pools, swim-up pool bars, multiple restaurants, saunas, steam rooms, relaxation areas and water slides. Our tickets also gave us access to spa treatments and we were very excited at the prospect of getting massages but sadly when we got to the desk to make a reservation they were fully booked for the day. This would be my only complaint about the experience, you can’t pre-book massages/facials, they must be booked on the day. If I were to go back to Therme București I would aim to go mid-week and aim to be there as soon as it opens. We were there at 11am on a Saturday morning (open time was 10am) and all massage slots were already taken. We still had a great day and got to take part in one of the skin scrub rituals. If you are visiting Therme București bring your own flip-flops and towels.

We stayed in Relax Comfort Suites Hotel which was a ten minute walk from the old town. The room was spacious with air-con and a bath, and only cost €60 for the night. The street this hotel is located on is extremely busy with traffic and I would recommend always using the pedestrian crossings and being hyper-vigilant even when the green man flashes!

Ahead of going for dinner, we didn’t properly research the area and ended up walking away from the old town and eating in a very quiet area in a restaurant called Piatto 77 which has a lovely terrace area and super tasty food. We had a beef salad and the chicken wings and would highly recommend.

After dinner we took an Uber to the old town as it was going to be a half hour walk, and some of the streets felt eerily quiet so we decided to err on the side of caution. It is important to be vigilant when walking around this city as there are people (and children!) trying to sell roses/pick-pocket.

The old town has a great buzz and boasts many options for food and drink, and I must add that dining out in Bucharest is super budget-friendly, our dinners worked out at approx. €25 for two people. In the old town we found a bar showing the Olympics to watch the Irish women’s relay final. Although we just missed out on the gold medal, we toasted with a glass of wine and a beer which set us back a total of €7.

On day two, we enjoyed brunch in Le Bab where were ordered refreshing iced coffees, eggs avocado and eggs benedict. The eggs benedict is particularly worth mentioning as the hollandaise sauce was infused with truffle and it was stunning! What’s more, the outdoor dining area was under a canopy with the little water mist sprayers to keep us cool under the Romanian sun.

After brunch, we took the underground to the Museum of Senses which is located in a huge shopping centre. The underground costs 80c per trip, and entry to the Museum of Senses was €10 per person and took about 30 minutes to go through. The shopping centre is home to many high street names like Primark, Office, Zara, etc. as well as a cinema and ice-skating rink.

Before going to the airport we ate in a delicious Mexican restaurant called Mexikanos which had only opened three weeks prior. We enjoyed chicken tacos, veggie nachos and fried potatoes, with guacamole and salsa.

We don’t regret visiting Bucharest, but we probably won’t go again. Therme București is 100% worth visiting and the cost of accommodation, food and drink is extremely budget-friendly but we didn’t love the city. As you wander around, you see some fantastic architecture, but this is mixed with big concrete buildings which are a reminder of Romania’s communist era, and there is a heart-breaking amount of homeless people with severe physical disabilities which may have a history with the infamous Ceausescu’s regime. In one sentence, it feels like a city that doesn’t know what it wants to be.