Can I visit the Palace of Parliament without a booking?

No. You must book online at cdep.ro with your passport number. No walk-ups are accepted. Show up with your physical passport, not a copy or a photo. Book at least 3 days ahead for a weekend slot. Slots for Monday tours often free up on Sunday morning.

Is Therme București worth the trip in winter?

Yes, more than in summer. The pools are heated to 30°C. The indoor palm zone is enclosed and humid. Crowds are thinner from November to February. Weekday morning slots before 11:00 cost 70 RON (2025) versus 80 RON on weekends. Bolt fare from the centre is 25 RON each way.

What do I do if a museum is closed on Monday?

Most museums in Bucharest close Monday. Use that day for Therme, a walk in Herăstrău Park, or a day trip to Mogoșoaia Palace by train from Gara de Nord. The train costs 10 RON and takes half an hour. The palace grounds are free. The interior is 15 RON (2025).

Can I use the metro without a contactless card?

No. Paper magnetic tickets were discontinued in 2025. Buy a contactless Activ card at any metro station machine for 3.50 RON, then top up. Single trips cost 3 RON. The card works on all 5 metro lines and on STB buses and trams within 90 minutes of first validation.

Things to Do in Romania: What Is Actually Worth It

You Have Four Weekends in Bucharest. Do Not Do the Same Thing Each One.

Most visitors do Bucharest in a three-day dash: Palace of Parliament, Old Town, maybe Therme if the weather cooperates. You have thirty days. That changes everything. The structure that works is four distinct weekends, each with a different purpose, so you never hit tourist fatigue or run out of things that feel worth the metro fare. The single most useful fact on this page is this: the Palace of Parliament and the Ceaușescu Mansion both require you to book with your passport number in advance. No walk-ups. No exceptions. Book the Palace tour at cdep.ro and the Ceaușescu Mansion at muzeulcauparimbucuresti.ro. Do not expect to do both in the same day. They are a 20-minute drive apart but the Palace tour alone takes 90 minutes plus security screening, and the Mansion limits visits to 30 people per slot.

Weekend One: the Communist Monuments and the Walk That Connects Them

Saturday: The Palace And The Balcony

Saturday morning, arrive at the Palace of Parliament by 08:30. Enter through the south gate, not the main visitor entrance. The metal-detector queue moves faster there. The tour costs 50 RON (2025 price) for the full route including the basement bunker, and it takes exactly 90 minutes. You need your physical passport. A photo on your phone will not work. After the Palace, walk northeast along Calea Victoriei for 22 minutes to Revolution Square. That is where Ceaușescu gave his final speech from the balcony of the Communist Party headquarters before he fled by helicopter on 22 December 1989. The balcony is visible from the street. No ticket required.

Sunday: The Mansion And The Metro

Sunday, book a morning slot at the Ceaușescu Mansion in Primăverii. The earliest entry is 10:00. You get exactly 45 minutes inside the villa. The gardens are free to walk afterwards. The detail most people miss: the Mansion is a 14-minute walk from the Aviatorilor metro station on line M2. Do not take a taxi from the Palace. The metro covers that corridor in 12 minutes for 3 RON (2025 fare).

Do not eat near either site. The restaurants around the Palace charge 80 RON for what costs 50 RON on Calea Victoriei two blocks north. Carry a covrigi from Luca. They cost 2 RON at any street window and they are hot around the clock.

Carpathian mountains hiking Romania — Marian Predescu , CC0 via Wikimedia Commons

Weekend Two: the Two Museums That Most Visitors Skip and a Market Lunch

Saturday: Village Museum Or The Indoor Backup

Saturday belongs to the Dimitrie Gusti National Village Museum. It sits inside Herăstrău Park, open 09:00 to 17:00, admission 30 RON (2025). The site covers 14 hectares with roughly 360 traditional houses relocated from all over Romania. Allow two hours to walk the whole loop. The failure case: if it rains, the paths turn to mud. Wear shoes you do not mind destroying. The backup is the Grigore Antipa Natural History Museum at 30 RON, an 8-minute walk east along the park edge, which is entirely indoors.

Sunday: Contemporary Art And Mici

Sunday, hit the National Museum of Contemporary Art inside wing E4 of the Palace of Parliament. Admission is 24 RON (2025). The lift up takes you past exposed concrete walls from the Ceaușescu era that the museum chose not to cover. That contrast is the point. The collection rotates but the permanent installation by artist Dan Perjovschi on the stairwell is worth the entry alone. After the museum, walk 6 minutes south to Terasa Obor for mici. You eat them standing at a metal counter with mustard and bread. Cost is 12 RON per portion.

Four Weekend Structure at a Glance

Weekend	Focus	Primary Cost	Start Time
One	Communist monuments: Palace of Parliament + Ceaușescu Mansion	50 RON + 50 RON	08:30 Saturday
Two	Village Museum + Contemporary Art + market lunch	30 RON + 24 RON	09:00 Saturday
Three	Therme București + Cotroceni walk	80 RON entry + 25 RON Bolt	10:00 Saturday
Four	Calea Victoriei museums + Cărturești Carusel + Romanian Athenaeum	24 RON + 24 RON + 20 RON	09:30 Saturday

Weekend Three: Therme as a Winter Recovery Day and the Neighbourhood Most People Miss

Saturday: Therme Done Right

Therme București is not a summer activity. The complex keeps the pools at 30 degrees Celsius year-round, and the indoor palm section means rain and cold are irrelevant. Book online at thermebucuresti.com. The cheapest entry is the Galaxy zone at 70 RON (2025) for four hours on a weekday. The weekend rate is 80 RON. A Bolt from central Bucharest costs 25 RON and takes 20 minutes. The bus from the Pipera metro station also goes there, but the Bolt is worth it to carry a towel and change of clothes without hassle. Bring flip-flops. The floor is slippery and you cannot rent them.

Sunday: Cotroceni On Foot

Sunday, walk Cotroceni. Start at the Cotroceni Palace metro exit and head west. The streets are quiet, the villas are Belle Époque, and the traffic noise drops to near zero. The Romanian Patriarchal Cathedral sits at the northern edge. The walk from the metro to the cathedral takes half an hour. After, stop at Zexe for salată de vinete at around 18 RON. The neighbourhood has no touts and no party strip. If you need a laptop-friendly café that stays open past 20:00, try M60 on Strada Mitropolit Antim Ivireanu. Espresso costs 14 RON and the WiFi does not drop.

Bucharest old town evening street — Rakoon , CC0 via Wikimedia Commons

Weekend Four: the Museum Cluster on Calea Victoriei and the Bookstore That is Not a Tourist Trap

Saturday: The Calea Victoriei Corridor

Saturday, spend it on Calea Victoriei between Piața Unirii and Piața Revoluției. That is a 1.2-kilometre corridor. Start at Cărturești Carusel, the six-floor bookstore in a restored bank building. Do not buy souvenirs there. The prices on Romanian-language novels are fair, but the English section is small and expensive. Buy postcards at the street vendor outside for 2 RON instead. Two minutes north is Stavropoleos Monastery, a 1724 church with intricate stonework. It is free and takes 10 minutes.

Continue north 8 minutes to the Romanian Athenaeum. Tickets for a Saturday afternoon classical concert cost 40 RON (2025) and sell out three days ahead. Check the schedule at fge.org.ro on Wednesday. If the concert is sold out, the lobby is open 10:00 to 17:00 for 20 RON and you can see the ceiling fresco without the crowd. The National Museum of Art of Romania is across the square. For 24 RON you get access to the European art collection of roughly 3,000 works and the Romanian permanent collection of about 10,000 works. The building closes at 18:00 on a Saturday. Enter by 15:30 or you rush the last galleries.

Sunday: Rest, Walk, Cemetery

Sunday, rest. Walk Carol Park or Bellu Cemetery. Bellu is 10 RON entry and the sculptural tombs of Romanian cultural figures fill a two-hour walk. No café inside. Bring water.