Bucharest 2 Day Itinerary (No Day Trips)
Two days in Bucharest, prices in lei not euros, is enough for the Palace of Parliament, the Old Town, and Revolution Square, and nothing else. Skip the day trips entirely at this length, Peles and Bran need a whole extra day each and rushing either one from a 2 day base does both a disservice. This is the tight city version: one booking call to make before you land, two solid days after that. Longer? See the 3 day or 7 day version of this same route, extended rather than reinvented.
Book these before you go:
- Palace of Parliament tour on GetYourGuide , skip-the-line handles the passport-check queue faster than the walk-up line
- Bucharest hotels on Booking.com , Old Town rooms sell out fastest around weekends
- Communism history tour on Viator if you want the 1989 story guided rather than self-paced
Day 1: Old Town and Revolution Square
Land at Henri Coanda (OTP) and take the Express Bus 100 into the center, roughly 3 RON, every 15 to 20 minutes, terminating at Piata Unirii in 40 to 50 minutes. Skip the taxis waiting right outside arrivals, unmarked cabs overcharging tourists is a well-documented problem here; Bolt or the official yellow booking kiosks in the terminal are the safer call.
Check into an Old Town or Calea Victoriei hotel, then spend the afternoon at Revolution Square, free and outdoor, the actual spot where Ceausescu’s final speech got booed down live in December 1989. Walk to the Romanian Athenaeum next door for the 15 RON cash walk-in ticket (Musicians Entrance, Strada Benjamin Franklin), then into Old Town for the evening. Dinner at Caru’ cu Bere, a beer hall dating to 1899, then a wander down Strada Lipscani for the bars.
Day 2: The Palace of Parliament
This only works if you called ahead: individuals book by phone (+40 733 558 102/103, weekdays 9:00 to 16:00) at least 24 hours before, and you need an original passport at the door, not a photo (full rules ). The standard tour runs roughly 60 RON adult, 30 RON student, 20 RON child, plus a 10 RON basement add-on, and takes about an hour once you’re through security.
In the afternoon, the Village Museum inside King Michael I Park is the best second stop this trip has room for, real wooden houses and churches relocated from rural Romania, 40 RON adult, no booking needed. If you’re short on time, swap it for Cismigiu Gardens instead, free, central, and a fifteen-minute walk from most Old Town hotels. Head to the airport with a buffer for weekday traffic; Bus 100 runs both directions.
| Day | Focus | Travel time | Rough daily cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Revolution Square, Athenaeum, Old Town | Airport to center: 40-50 min by bus | ~150 RON |
| 2 | Palace of Parliament, Village Museum or Cismigiu | Walkable/metro within center | ~195 RON |
Bring cash for the Athenaeum ticket, 15 RON, no card machine at the Musicians Entrance.