Bucharest City in 4 Days on a Budget
A 4-day Bucharest plan, city only, priced in RON
Four days adds one museum-and-neighborhood day onto the 3-day plan: the Palace of Parliament and Old Town, Revolution Square and the Village Museum, Little Paris and Therme Bucuresti, then the Crown Jewels and Cotroceni on day four. It nests into the 6-day version below, and compresses to 3 days or 2 days if you have less time.
Book these before you go
- Book the Palace of Parliament tour or call +40 733 558 102 at least 24 hours ahead yourself; there is no walk-up or online ticket.
- Check Old Town hotel rates on Booking.com for a base within walking distance of every day below.
- Book a Bucharest communism and city history tour for context before day two.
| Day | Focus | Getting there | Rough cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | Palace of Parliament, Old Town | Central, walk or metro | 150-200 RON |
| Day 2 | Revolution Square, Village Museum, Cismigiu | Central, metro or bus, 15-20 min | 100-150 RON |
| Day 3 | Little Paris walk, Therme Bucuresti | Bus 442 from Piata Presei Libere, 20-30 min | 0-147 RON |
| Day 4 | Crown Jewels, Cotroceni | Central, metro or walk, 15-25 min | 32-80 RON |
Day 1: Palace of Parliament and the Old Town
Start at the Palace of Parliament for your booked morning slot; bring an original passport or ID, since photocopies get turned away. The standard tour runs 60 RON adult, 30 RON student, 20 RON child, plus 10 RON if you add the basement. From there it is a short metro or walk to the Old Town (Lipscani), free to wander, where lunch at a “meniul zilei” (menu of the day) spot runs well under 30 RON. Spend the afternoon on the cobbled streets and Stavropoleos Monastery, then have dinner at a historic spot like Caru’ cu Bere, sarmale and mici with the bill landing near 100 RON with a drink.
Day 2: Revolution Square, the Village Museum and Cismigiu
Morning goes to Revolution Square, free and outdoors, plus the Romanian Athenaeum’s 15 RON visit-only ticket if you want to see the concert hall without a performance. The National Museum of Art next door runs 24 RON per gallery, free if you happen to land on the first Wednesday of the month. In the afternoon, take the metro or a short taxi to the Village Museum (40 RON adult, half that on a Monday or Tuesday) inside King Michael I Park, then close the day at Cismigiu Gardens, free, for a walk around the lake before dinner.
Day 3: Little Paris on foot, then Therme Bucuresti
Spend the morning walking Calea Victoriei, Bucharest’s “Little Paris” boulevard: the CEC Palace, the Arcul de Triumf and the stretch of Belle Epoque facades between them, all free, all on foot from the Old Town. In the afternoon, catch bus 442 from Piata Presei Libere (reachable on bus 100) out to Therme Bucuresti , where a 3-hour Galaxy zone ticket runs 67 RON adult on weekdays, 77 RON on weekends, or skip it entirely and spend the afternoon on a second free loop through Cismigiu or Cotroceni instead. Either way, keep dinner back in the Old Town for your last full night.
Day 4: the Crown Jewels and a quieter neighborhood
Morning goes to the National Museum of Romanian History ’s Historical Treasure exhibit, 32 RON adult (16 RON senior, 8 RON student), covering the Romanian Crown Jewels, the Pietroasele treasure and a full-scale cast of Trajan’s Column while renovation keeps the rest of the building closed. It only opens Wednesday through Sunday, 10am-6pm, so schedule this day around that rather than against it. In the afternoon, walk the leafy Cotroceni district around the presidential palace, free and genuinely quiet after three days in the center, before a last stop at Lipscani’s stalls for souvenirs and a final cheap dinner.
Is the National Museum of Romanian History worth 32 RON right now?
Yes, with one catch: renovation work has closed most of the building, so the ticket only covers the Historical Treasure room (the Romanian Crown Jewels), the Lapidarium and a Trajan’s Column cast. It is a real, worthwhile hour, not the full-scale museum visit older guides describe.
Do you need 4 days to see Bucharest properly?
Not strictly. Two days cover the headline sights and three adds real breathing room, so a fourth day is for depth, not gaps: a slower museum morning, a genuinely quiet neighborhood, and one more cheap dinner before you fly home instead of a rushed last morning.
Check the museum’s open days before you land: it is closed Monday and Tuesday, the same two days the Village Museum runs its discount, so split those two across different days rather than trying to stack them.