Bucharest

This Month in Bucharest (March):

Shopping: Organic produce and classy souvenirs can be found every Saturday and Sunday at The Ark. As an added bonus, next door is the city's enormous flower market (196A Calea Rahovei).

Sightseeing: The December 1989 exhibition at the National History Museum hosts an excellent collection of photos from the Romanian Revolution of the same year (26 Calea Victoriei).

Key areas: See an opera at the still very cheap Romanian National Opera. Besides regular performances every day at 6.30pm there are children's matinees at 11am on weekend mornings (70-72 Bulevardul Kogalniceanu, operanb.ro).

Day trips: There should still be more than enough snow to ski at Sinaia, a mountain resort less than two hours by high-speed train from Bucharest. Non-skiers can head for Sinaia's Peles Castle, once the summer home of Romania's royals.

Bucharest News & Gossip

Luxury Weekend in Bucharest

FRIDAY

Check in to the InterContinental (from €124, book at hotels.easyJet.com), which for three decades was the tallest building in the city. Its top-floor swimming pool is impressive. Head straight for one of Europe's largest buildings, Casa Poporului (House of the People, Parliament Palace, 1 Calea 13 Septembrie, tel: +40 21 311 3611), and take the guided tour. The view from the balcony across the city is fantastic. In the same building is Romania's Museum of Contemporary Art (tel: +40 21 318 9137), which has a trendy café and bar open till late, and is a great place to mix with Romania's hip, arty crowd. For dinner, head over to Locanta Jaristea (50-52 Strada George Georgescu, tel: +40 21 335 3338), the best place in town to eat terrific Romanian food in sumptuous surroundings. For a genuine feast-like-a-king experience, go for the full suckling pig. On the same street as the InterContinental is Deja-Vu (25 Strada Nicolae Balcescu), a lively Moldovan-owned and run bar and club, infamous for its audience-participation cocktails.

SATURDAY

Wake early and head into the Old Town - Lipscani district. Opposite the neoclassical National Bank (4 Strada Lipscani) is the Grand Café Van Gogh (9 Strada Smardan), its high walls adorned with paintings (all of which are for sale), making it the perfect spot for a morning coffee and croissant. Explore the Old Town and its churches, courtyards and shops all morning, making sure you splash plenty of cash at Hanul cu Tei (Strada Lispcani), an old inn and stables now hosting artisans and high-class antique stores. Look out for fine blown glass, made around the corner at the Curtea Sticlarilor (Glassblower's Courtyard, 9-11 Strada Selari) and art deco furniture from the 1920s. Peek inside Stavropoleos Church (Strada Stavropoleos), which has a glorious altarpiece, before treating yourself at either Sushi Ko (8 Strada Stavropoleos, tel: +40 21 316 6301), the city's best Japanese restaurant, or Caru' cu Bere (5 Strada Stavropoleos), Bucharest's oldest beer hall. Haul yourself away from the Old Town and head off to wealthy Doroban˛ti, the city's plushest district, packed with fine houses and villas from the end of the 19th century. It's home to great cafés (Turabo at 6 Strada Radu Beller is the most fashionable) and some exquisite little shops. The galleria at 131 Calea Doroban˛tilor hosts the showrooms of several local designers. Or pick up handmade shoes at Sepala, a few steps away (24 Intrarea Tudor Stefan). Find out how tomatoes should really smell and taste by visiting the covered organic market opposite.

Bucharest's finest building is the Atheneum (1-3 Strada Benjamin Franklin), a concert hall opened in 1888 that boasts both world-class acoustics and an exceptional resident orchestra. There are concerts most Saturdays at 6.30pm.

A post-concert drink in the Athenee Palace's historic English Bar across the road is recommended, before heading off to Balthazar (2 Strada Dumbrava Rosie, tel: +40 21 212 1460) for supper with Bucharest's rich set. Join the high rollers who fly in from all over the Balkans and the Middle East to try their luck at places such as the Casino Bucharest in the basement of the InterContinental.

SUNDAY

Locals head for Ci¸smigiu Gardens (Bulevardul Regina Elisabeta) on Sunday mornings: go along and see old men playing highly competitive games of chess, and courting couples rowing on the boating lake. The nearby Romanian National Opera and Ballet (Bulevardul Mihail Kogalniceanu, www.operanb.ro) has a weekly matinee at 11am; a box (loja) will cost far less than you expect. Indulge yourself in a Bucharest expat institution: Champagne Sunday brunch at a five-star hotel. The Athenee Palace (1-3 Strada Episcopiei, tel: +40 21 303 3777) and Radisson Blu (63-81 Calea Victoriei, tel: +40 21 311 9000) serve the best. On the way to the airport, stop off at the fascinating Peasant Museum (28-30 Soseaua Kiseleff ), which has the best souvenir shop in Romania. Buy delicate, hand-painted Easter eggs for timely gifts.

Bucharest Trivia

• March: March marks the anniversary of Romania's deadliest ever earthquake, which shook Bucharest in 1977, killing more than 1,500 people.

• February: The second Queen of Romania, Marie, was English: the granddaughter of Queen Victoria. She had a hand in the design of Romania's current presidential palace, Cotroceni.

• January: Bucharest's Mayor Sorin Oprescu wants to solve the city's traffic problems by constructing an overhead motorway traversing the city.

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