I visited Romania, including Sighisoara in Oct.'05 and was surprised with how friendly everyone was throughout my entire two week trip. Romanians are very polite, hard working people.
Sibiu is a great town, with everything from a vibrant night life to the oldest museum in Europe. The middle-ages part of the city is wonderful, and if you visit it during August you might just be there for the medieval festival.
I urge anyone is planning to go to Bucharest to stay well away. It’s damp, smelly, thieves, beggars, insects and bad sanitation (I mean real bad).
Bucharest has the best mici (meat rolls) ever. Sarmala is also very good.
Bucharest was a huge disappointment and I don't recommend this city as a tourist destination. As our first introduction to Romania, Bucharest was depressing, ugly, and we hated it. I wish we had seen more of the countryside and stayed in Brasov -- we visited for a day and liked it. If you're going to Bucharest for cheap beer, clubbing, and staying out late, you'll probably like it. Otherwise, stay away. There's no tourist information office, which means you have to go searching for a map and any other info you need. The city is dirty, sadly ugly, and the people seem beaten down. I never thought I'd miss those schlocky tourist shops, but I did -- no postcards, no souvenirs, even finding bottled water was difficult. The metro was incredibly confusing, although fast and cheap. The food was mediocre but cheap. Everything was cheap, so it's easy to stay on a budget. The stray dogs and cats wandering around, the children sleeping in the streets, the taxi drivers trying to rip you off -- it…
I have just returned from Bucharest and loved it. For a young person its amazing, night life is fantastic and very cheap on a night out in Newcastle uk myself and partner speand on average 100-120 pound a night what with taxi fares, drink prices and cigarettes, in Bucharest we struggled to speand over 25 pound thats with taxi's, drink, pizza and cigs. The people are very friendly well more so then a lot in the uk.The street kids may come up to you and beg but you can't complain about it most wouldn't have ate all day on top of that they have spent a night in the sewer would you not ask for help in there shoes? The only thieves we came across were some taxi drivers but thats not to much of a problem just make sure they have the metre on and it's set to the price stated on the side of all the cars. Dogs don't seem to bother you if you don't bother them. The only bad thing that happened to us on our visit was witnessing some evil taxi drivers screaming at a lady and her two kids for…
Bucharesty is not much to see as tourist site, but man do they have a night life!!! Get to know people and u will absolutlly love it!!!
Brasov is just fantastic. A town with charm and much flair. The people are (like many Romanians) are very hospitable, nice and helpful. Explore Sinaia (Peles castle), Rasnov, the fortified churches of Prejmer and Harman. And if possible don't miss Sighisoara, the medieval town two hours from Brasov. It's great there. Or just stay in Brasov. I myself could stay there forever!
Bucharest is a nice city that is changing rapidly (for the better). I visited in 2007 -- and was never overcharged or taken advantage of. Just make sure the taxi meter is on and do research as to what the average costs are. I stayed with Romanians in pensiunes (guesthouses) and was very happy with my trip and accommodations.
Wow, some travelers just don't see Bucharest's charm. And I wonder how they miss all the beauty amongst the orderly chaos. I intended to "stomach" the city for four days because I had heard so many negative things and I liked it so much that after I toured the rest of the country, I came back and stayed six more days in Bucharest. I am glad that I have the ability to see the beauty along with the beast in every place I visit. If you like perfect order, stay in Paris and pay the high prices. Bucharest is for the more adventurous who want to rub elbows with the real world.
Bucharest is a unique city with lots to offer... let's not forget it was once known as the "Paris of the East". True, not all parts of Bucharest are luxurious, but the culture, welcoming people and great architecture makes it worth while.
I spent time in Bucharest and other parts of Romania in the early 1970s while working there for a U.S.-based cultural exchange program. Even though under Communist rule, the city was clean, safe to walk around at all hours, with no thieves and beggars. With freedom comes responsibility -- I visited again in 1996 and was appalled at the amount of garbage in the streets and the fourfold increase in traffic. The people that I interfaced and worked with during the '70s were fantastic -- I have many good memories and mental photographs of those times.
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