Capital of Romania - The heart of a hidden treasure

The capital of Romania is of course the beautiful city of Bucharest. Despite all you see, hear and read, Bucharest is a city full of surprises and the longer you are here, the more you will come to love it.

If you are in a built up area, try to find some small back streets and you will get an idea of what Bucharest was like in its heyday, described as the Little Paris of the East. The days before tower block building gripped the city with its pile 'em high solution to everything.

I read the capital of Romania had less green space than almost any other city when you divided parks by population. However there are parks everywhere - lots are a decent size and keep my running friends happy - though they have had to learn about how to deal with the rogue street dogs. I always found these were top places to go on dates, escape the in-laws and just a place to de-stress from work. There are lots of people in the centre of the park, but also lots of empty spaces to escape the crowds.

In the old days, the number of cars was strongly controlled so each family could have one car. Car spaces in the city were planned on this. Come the Revolution, free choice for everyone - everyone immediately goes for monster 4x4 cars and then they express surprise when they can't park the car anywhere. As most these folks already live in Romania, you would have thought they would have noticed this before getting yet another set of wheels!

The public transport system in the capital of Romania is simply amazing - and to make it more exciting, it is constantly being upgraded, further reducing the need of a car here.

I love the metro as it whisks me past traffic. It is prone to occasional strikes but these are well warned about and rarely happen. The trains, even during the rush hour are not as full in other capital cities and so you often quickly find a seat. It has limited cover, as it was designed to move workers from working class areas to industrial complexes - so the centre of the capital of Romania, Bucharest, is not very well served.

When I can't jump on a metro, I recommend the trams, as these too are surprisingly underused by the locals. I pretty much always find a seat and play at finding wireless networks on the way - though I am never close long enough to pick up a connection.

If I am forced between the bus and using my legs in the capital of Romania, you often see me walking along. Everyone seems to use the bus - at rush hour be prepared for the fight to squeeze on - the rest of the day it seems to fill with obscure loads like 30 brooms, half a market stall etc. This is the place most pickpockets are at their busiest - the tight squeeze prevents you noticing much.

The taxis are another pet hate - I never take one on my own and Romanians also regularly get ripped off. My wife loves them - and has a list of good taxis on her mobile phone - an excellent idea for everyone else to follow! If you ripped off there is little you can do - possibly renegotiate - or just save the trouble and walk.

Accommodation here is in a semi freefall - you will pay double compared to a Romanian. They then complain they cannot find tenants! Saying that foreigners seem to have higher starting expectations - more seems to get broken or damaged in the process and they are more likely to unexpectedly vanish than locals, so I guess they have a point!

What are your experiences of living in Bucharest? Do you also love it or are you desperate to leave it? Most ex-pats manage 2 years before needing to escape to pastures new!

What do you think of the capital of Romania?

I love the capital of Romania. It took many years - but it is growing on my. What do you think of Bucharest? Share it with our other readers!

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