594 SOUTH EASTERN EUROPE
Shopping & Entertainment
From small, busy markets to upmarket malls, Romania
offers great shopping opportunities. Bucharest is by far
the best place for most shopping needs. However, towns
and villages often sell regional crafts and pro duce not
found elsewhere. Bucharest is also the enter tainment
cap i tal, hosting a wide range of classical music concerts,
theatre, opera and ballet while the ever-expanding
number of bars and clubs contribute to a lively night life.
The coun try’s wealth of natural beauty makes it very
attractive to outdoor enthusiasts. Its mountains cater for
all hiking lev els, with well-marked routes for expe rienced
walkers as well as organized trips.
MARKETS
Most towns have daily fruit
and vegetable markets which
offer an intriguing insight
into local life. Bucharest’s
main mar kets are at Piața
Obor and Piața Amzei. In
rural areas, weekly markets
are often colour ful affairs,
with traders arriving in
horsecarts from outlying
areas, bringing home-grown
produce and, sometimes,
crafts such as wooden utensils
and embroi dered shawls.
MALLS
Bucharest has a host of
shopping malls ranging
from the country’s largest,
Plaza Romania, with 150
shops and an 11-screen
cinema, to the central Unirii
Shopping Centre, which was
the exclusive pre serve of the
party elite during Communist
times. These tend to sell
well-known clothing brands
at prices similar to other
European cities. Bigger towns
such as Timişoara, Braşov
and Constanța also have
large modern malls. Iulius
Mall Timişoara has an ice
rink during winter.
ANTIQUESThe Lipscani area of Bucharest,
between Unity Square and
University Square, is known
for its numerous antique and
second-hand shops, and
is the best place to hunt
for rarities and obscure
Communist memorabilia.GIFTS AND SOUVENIRSSome of the best souvenirs
can be found at the outdoor
Village Museum and the
Museum of the Romanian
peasant (see pp577) in
Bucharest; both stock a range
of original crafts. Romartizana,
in Bucharest, also has a good
selection of crafts, and there
are several small shops selling
glassware, porcelain and hand-
crafted crystal clustered
around the court yard of Curtea
Sticlarilor. Textile weaving is
popular across the country;
embroi dered rugs, folk cos-
tumes, table cloths and wall
hangings are found in most
souvenir shops. Reproductions
of religious icons are also
worth looking out for.
Several high-end jewellery
shops such as Cellini are loca-
ted along Bucharest’s B-dul
Magheru and B-dul Balcescu.
The bigger shopping malls
also stock jewellery.NIGHTLIFEThe country’s nightlife is best
experienced in Bucharest,
where hundreds of clubs and
bars cater to every taste and
budget. Popular clubs with
live music include Club A and
Arcade Café. Larger towns and
cities with a sub stantial popu-
lation of students, such as
Braşov, Timişoara and Cluj-
Napoca, also offer good
nightlife. In sum mer, numer ous
seasonal clubs and bars open
in Constanța to entertain the
influx of both Romanian and
foreign visitors to the coast.OPENING HOURS
Local shops usually open from
9 or 10am to around 6 or 8pm
on week days. Larger depart-
ment stores stay open all
day on Saturdays, while most
shopping malls open from
10am to 10pm daily. Food
stores open from 8am to 8pm
Monday to Saturday but on
Sundays they open only from
8:30am to 1pm.
FOOD AND DRINKRomanian cuisine is noted for
its ciorba (soup), which is
traditionally made with ciorba
de burta (tripe), ciorba de
perisoare (meat balls) or ciorba
de legume (vege tables). Main
dishes lack variety and tend
to consist of grilled meat, butBOOKS AND MUSICFor English-language books
in Bucharest, visitors should
head for either Nautilus, which
has a parti cularly good range
of fiction, or the Anthony Frost
English Bookshop. Those in
search of traditional Romanian
folk music should try
Bucharest’s Village Museum
shop or Muzica in the city
centre. The huge Sony Music
Centre in the Unirii Shopping
Centre has a good selection
of mainstream music.spicy stews such as tocăniță
are worth trying. Sarmale is a
delicious dish made of stuffed
vine or cabbage leaves, which
is found all over the Balkans.
Romania is one of the
world’s largest pro ducers of
plums and turns most of its
harvest into the enor mously
popular, and potent ţuică
(plum brandy). Wine is also
produced in large quantities;
the sweet moldavian grasă
and tămâioasă are two of
the best wines in the country.
Romania has a reputable beer
brewing industry and Ciucaş,
from Braşov, is popular.LISTINGSŞapte Seri is Bucharest’s
best free weekly events guide.
Written in a mixture of English
and Romanian, its website
has a full English-language
version. In Your Pocket
Bucharest provides compre-
hensive entertainment listings.
Those who under stand
Romanian can consult
Time Out Bucharest.