2020-05-01_Lonely_Planet_Traveller

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SLEEPING

THE URBAN EDIT

ILLUSTRATION: STELLA ISAAC

MAP KEY

S I G H T S

C h o r a lTe m p l e

H e r a ̆ s t r a ̆ uPa r k

Stavropoleos Church

EATING

A r t i s t

M a i z e

M o d e l i e r

DRINKING

F a b r i c ad eB e r eB u n a ̆

F I X

L i n e a /C l o s e rt o t h eM o o n

ENTERTAINMENT

Po i n t

SLEEPING

H o t e lO p e r a

V i l a 11

V i l a A r t e

LIKEA LOCAL

I startmyweekendwith

a coffeeat Origo,Orygyns

SpecialtyCoffee,

or Troficwhichalsoserves

amazinghealthyfood.

Sundaysaregreatfor

brunchat Simbioand

art-galleryhopping.More

recently,I’vestarted

goingto lesser-known

museumsliketheFrederic

andCeciliaCut,escu-

StorckArtMuseumand

watchingindependent

moviesat CinemaElvire

Popesco,housedin the

beautifulFrench

Institute.

BYBUCHAREST

RESIDENT

MONICA SUMA

FAUX PAS

Celebritiessuch

as MichaelJacksonand

Iron Maidenhave greeted

audienceswith ‘Hello

Budapest!’(the Hungarian

capital).Therehave even

been casesof sports

fansand tourists

flyingto the

wrong city.

BUDGET

VILA 11

Vila11bucharest.com

Runby a welcomingexpatfamily,

thispensiuneis ona backstreet

a fewminutes’walkfromthemain

trainstation.Therearegood-

valuesix-beddormsas wellas

privatesinglesanddoubles

• somewithen suitebaths.Ask
  fora top-floorroom,withpretty
  viewsandair-conditioning,but
  watchthenarrowstairways.

MID-RANGE

VILAARTE

vilaarte.ro

A renovatedvillatransformed

intoanexcellent-valueboutique

hotelstuedwithoriginalartthat

pushestheenvelopeondesign

andcolourat thispricepoint.

The services are top drawer and

thehelpfulreceptionmakes

everyguestfeelspecial.The

‘Ottoman’roomis donein an

updatedTurkishstyle,with

deep-redspreadsandfabrics,

andorientalcarpets.

TOPEND

HOTELOPERA

hotelopera.ro

Setona backstreetcorner,this

33-room,faintlyArtDecohotel

playsontheearly-20th-century

themewithhistoricartworkon

thewallsandporcelainand

brassdecorativeobjectsin the

rooms.Roomscomein ‘standard’

andslightlymore-expensive

‘executive’flavours,thoughin

practicethere’slittledierence

betweenthetwo.Askabout

lowerweekendratesavailable

most weeks throughout the year.

WHILE YOU’RE HERE

DOventureto Hera ̆stra ̆u

Lakeforboatridesand

to seetheNational

VillageMuseum.

WATCHart-house

moviesin Cinemateca

Eforieor livemusicat

undergroundClubA.

AFTERDARKheadto a

balletperformanceat

theOperaHouseor the

edgy nightclub Control.

MORE INFO...Romania & Bulgaria (£14 .9 9) // D ow n l o a d a b l e P D F (£ 2.3 9) // l o n e ly p l a n e t .c o m/r o m a n i a / b u c h a r e s t

STARRING ROLE

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