48 Hours in Bucharest
CITY GUIDE WITH BOGDAN CIOCODEICA
48 Hours in Bucharest with Bogdan Ciocodeica
Often dismissed as simply "the Paris of the East," Bucharest rewards curious travelers with something far more compelling: a design destination where Belle Époque grandeur, communist-era brutalism, and cutting-edge contemporary culture collide in unexpected harmony.
Unlike Prague's preserved perfection or Berlin's overt cool, Bucharest reveals itself slowly to those willing to wander its contrasts. Neo-classical palaces stand opposite stark modernist blocks. Underground clubs occupy forgotten heating plants. Independent designers work from crumbling workshops creating furniture that lands in Milan showrooms. It's this unapologetic layering that makes Bucharest one of Europe's most exciting cities for design and architecture enthusiasts right now.
For Bogdan Ciocodeica, one of Romania's leading contemporary designers, Bucharest isn't about spectacle, it's about rhythm, craft, and the intelligence embedded in everyday spaces. This 48-hour guide traces the places he returns to for inspiration: experimental galleries, brutalist pilgrimage sites, independent studios, and the city's most atmospheric cafés.
This is Bucharest as the locals know it.
FEBRUARY 2026
Words: designeers and Bogdan Ciocodeica
Day One
8:30am Morning Ritual
Serafim
Begin the day at Serafim, one of Bucharest's best specialty coffee bars for design lovers, where exceptional coffee meets restrained, material-honest interiors. Think exposed concrete and warm timber, careful spatial proportions, and natural light that shifts throughout the morning. It's a coffee bar designed with the same rigour as a small pavilion – a minimalist café that reminds you why architectural details matter.
10:00am Design Stroll
Salonul de Proiecte
Next, visit Palatul Universul, one of Bucharest's best contemporary art galleries and creative hubs. This former newspaper palace now houses independent art spaces, studios, and Salonul de Proiecte a must-visit gallery for contemporary art lovers exploring Bucharest's design and cultural scene.
11:30am design shops
Lunet & ENTRANCE
Just nearby, Lunet Signature Store – one of Bucharest's most architecturally striking retail spaces – presents eyewear within an unconventional concrete setting where spatial design is as carefully considered as the frames themselves. Next door, ENTRANCE offers a tightly edited selection of contemporary fashion and Romanian design labels through a refined, minimalist lens. Together, these independent design shops reflect Bucharest's retail scene at its most intelligent and understated – essential stops for design-conscious shoppers.
ENTRANCE
1:00pm Lunch Spot
DeSoi Cismigiu
For lunch, DeSoi Cismigiu – one of Bucharest's best restaurants for modern Romanian cuisine – offers a contemporary take on local hospitality. Overlooking the historic Cișmigiu Gardens, this is where to pause and refuel with a seasonal menu rooted in traditional Romanian flavours, delivered with warmth rather than formality. A favourite lunch spot among Bucharest's creative community.
2:30pm Afternoon Immersion
Grădina Icoanei & Sera Eden
Spend the afternoon wandering Grădina Icoanei, one of Bucharest's most beautiful neighbourhoods for architecture lovers. Defined by 19th-century Belle Époque villas, tree-lined streets, and a charming French-style park, this area reveals a softer, more intimate side of the city – perfect for exploring Bucharest's historic residential architecture on foot.
Nearby, Sera Eden provides a seasonal escape within a greenhouse café and bar that blends lush greenery, social energy, and relaxed design. It's Bucharest's answer to Copenhagen's hygge culture – a year-round garden oasis popular with the city's design and creative crowd.
4:30pm BAR STOP
Bar Ton
As the light shifts, Bar Ton – one of Bucharest's best rooftop bars – is the ideal spot for an aperitif. Its elevated terrace overlooking the city centre and carefully calibrated minimalist interior create a refined yet easy atmosphere, perfect for sunset drinks while watching Bucharest transition into the evening. A favourite among the city's design and architecture community.
6:30pm Dinner STOP
Millo 6
Dinner at Millo 6, one of Bucharest's top restaurants for contemporary Romanian cuisine, brings the day to a close with a thoughtful, modern take on traditional flavours. The minimalist dining room reflects a careful balance between heritage and modernity, much like the city itself, while the seasonal tasting menu favours depth of flavour and restraint over excess. A must-visit for food-focused design travellers exploring Bucharest's culinary scene.
Day Two
9:00am Breakfast
Butter Dorobanti
Start the second day at Butter Dorobanti, one of Bucharest's best breakfast cafés and a local favourite among the city's creative community. Known for quality speciality coffee, fresh pastries, and a friendly, unhurried rhythm, it's a reliable neighbourhood café in the upscale Dorobanti area – the perfect place to ease into the morning before exploring Bucharest's design landmarks.
10:30am art gallery
Aparterre & The Edit
Late morning is dedicated to Bucharest's leading design galleries that blur the line between retail, exhibition space, and creative studio. Aparterre – one of the city's best galleries for collectible design and contemporary furniture – showcases limited-edition pieces, local designers, and international names within a carefully composed, gallery-like interior.
Nearby, The Edit offers a tightly curated selection of design objects, textiles, and homeware that reflects designer Bogdan Ciocodeica's own aesthetic sensibility. Together, both spaces highlight the growing confidence of Bucharest's contemporary design scene – essential stops for anyone interested in Romanian design and emerging Eastern European talent.
12:30pm Creative Lunch Break
BUN
Lunch at BUN Restaurant – one of Bucharest's best modern European restaurants – continues the theme of thoughtful simplicity that defines the city's contemporary food scene. The seasonal, ingredient-focused menu favours clarity and balance, with well-executed dishes that feel quietly confident rather than showy.
The minimalist dining room is calm and unfussy, designed to support conversation and a slower pace – an ideal midday pause for design-conscious travellers between a morning of gallery-hopping and an unhurried afternoon exploring Bucharest's brutalist landmarks.
Scânteia Plus
2:00pm MARe
King Carol I Park, MARe & Scânteia Plus
In the afternoon, seek out quieter moments away from central Bucharest. King Carol I Park – one of the city's most beautiful green spaces – offers room to breathe and reflect among neoclassical monuments and tree-lined paths.
Next, visit MARe (Multidisciplinary Architecture and Research), Bucharest's leading architecture and design platform housed in a converted modernist villa. This cultural hub hosts exhibitions, workshops, and critical discourse around contemporary Romanian architecture and spatial practice. Stop for specialty coffee at Beans and Dots Primaverii, the excellent café on MARe's ground floor, before continuing your exploration.
End the afternoon at Scânteia Plus (formerly Casa Scânteii), Bucharest's iconic Stalinist skyscraper turned creative hub. This historic modernist complex – once the headquarters of the Communist Party press – has been reimagined as a mixed-use space housing galleries, studios, and cultural organizations. It speaks directly to Bucharest's evolving relationship with its socialist architectural heritage and is essential viewing for anyone interested in brutalist and modernist landmarks in Eastern Europe.
4:00pm Final Moment ritual spot:
OTOTO Victoriei
Before dinner, Ototo Victoriei offers a gentle closing ritual. Part bookstore, part café, it is the kind of place that invites you to slow down without effort. Shelves of carefully selected titles sit alongside a calm, light-filled interior, creating an atmosphere that feels more like a quiet living room than a commercial space. It is a spot for lingering over a final coffee, leafing through a book, or simply watching the rhythm of the street outside. Unhurried and intimate, it provides a reflective pause, a fitting way to absorb the past two days before the final meal.
8:00PM DINNER
Belgrad 2
End your 48 hours at Belgrad 2, one of Bucharest's most beloved neighbourhood restaurants, where a relaxed, unpretentious atmosphere meets a strong culinary identity rooted in Balkan and Romanian flavours. Unlike the city's more formal dining rooms, this feels lived-in rather than staged – a local favourite among Bucharest's creative community and an authentic final note to a weekend shaped by design, architecture, and everyday beauty.
photography CREDITS
METRO AND FLARE Chantal Arnts
More from Bogdan Ciocodeica
Bogdan Ciocodeica Studio: Between Architecture, Object and Intuition
Founded in 2015, Bogdan Ciocodeica Studio operates at the intersection of interior architecture, collectible design, and spatial storytelling. Working across public and residential interiors, limited edition objects, and temporary installations, the studio is driven by a deeply personal design process that places the end user at the centre of every project.
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