Monica Suma

2-page Tear out guide for highlights of Bucharest, Romania, in the May 2020 issue of Lonely Planet magazine.

Mention Bucharest to most Americans and here comes the reply... "Did you mean: Budapest?" And a wonderful city Budapest is! But overlook the Romanian capital of Bucharest and you’ll miss easily one of the most interesting places in Europe right now -- a bohemian, Balkans-meets-Mediterranean city that wears its recent history on its sleeve as it redefines itself in real time.

In Romania, food isn't served merely to temper hunger and delight the palate but to teach visitors something about a culture they may not know well. In the past few years, a new generation of young chefs returning from stints abroad is redefining Romanian food.

This passionate group is introducing the new Romanian cuisine as an experience, through new techniques and a firm revival of not only the Romanian culture but an entire way of life.

Rotterdam wins all the plaudits for its innovative drinking and dining scene, but the adjacent city of Schiedam is in a league of its own when it comes to one particular tipple.
Jenever, the forefather of modern gin, has been distilled in Schiedam for hundreds of years, earning it the title of one of the Netherlands’ so-called ‘jenever cities.’

With perilous Dracula imagery and misty mountaintops in mind, Transylvania usually allures travelers darting straight to the better-known, southern towns of the region. But boasting Romania’s biggest music festivals and a burgeoning art scene like none other, Cluj-Napoca, the unofficial capital of Transylvania, more than deserves its spot in the limelight.

Featuring the best distilleries and bars in 33 countries – from gin, bourbon and whisky to vodka, cachaca, tequila and more. I wrote about Nollet Distillery in Schiedam, the Netherlands, and its centuries long tradition of distilling jenever (Dutch gin), known as the "father of all gins."

If you’re looking to discover the next ‘it’ wine region, it may be time to book that ticket to Romania. Gault&Millau launched the first guide dedicated to Romanian wines, covering 152 wines from 63 wineries. With some 180,000 hectares of vines and scenic backdrops blessed with auspicious land, Romania is fifth in terms of vineyard surface in the EU after Spain, France, Italy and Portugal, and sixth in terms of wine production.

Planning a trip to Bucharest but not sure when’s the best time to visit? From April to September, Bucharest becomes a stomping ground for the creative arts, contemporary design and street art, with speciality coffee and Romanian wine thrown in for good measure. Add to that a generous dose of music and the popular Night of Museums, and you’re all set for some fun times.

At first glance, Bucharest may be hard to define. The enormous Palace of Parliament gets the most attention as the second-largest administrative building in the world, but it’s far from what constitutes the everyday local life. Dig a little deeper in Bucharest’s walkable neighbourhoods, with their period architecture and pockets of hidden glory, and you’ll find an eclectic mix of old and new, arts initiatives aplenty and an ever-growing foodie scene.

Monica Suma speaks to Vlad Niculescu, the man behind the peerless Anthony Frost Bookshop, now part of Cărturești & Friends.

This October marked the opening of The Museum of Recent Art (MARe) in Bucharest, the first private museum to open since 1910. The museum features a permanent exhibition of Romanian art from the 1960s onwards, as well as temporary exhibits of Romanian and foreign artists. With over 150 pieces, MARe offers a unique perspective on the challenges Romanian artists faced during and after the communist regime.

Alina Iancu promotes Romanian wine tourism. Having travelled across Romania visiting over 70 wineries, she founded CrameRomania.ro in 2014 and Revino.ro two years later. She speaks to Monica Suma

[BUCHAREST] Visitors to Bucharest have been flocking in recent years thanks to the revived cobblestone streets of the Old Town and its long-standing bohemian café culture, not to mention the 1,100-room Palace of Parliament. In the Old Town, century-old Orthodox churches captivate alongside the grand Belle Époque palazzos of the monarchy days. Each corner of the city reveals a mix of old and new.

Far from the communist utopia first-time visitors conjure upon visiting Bucharest—the 1,100-room Palace of Parliament topping the agenda of iconic sights to tick off—Romania’s capital is everything you didn’t expect. Here, century-old Byzantine churches straddle Belle Époque palaces on Calea Victoriei, the city’s most famous artery, in a sublime mix of old and new, East and West.

Table Mountain, white-sand beaches, rich history and cosmopolitan culture and cuisine have long lured people to visit Cape Town, but today the Mother City's African art scene is proving to have pulling power. And it's not just the new Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa – the continent's largest museum opening in over a century – but also an exciting (and ever growing) number of pioneering art institutions that is impressing art lovers.