Regional tourism outlook - Part 1

When the Bucharest heat gets too much, but work demands or geographical constraints preclude a longer trip home or summer holiday, fret not: there are plenty of destinations accessible enough for a weekend or mini-break but different enough from here to revitalize and refresh. Business Review scanned the region to bring you a selection of the best long weekends in the vicinity.

Debbie Stowe

Belgrade
Walking around the sophisticated Serbian capital, it is often hard to believe that little more than a decade ago it was in the midst of a brutal war. However, turn a corner and you might still see the bomb damage or bullet holes that serve as a tangible reminder of how far Belgrade has come since those dark days. Today, the city’s alive with chic restaurants, galleries and boutiques, fuelled perhaps by the inhabitants’ carpe diem attitude after what they have been through. The center of interest is the Old Town, and in particular the pedestrianized Roman-era streets around Kneza Mihaila, where many of the city’s best shops, eateries and museums are located, and the bohemian gastronomic hub Skadarlija. The museums run the gamut from African art to local football side Red Star Belgrade via President Tito, whose mausoleum displays the colorful array of gifts he was given when in office. The flagship building is perhaps the sixth-century Kalemegdan Fortress, whose attendant park is a delightful green space popular with families, couples and promenaders, and which now has the sad distinction of having played host to Amy Winehouse’s shambolic last concert. The nearby town of Novi Sad makes a pleasant excursion.
Getting there: The drive from Bucharest will take the best part of a day. Tarom (www.tarom.ro) runs flights to Nikola Tesla Airport, 12 km west of central Belgrade.
Formalities. No visas needed for EU citizens.
Sleeping: Situated in Novi Beograd, the five-star Hyatt Regency Belgrade (www.belgrade.regency.hyatt.com) has an eye-catchingly modern exterior and tastefully decorated rooms.

Bratislava
Though not as popular as Prague or Vienna, the Slovakian capital is a charming, slow-paced town in which to spend a weekend, with many of the advantages of higher profile Central European destinations. Tourists mostly head for the medieval inner city, a place of cobbled, winding streets and pleasant little cafes. There’s the usual gamut of pretty churches and smart public buildings, which lend Bratislava the leisurely feel of a Brasov or a Sibiu. The more modern, Communist parts of the city, though fascinating to Westerners, are a known quantity to anyone who has lived in Romania and could be skipped. Individual attractions include the City Museum, which is inside the Town Hall, St Martin’s Cathedral and Bratislava Castle. Make time to stroll the old center, whose compactness is ideal for exploration, taking in the architecture – art nouveau and secession are among the styles on view. Its location at the foothills of the Little Carpathians means there are forests nearby, and Bratislava has its fair whack of green space. It’s also on the Danube so a boat trip is another option – if you have time, take the hydrofoil to Vienna for the day.

Getting there: Since the demise of Sky Europe it is not currently possible to fly directly to Bratislava from Bucharest. However, Austrian Airlines (www.aua.com), Niki (www.flyniki.com) and Tarom all serve Vienna, from where Bratislava is a short train journey.

Formalities. No visas needed for EU citizens.
Sleeping: Right on the Danube,
Kempinski Hotel River Park (www.kempinski.com) is stylish and comfortable.

Budapest
Long confused with Bucharest by visiting rock stars, this is harder to do once you have visited Budapest, which many consider to be Central Europe’s most beautiful city. Its serene metropolitan feel is a world away from the chaos of home. The Hungarian capital’s appeal lies in its architecture – which spans baroque, neoclassical, eclectic and art nouveau – its abundant green areas, the river, the culture and the nightlife. Divided into two halves – unsurprisingly Buda and Pest – by the Danube, of the most interest to visitors is Buda, the hilly, old part of town. Castle Hill, the city’s district one, contains several of the top attractions, including the Royal Palace, which houses the National Gallery, Matthias Church and Fisherman’s Bastion, as well as half a dozen other museums. Pop over to Pest to check out the Parliament Building, St Stephen’s Basilica and the Great Synagogue. A boat trip on the Danube gives another perspective. There’s also pleasure to be had in simply wandering – or, Budapest being a forward-thinking type of place – you can cycle. And the quintessentially Hungarian phenomenon of baths, with a nod to the city’s Turkish inheritance, is a wonderfully relaxing experience. When it gets hot, stop for one of the city’s gloriously refreshing lemonades.

Getting there: Both Malev (www.malev.com) and Tarom fly between Bucharest and Budapest. There are frequent trains but the journey takes up to 14 hours.
Formalities. No visas needed for EU citizens.
Sleeping: The elegant Kempinski Hotel Corvinus comes with all the luxury and attention to detail you would expect.

Bulgarian Black Sea Coast
Savvy Romanians have long since been snubbing their own overpriced and under-serviced section of the Black Sea Coast and heading down to Bulgaria, where value for money and a more serene atmosphere prevail. The main town on the coast is Varna, though people visit more for the shopping, cultural and gastronomic options than for the beach. If you’re after typical seaside fun, the top resorts are Sunny Beach towards the south and Golden Sands further north. These are something like Bulgaria’s answer to Mamaia, with a surfeit of restaurants and pubs, all geared up for foreign holidaymakers. However, for history and culture as well as sun and sand, head for either Balchik or Nessebur. The former, an easy drive from the Romanian border, is home to Queen Marie’s Palace, which stands in beautiful Botanical Gardens. Though this understandably brings in the visitors, the rest of the resort has a welcome tranquility to it. A drive up the coast brings you to Cape Kaliakra, a windswept headland with a fort and nature reserve, teeming with legends and from where you can sometimes spot dolphins. The ancient town of Nessebur has been protected from unsympathetic development by its peninsula position, and hosts a clutch of lovely old buildings, though can get busy at peak hours when the day-trippers are in town.

Getting there: It’s possible, but not straightforward, to reach Varna by train. Most people traveling from Bucharest opt to drive; you’ll be there in about five hours.
Formalities. No visas needed for EU citizens.

Debbie Stowe

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