Lady’s Insider Experience in Bucharest

Today I want to share my insider experience in Bucharest, Romania with you. This city is full of life, and seeing it through the eyes of local people is a great way to discover it.

Insider Experience in Bucharest

Romania is best experienced with the locals. I had the unique experience of working at summer camps in the country as a teenager, and the campers showed me Transylvania as only locals could (and back then it was really only locals who could).

I had such a great experience that I’ve wanted to travel back to Romania for years, and now I’ve finally gotten the chance to return and explore the capital city, Bucharest.

Fortunately, this time I’m getting another insider experience.

I’m here in Romania at the invitation of the InterContinental Bucharest hotel.

As with a number of other InterContinental hotels, it’s recently begun offering guests who reserve premium rooms the option of booking special Insider Experiences in Bucharest.

They range from dining to fashion, art to culture, and they’re a great way to get to know the unexpected luxury of Bucharest.

This is not least because the city, which bears the nickname “Little Paris“, doesn’t show off its charms as flamboyantly as its French counterpart.

While Bucharest is full of beautiful buildings designed by French architects in the early 20th century—some are even replicas of Parisian museums and grand halls—the legacy of communism means that they’re not as prominent or obvious as they once were.

So to truly experience the highlights of Bucharest, it’s best to go around with a local that knows where to find the city’s hidden charms.

I’ve done just that with the Insider Experience in Bucharest, and I’m amazed at what I’m discovering.

Art at Artmark in Bucharest

After a night in a beautiful room and a tour of the hotel’s grand Imperial Suite—where guests like Pavarotti have stayed and where plenty of international espionage played out during the communist era—I start my day at Artmark.

Set along a small side street in the city center, the building’s location belies its sumptuous interiors and stunning design.

Artmark is the most famous Romanian art house, and is known for promoting Romanian art in the country and abroad.

Set in the 19th-century Cesianu-Racovita Palace, which was among the first buildings in the country to have electricity, running water, and central heating, Artmark not only has private collections of Romanian art, but also hosts auctions.

As I walk through the amazing rooms and take in the paintings that will be auctioned off the following day, I’m grateful my Insider Experience in Bucharest has allowed me to see a part of the city most visitors don’t even realize is here.

Fashion & Design at Dacoma in Bucharest

Not far from Artmark, my driver takes me to the private home and workshop of Dan Coma and Doina Levintza. Dan is a famous Romanian leather artisan with a family tradition dating back to the 19th century.

His company, Dacoma, is a provider of the Romanian Royal House and has outfitted celebrities around the world with luxurious handbags, shoes, and accessories.

His wife, Doina Levintza, is a celebrated fashion designer who has created colorful theater costumes for productions all across the globe.

I explore their showroom, which features leather goods, costumes, and a special collection of historic fashion accessories and vintage luggage, feeling like I’ve fallen through a rabbit hole and landed in an alternative Bucharest.

This place is so magical and the pieces so stunning that I can hardly believe it’s all real.

The showroom, workshop, and traditional Romanian kitchen in their home aren’t open to the public, so I’m glad I’m here on an Insider Experience in Bucharest to see them all.

Food at Joseph in Bucharest

My next experience revolves around food. My driver takes me to lunch at Joseph, a fine-dining restaurant in Bucharest owned by Chef Joseph Hadad.

The restaurant is set in a historic house, but the interior has a bright, contemporary design and the menu offers a range of dishes, from Middle Eastern harira soup to Thai-inspired seafood.

But the real treat is meeting Joseph himself. Friendly and approachable, he sits down at the table to talk all things cooking, showing me the voluminous notebooks in which he sketches outlines and designs for each of his dishes.

Culture in Bucharest

In the evening, I walk from the hotel to my final Insider Experience in Bucharest: dinner “a la Belle Epoque” at the BiblioArte private club.

Set on a quiet residential street, the rooms have traditional Romanian aristocratic decor and the meal consists of historic dishes made from organic ingredients fresh from the hosts’ nearby farm.

As much as I enjoy trying all the new foods, I’m even more enthralled by the stories told by my host, Ion Bansoiu, an animated university professor of philosophy and anthropology.

He’s also the owner of BiblioArte and a passionate defender and publisher of Romanian folk history and tradition.

Insider Experiences in Bucharest

At the end of the day, my hosts ask me which of my four Insider Experiences in Bucharest I’ve enjoyed the most. It’s impossible to decide, though.

They’ve all been so different, and each has given me such an amazing behind-the-scenes look at a different aspect of Bucharest that I can only say I’m glad I’ve had them all together.

The day has gone far beyond the typical sightseeing in Bucharest, past the giant Palace of the Parliament, Parisian Arc de Triomphe, pretty parks, and Victory Square.

While I’ve caught glimpses of them all out the window, I’ve reaffirmed that it isn’t the big landmarks that make Bucharest worth visiting. It’s the amazing things going on inside the smaller, less obvious parts of the city.

And so I leave Bucharest having had another great insider experience in Romania. Sadly I’ve lost touch with my Romanian friends from my high school summer days, but I still have the great memories they gave me.

So in addition to thanking the InterContinental Bucharest for an amazing introduction to its city, I also have to thank Iulia, Raluca, Ruben, Gabi, and everyone else that made my first experiences in Romania so good.

Thank you again, wherever in the world you are…

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