In the tracks of the Orient Express: my train ride from London to Istanbul
The fabled railway service returns in 2025. But you don’t need to wait until then, or pay the eyewatering fares, to ride this classic route
January 2023
A local's guide
A local’s guide to Bucharest: a pizza of a city with something to see in every sector
From a warehouse brewery to a giant bookshop and glorious lakeside parks, Cosmin Cîrîc, manager of the city’s thermal spa, guides us around the Romanian capital
February 2020
Steamy scenes at low prices: Bucharest’s affordable luxury spa
No ordinary spa, the Therme Bucharest is a vast temple offering pools, scented saunas and great-value wellness for all
February 2016
Insider's guides
An insider's guide to Bucharest: manele music and pastry-scented metro stops
From radical feminism to songs about student dorms, no pants subway rides to breweries in fancy hotels. Expect the unexpected, as Andreea Campeanu shows us her Bucharest
October 2015
Holiday guides
Bucharest city guide: what to see plus the best bars, hotels and restaurants
Though much of Romania’s capital was bulldozed by the communists, the old town survived and is abuzz with bars, cafes and restaurants
March 2012
The best Romania holiday ideas
Our pick of Romania's highlights, from buzzing Bucharest to mountain trails and ghoulish castles
October 2010
Scary Halloween? Don't count on it: on Dracula's trail in Romania
There are two Draculas – Bram Stoker's lawyer-nibbling Count, and the real one, Vlad III, the arch impaler. Garlic at the ready, Tanya Gold heads to Bucharest and beyond to track them both down this Halloween
August 2010
Backpacking in Europe
Who says you need to go barefoot in Asia for a traveller's adventure? Here are three exciting – and affordable – backpacking itineraries in Europe
July 2010
London to Bucharest by train: how to do it
London to Istanbul by train
Searching for the spirit of Vlad in Bucharest
December 2008
Go east
Where is the pound going furthest?
November 2008
City guide: Unsung
Hiroshima and Kazakhstan may not be first on your list of holiday destinations, but these cities have so much to offer
March 2008
Instant weekend... Bucharest
In art and music circles, Bucharest is being branded the 'new Berlin' thanks to its creative scene
July 2004
Out of the shadow
Fifteen years after the fall of the brutal Ceausescu regime, Jonathan Ray finds that the city once known as Little Paris has regained its sense of fun.
