Want Great Night Life? Head to Bucharest, Romania. Yes, really!

Looking for a nightlife scene with some of the edginess of Berlin, the loudness of New York, and stylishness of Paris, but without the cost? Look no further than… the Bucharest Nightlife in Romania?!

Yeah, I thought the same thing. But, it turns out Bucharest knows how to get down and chill out. If you’re looking for your next best place to make memories after the sun goes down, head to Romania’s capital city.

Interesting Nightlife in Bucharest.

We all have an overarching image of each country in our minds. While I did my research on Romania, I had a particular image of Romanians in my head, people who were wholesome, ordinary, hard-working folks who tilled the land. In my imagination, they all looked several years older than their actual age and hardened due to the stress of physical labor and farming.

Bucharest Nightlife & Models

Then I hit the nightlife scene. Apparently, part of the Romanian puberty process involves turning into an A list supermodel. What in the holy hell? I have never seen so many good looking people, in particular women in my life. In my sandals and capri pants, I felt Mother Goose in comparison.

Things took an unknown raunchy turn when we popped into a medium-sized nightclub which happily wasn’t too crowded. The colorful lights flashed without rhyme or reason and the music reverberated off of the walls. As we sat at the bar for a drink, a server with a tray of pure vodka shots came out. The shots were the size of teacups, I’m not lying. “You want?” he asked. “How much?” I inquired, more than ready for an absurdly high price. He gave us each one and smiled, “free!” What in the….FREE!? FREE!? DID HE SAY “FREE VODKA”!?

Patrons ran over and gladly downed the huge shots, and the server went in the back to get MORE! Nothing in New York City is free. If you took trash out of a dumpster, you better believe someone will try to charge you for it. FREE VODKA? Well, welcome to Bucharest Nightlife! When the server returned with his tray, two topless dancers walked with him and climbed on a stage in the back of the club. I was shook. Where were the peasant skirts and the women in kerchiefs getting ready to till the land? Where were the 20-year-old men and women who looked 45 from years of hard work?

All that I’m saying is, for a bach./stag/hen party…you won’t be disappointed.

Size Matters.

The center of Bucharest is easily navigable, and that is coming from me who is absolutely horrible with getting around new places, and even ones with which I’m familiar. Bucharest’s center is fairly small, but there is no shortage of compelling opportunities to be had. Easily navigated, Bucharest nightlife pours on to the streets and offers everything you can imagine.

In just one night we had an array of varied nightlife experiences. There was of course the rowdy nightclub with the topless women and free gigantic shots of straight vodka – that you know all about already. The rooftops which you will read about next. Beyond that, there was the chance to go for a more mellow vibe with hearing outdoor music being played and sitting at the chairs and tables to listen in.

My favorite was the quaint alleyway, lit in autumnal string lights where you can duck into any bar, filled with loud music and contented, dancing, people. I’m not sure if this was allowed, but I took my glass mason jar to go from a cool bar and carried it around in the alleyway as we danced with the other folks. Nobody seemed to mind. Romanians seemed to me to be pretty laid back about drinking and in general…everything. Unlike some people. 

Rooftops Bars Minus the Douchery.

When friends of mine suggest going to a rooftop bar in Manhattan I cringe, and nearly always decline. The level of pretentious, the charade of the bouncers playing “will I/won’t I let you in” (WHAT’S UP LE BAIN?!) The ridiculously overpriced EVERYTHING.

You’ll be delighted to know that rooftop bars in Bucharest are not this way. The atmosphere ranges from chic to relaxed. I’ve found the ambiance on both sides of the spectrum to be entirely laid back. Romanians do tend to dress painfully well when going out in the evening, but I never got so much as a second look for not keeping up with their impeccable means of fashion.

One striking difference from home was that the people were jovial, laughing even, and so informal in their behavior. It was so refreshing from the plastic rigidity to which I’ve been subjected to in the Big Apple. Even at the poshest of rooftop locales, the staff is affable and exceedingly accommodating. I could get used to the Bucharest Nightlife!

Are you a fan of nightlife? Which cities surprised you in terms of their evening scene?