The City Tour Buses: Bucharest v Brasov

On Sunday (the same day as the Muzeul Spiru Haret shock), we took the Bucharest City Tour Bus. It was fun! It really was! 25 RON (expensive in Romanian terms but very reasonable for a tourist) and 10 RON for children under 14 will buy you a ticket for 24 hours. You can hop on and off at each stop and explore the areas of your choice, with distance between buses at 15 minutes or so.

We got on at Biserica Cretelescu, Pta Revolutiei, pleased to see there were several other passengers (most of them Romanian) and did the full circuit: Muzeul National de Istorie al Romaniei, Palatul CEC, Casa Nebunului, Catedrala Patriarhala Ortodoxa Romana, Muzeul Municipiului Bucuresti (Sutu palace), Muzeul Literaturii Romane, Palatul Victoria, the Charles de Gaulle statue in front of Herastrau (why this is included and Palatul Cotroceni is not is beyond me), Muzeul Satului, the Arc de Triumph, Muzeul Taranului Roman, Muzeul Grigore Antipa, Muzeul National de Geologie, Atheneul Roman and finally Palatul Regal before returning once again to Biserica Cretelescu. Presumably, these are the sights the Ministry of Tourism consider 'musts'. It's a shame they didn't think to also include  Parcul Cismigiu, Palatul Cotroceni, the National Opera and Radu Voda Monastery, but it was really very nice to experience a little of Bucharest from above, particularly on a hot day when the breeze was welcome.

Getting on, I wasn't asked if I wanted headphones for the audio-guide. It says on the pamphlet that one is available in English and French, but no one seemed to have headphones on the bus. Thus, if you do not know Bucharest, apart from very vague information in the pamphlet, you do not know what you are looking at. My pamphlet was in Romanian even though the ticket lady spoke to me in English (I must look like a tourist!!), so once again, if this is the case with everyone, unless you can read Romanian, you cannot understand the afore-mentioned vague information.

The whole tour lasted 50 minutes and the bus went too fast to be able to take photographs unless it slowed at the lights or stopped completely. However, it was comfortable, the tree branches on Kiseleff and Magheru didn't decapitate you as the bus sped by and, as I said, on a hot day, the cool breeze up there was really welcome.

These buses were rented from the municipality of Constanta and cost a colossal 60,000 euros for three months. Ufff!

Whilst in Brasov, Lidia and I decided to sample the Brasov Tour Bus and loved it. In comparison, tickets were only 5 RON for the 75 minute tour. Bus stops do not exist for the Brasov Tour Bus since the Brasov Town Hall do not support it and thus have not accorded stops. However, it did make a very nice halt up at Belvedere for photos. The audio guide was available only in Romanian and consisted of a voice on speakers rather than through headphones, but, providing you understand Romanian (and none of the passengers were foreigners except me), the info was clear and very interesting including everything from Brasovian history to architectural styles. I got off feeling that I had learned something. It truly was a cultural experience.

The Bucharest bus was not the least bit cultural. It was the opportunity to cool off, rest tired feet and see the city from a little higher up than usual. Perhaps the Ministry of Culture could advise their employees to offer the audio-guide to everyone getting on the bus along with pamphlets corresponding to nationality - English, French or Romanian? And it would be really nice to see parts of Bucharest that are beautiful, too. Coltea Hospital, Capsa and Pasaj Villacrosse could be added to the written information since we pass them. I am sure tourists would love to sit in the salon du thé at Capsa for a little while or have a beer in the Pasaj so close to Lipscani and Coltea is simply beautiful. Caru' cu Bere also deserves a mention.

Bucharest Bus v Brasov Bus.... for me, the Brasov Bus wins. Both were fun and very enjoyable experiences, but the latter gave me something to take away in terms of knowledge and appreciation. The Bucharest Bus allowed time for a rest, but little more than that.

Bravo, Brasov!

Comments

[Auwa]

Good or less good the comfort of the busses we do have them...Don't we?
It only need to improve a bit and I hope will not take another 20 years.
Or maybe will take as we need to improve many other things but materialistic.
I mean, if we give headphones we need to integrate that nobody would feel a sudden desire to take them home( and I do not refer to the tourists who already have The attitudine)but the bus drivers and relatives and many others around.
Anyhow, glad we have them and I will try the experience.

[doina]

Very nicely written and I shll take the bus too!