"Once called 'Little Paris of the East'" Exploring Bucharest

During my time in Bucharest, I took two different tours, both through GuruWalks, which allowed me to explore during my lengthy stay on a budget.

One tour was Communism vs Monarchy which I found to be incredibly interesting. I came into this knowing nothing of Romanian history other than it was a country that dealt with Russia and communism. On this tour I was able to learn the reality outside of the American idea of what Romania was and how the locals view their own history. Even more fascinating, there was a Russian woman in our group tour, which made it extra fascinating. She added to the experience by giving the version of the history she grew up learning about. These kinds of conversations can't happen in the United States, so this was a prime example of why I love traveling throughout the world so much.

The other tour was the Story of Bucharest. I enjoyed this tour much more and our guide Alaina. I also met two other women traveling solo on this tour and it was incredible. This was my preference over the Communism vs Monarchy Tour simply because the other tour was just every so slightly too long.

My final tour I mainly took so I could go to the Christmas market in Bucharest. It was called Riverside to the Xmas Market via GuruWalks. It was snowing outside and I ended up being the only person to show up for the tour. It helped in it was customized. Out of the three tours, it was the most different. I learned a different, more positive perspective on Communism. Granted, I'm not all of a sudden pro-Communism. But it was interesting to hear someone having a positive experience, which is something that is so rare. At the end of the tour, I enjoyed the Christmas market. It was rather small and I didn't have any cash on me to buy anything. Sadly, Christmas Markets are not the place someone with celiac would be able to eat/drink safely. But it definitely got me in the Christmas spirit!

There's no one tour I would recommend over the others, they all provide something different and give you a unique, beautiful experience with Bucharest. This is not an ad, I booked all my tours through GuruWalks.