![]() |
Home - City Guide - Bucharest - Shopping | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
![]() |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Shopping The best shopping districts are Calea Victoriei and Bulevardul General Magheru or Buchare?ti Mall, Calea Vitan 55-59 (open daily 1000-2200). The main department stores are Cocor, Bulevardul Br?tianu 29-33, and Unirea, Pia?a Unirii1 (which also has a large supermarket). Romanian department stores look more like covered Turkish bazaars than Western department stores. Folk crafts, such as embroidered clothing and linen, painted Easter eggs, carpets, pottery, woodcarvings and icons, make interesting purchases. These can be found at the Romanian Peasant Museum, most department stores and the Village Museum shop, where traditional clothing (men's felt coats and women's embroidered skirts and blouses) sits alongside Transylvanian ritual masks. Antiques are another good buy and can be found in art galleries along the Calea Victoriei. Visitors interested in Romanian music should try the massive Muzica, Calea Victoriei 43, where they can buy CDs of anything from Romanian hip-hop groups like Genius and Candy to the panpipe music of Gheorghe Zamfir and popular folk singers like Maria Tanase. Western music is also a bargain. Other special purchases are Dr Ana Aslan's anti-ageing products Gerovital and Aslavital - famous among old Hollywood film stars and available in most department stores - and Romanian wine. The best reds include fulsome Cabernet Sauvignons and light Pinot Noirs; whites tend to be sweet. Some good wine houses are Murfutlar and Vinul Cavalerului. ?uica, a sweet Romanian liquor made from plums, is also popular. Shops generally open 0900-1800 on weekdays and until 1400 Saturdays (some department stores open until 2000 or 2100 weekdays). Tax-free shopping is available for purchases over US$125. To get tax back, visitors must fill out a form, available from most shops. |
|