Walking around Bucharest part 3 - The Christmas market

Bucharest Christmas market

After we tested out our sensations in The museum of senses ( you can read the article by clicking the blue writing ) the last destination that we have planned for tonight is The Bucharest Christmas market. To get there we take the metro from Politehnica and head back to the Izvor station which is located near the city center of the Romanian capital.

Where is the Christmas market located? How we get there? 

This is year the Christmas market takes place in Piața Constituției, in front of the Romanian Parliament. We get out of the subway, pass through Parcul Izvor and very soon we stumble across the large construction of The Parliament Palacebut because the weather is very foggy we can barely observe the massive building.

As we are getting closer to the Constituției Square, the colorful lights of the market’s decoration are starting to appear as well as the tall and proud Christmas tree. Thus, not only our sight is announced by the emergence of the Christmas market, but also our smell and hearing: the carols are on and the aroma of mulled wine or traditional bakes and cookies spreads all over the market attracting more and more people to the place.

Entering the wonderful and cozy spirit of Christmas 

Although is really cold outside, the comfortable and relaxing atmosphere introduces us in the right Christmas spirit. We enter the square and start strolling among the many various little houses of goodies. We take a brief look at each one to see what it has to offer.

We can spot the specific products of the season beginning with the always present Christmas decorations, gift ideas that people can buy either for themselves or as presents for the loved ones like funny socks, crocheted gloves and hats, handmade accessories, mugs, purses, ginger bread cookies, lollipops and many more.

Having the needful mulled wine 

To warm ourselves up we decide on getting the one and the only mulled wine which costs 8 lei – meaning 1,6 euros -. It is such a good and delicious drink that of course makes us not merely warm, but happier and energized too, so we can continue looking through the little stores and buy presents for friends and family. If people are not drinking alchool, there is another available option which has the same effect: hot tea. 

Besides shopping, in the Christmas market people can enjoy the caroling concerts, go ice skating, taking lots of instagram photos with the giant Christmas tree, eating street food like barbeque and children can visit Santa Klaus’s house.

My recommendation and advice while visiting any Christmas market

I’ve never been to Christmas markets outside Romania but I can tell you that in my country the markets have two kinds of products, the ones made in China and the local handcrafted ones. Lately, in big cities, I noticed that the balance is starting to be much more inclined towards the handmade Romanian ones and that’s a very good aspect which should be taken in consideration and keep an eye on.

Especially when it comes to things such as accessories, clothes, decorations, my goal – and also recommendation and request – is to buy produce made by locals. Usually these products have a better quality ( maybe that’s why these can have a higher price ), are much more unique, authentic, are probably environmentally friendly than the ones which were shipped a long distance, and the most important, had been worked by passionate people who are trying to make a living off of what they love to do.

I ended up buying a pair of earrings which were made beautifully handmade from recycled wood and colorful painted.

Feeling free on The Boulevard of Freedom 

When the mulled wine is over and after more than one hour of walking around the Christmas market we come to the conclusion that the time to go home has finally come after a long day of exploring and experiencing different parts and places of the Romanian capital.

We get out of the Constituției Square and enter Libertății Boulevard where we realize that the street is empty of cars and people can actually used as a pedestrian way. Normally, the boulevard in front of the Palace of Parliament is full with driving cars but now, due to the Christmas market, the car access is forbidden and citizens are allowed to use the entire width of the street. Thus, when we step out of the market, we watch people enjoying the freedom of strolling on the boulevard by dancing, running, taking photos, moving so much freely because they are not anymore constrained by the numerous cars that Bucharest has.

We take advantage of this opportunity too and start doing same dance moves or looking at the other doing it and we are taking photos on the wide space of the boulevard. Ultimately, the Boulevard of Freedom fells free! The end of the night gives us a beautiful and spooky cityscape over the foggy lightened Christmas market and the now pedestrian Bulevardul Libertății. We walk back to our accommodations to take a rest after a full day of visiting and prepare for the upcoming adventures outside Bucharest. So, stay tuned for more!

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