Bacău is a city in eastern Romania.
Get in
By plane
- 1 George Enescu International Airport (BCM IATA). Flights with Blue Air from Bergamo, Bologna, Brussels, Bucharest, Dublin, Liverpool, London-Luton,Madrid, Rome-Fiumicino and Turin.
By train
The city is well-connected by train with Bucharest, Brasov, Suceava, Iasi, Constanta. The train station is 2.5 km from the city center. Available transport services are bus and taxi (€0.4/km).
A train ticket from Bucharest to Bacău costs around €15 when using the most expensive and luxurious option, the Inter-City train.
Romanian National Rail Transportation runs the connections between Bacău and other cities.
By car
The main roads to Bacău have been repaired and are in very good condition (E85, or DN2, is the best-maintained road in Romania, but also the road with the largest number of car accidents).
Reaching Bacău from Bucharest involves travelling 290 km on E85 - expressway, which takes 3–4 hours by car (5-6 during the winter). When exiting Bucharest, the best route is via Colentina Boulevard. It is the exit towards Urziceni, Buzău, Focșani, Iasi and Suceava.
Other ways of reaching Bacău by car are Brasov(E574), Iasi (E85 E583), Vaslui (DN2F), Botoșani (E85 E583 E58).
Get around
There are two basic ways of getting around the city: personal vehicle and public transport-which comprises mostly of buses.
By bus
The linear structure of the city makes it virtually impossible to get lost, and the local transport fast and reliable. A normal one-way ticket will cost you around 1.7 lei. The main bus lines are: 3, 17, 18 and 22, of which only the 22 has a different route: from the south entrance in the city (from Bucharest) where all the hypermarkets are towards Arena Mall. The rest have the same starting point, but go towards the train station (following various - yet close - routes).
By car
The city's main roads are in excellent state, but there is a noticeable lack of parking spaces. Parking is free almost anywhere in the city. The town has a length of about 20 km (north-to-south), but this distance is littered with traffic lights. There is an alternative route - make a left turn just before Narcisa Bridge (about 4 km from the Metro hypermarket, coming in from the south. The road will lead you around the city (with a beautiful view of it) to the road to Transylvania (left turn about half the way, or left where the road ends into a Y intersection) - through the outskirts. If you want to go to Roman or further on to Suceava or Iași, you have to go through the city centre, and over Șerbănești Bridge over the Bistrița River.
See
- Bacovia Theater - one of the few remaining historical buildings in Bacau (1929)
- The Bacău Prefecture - opened 1890
- Precista Church - opened in 1491.
- 1 George Bacovia Memorial House, Str. George Bacovia nr. 13, ☏ 40 234 514324. 8AM - 4PM; Sat, Sun closed. The memorial house of the famous Symbolist poet George Bacovia. The collection is comprised of about 400 hundred objects like manuscripts, original editions of his poem volumes, photographies, furniture.
- 2 [dead link]Iulian Antonescu Museum, Str. 9 Mai, nr. 7, ☏ 40 234 512444. 9AM - 5PM; Mon closed.
Do
Buy
- Arena Mall. Str. Stefan cel Mare, nr. 28. The largest mall in the Moldova region is in Bacau.
Eat
Mid-range
- Latin[dead link] Unirii Bd., Nr. 2, Tel.: 40 234 510300. A good selection of Chinese, traditional Romanian, Spanish, French and Austrian food.
Splurge
- La Michele Str. Mihail Kogalniceanu, Nr.12, Tel.: 40 234 552222. The menu contains Italian and Romanian food. They serve good pizza, with smaller prices than the rest of the menu.
Drink
Mid-range
Sleep
- Hotel President, 4 stars, 24 double rooms, 4 single rooms, 4 apartments, Tel: 40 234 588000, Hotel President
- Hotel Helen, 4 stars, 38 rooms, Tel: 40 372 344000, located on DN11 (E574), near Magura
- Hotel Decebal, 3 stars, almost 100 rooms, Tel: 40 234 570020, Hotel Decebal[dead link]
- Hotel Scorillo, 3 stars, 10 rooms, Tel: 40 334 103631, Hotel Scorillo[dead link]
- Hotel Dumbrava, 2 stars, 50 rooms, Tel: 40 234 513302, Hotel Dumbrava