There is no actual tourist office in Bucharest, but the English-language guide, Bucharest In Your Pocket, ( www.inyourpocket ) has plenty of advice on everything from transport to shopping.Take a hikeTo get a real taste of Bucharest life, start at the market on Piata Haralambie Botescu (9), as early as you can, to watch hundreds of housewives browsing through stalls piled high with seasonal vegetables, and gypsies in bright orange skirts selling bunches of garlic and water lilies. Ask one of the shepherds, in their distinctive clop hats, if you can taste their fresh ewe's cheese wrapped in pine bark. From here, turn right down Str Berzei, and left on to Str Stirbei Voda, stopping for a breather at Cismigiu Garden (10), a pretty 19th-century park with paved pathways, shady trees, and benches occupied by senior citizens playing chess. Continue along Str Stirbei Voda to Piata Revolutiei, and turn right down Calea Victoriei and left along Str Stavropoleos into the historic quarter. At the heart of this area lies the ruins of Curtea Veche (11), Str Franceza, the 15th-century palace of Prince Vlad Tepes. The area is undergoing a casual gentrification, with the arrival of new bars, art galleries and antique shops, and many more due to open over the next six months.Lunch on the runHot pastries are sold all over Bucharest on stalls.

Otherwise, the omnipresent Pierre bakery sells hot cheese and meat versions for 25p. If you want to take a breather, Mes Amis (12), Str Lipscani 82, is a popular caf?mong the young, for cheap lunches.Cultural hotbedThe newest museum is the bright and airy Romanian Modern Art wing in the elegantly restored National Art Museum (8). The exhibition stops frustratingly around 1950, so to see what the city's contemporary artists have been up to during and after the Cold War, head to the Appollia and Dominus private art galleries (13), beside the main doors of the National Theatre. Also worth a gawk is Ceausescu's colossal former House of the People, now the Palace of Parliament (14), on Palatul Parlamentului.

Organised tours run through a few of the 3,000 palatial, marble-clad rooms that make up the second-largest building in the world.Window shoppingCalea Victoriei has a few swish shops, such as Est?Lauder and Benetton, but don't expect prices to be much different from the UK. More interesting are the vintage peasant clothes, tablecloths and rugs on sale in the Museum of the Romanian Peasant shop (15), Soseaua Kiseleff 3. Football fans can buy team shirts for £2 at the Steaua Bucuresti shop (16), on the corner of Str Ion Z Zalomit and Str Brezoianu. The antique shops around Str Gabroveni and Str Lipscani are good for a browse, but beware, there are strict laws about taking antiques out of the country, so ask the store owner about a permit, and thoroughly investigate before you commit. An alternative is to buy quirky vintage postcards at Antichitati Brocanta (17) at Str Covaci 14, or moody old maps of Transylvania from Antirariat (18), an antiquarian bookshop on Str Franceza 50.An aperitifYoung people who can afford £1 a drink (and with the average Romanian wage estimated at £70 a month, not many can) head to Impaler (19), Str Soarelui 46, a trendy new "private" club opposite Curtea Veche. Try a teapa ("stake") cocktail (vodka, lemon juice, tequila, Worcester sauce), and listen to the weekend DJs. A more popular haunt of Bucharest's students is the fourth-floor terrace bar of the National Theatre (20), Bulevardul Balcescu 2, where movies are projected on to a giant wall, and a mellow crowd drink Tober beer at long tables.

(The unmarked entrance is to the left of the National Theatre's main doors in a car park.) Tipsy (21), Bulevardul Schitu Magureanu 13, also has outdoor seating, and a cellar disco where you may be lucky enough to hear manele music, a combination of Turkish, gypsy, Romanian pop and rap music that's currently taking Romanian youth by storm – and driving their parents mad with its relentless beat.Dinner with the localsRomanian cuisine is more Southern Europe than Eastern European, and rarely costs more than £15 a head. For an authentic lunch, follow the rich businessmen to eat traditional sarmale (stuffed cabbage leaves) at Codru Cosminului (22), a homely bistro squeezed between villas and high-rise blocks at the corner of Str Virgiliu and Str Lipova. Casa Capsa (23), Calea Victoriei 36 (00 401 3134038), a favourite pre-war literati hang-out, has recently reopened after restoration, and once again serves up sour tripe soup (we dare you!) and grilled Black Sea sturgeon, under sparkling chandeliers Booking is essential. Themed to the hilt is the trendy Count Dracula Club (24) at 8A Splaiul Independentei (00 401 312 1353). Ring the bell-chain by the door, and wait for a vampish waitress to lead you into the candlelit cellar-bar to sample a "Transfusion" cocktail (cherry, vodka, blood-orange juice), before heading off to a room decorated with skulls and bats, to dine on Transylvanian specialities such as chicken soup with tarragon. If you're lucky, on Thursdays and Fridays, the club's own "Count" may even pop in for a "bite".Sunday morning: go to churchDespite Ceausescu's destruction of many of the oldest Romanian Orthodox churches around his infamous House of the People, the city still boasts a number of beautiful domed examples. Particularly popular with locals for its services, is the 19th-century Domnita Balasa (25), just off Splaiul Independentei.

Destroyed three times by floods and earthquake, the rebuilt neo-Renaissance church has now remained intact since 1885 and contains Viennese paintings and Georgescu sculptures. Standing-up Romanian Orthodox services can last for three hours, but no one will mind if you slip in at the back for a few minutes. Go on a Saturday and you may be lucky enough to see a wedding.Bracing brunchWhat the Romanians lack in brunch spots, the international hotels such as the Inter-Continental (26), Bulevardul Balcescu 4, and the Marriott (27), Calea 13 Septembrie 90, make up for. The Hilton (1) puts on a particularly good Sunday spread, with champagne and pheasant for £13 a head.A walk in the parkBucharest's parks are pleasant and well-kept.