Trams squeal around the curves of the big boulevards, and in the Old Town the clink of beer mugs drifts out of the narrow lanes of Lipscani. A few streets on, the sound changes. Concertgoers murmur on the steps of the domed Romanian Athenaeum, and car horns and footsteps fill Calea Victoriei, the avenue behind the Paris of the East nickname.
Up north, small boats cross Lake Herăstrău on summer afternoons, while the villas of Cotroceni hide quiet cafés on tree-lined streets. Summers are hot and stormy, winters cold and windy, and spring and autumn stay mild. A Local Friend leads you through doors you would never have knocked on, like an unmarked courtyard café.
