When to go · Bucharest
Bucharest in January
Mixed month. Cold and grey; snow some years.
Key facts
- Verdict
- Mixed
- Temperature
- 2° / -5°
- average high / low
- Rain days
- 10
- Crowds
- Low
- Romania overall
- Prices
- Low
- Romania overall
Verdict
Cold and grey; snow some years.
Weather in January
- BucharestHighs around 2 °C, lows around -5 °C, rain on about 10 days
- Bucharest and the southern plain, Romania · Bucharest, Wallachia, Craiova, the Danube townscool
Continental: summers regularly reach 35–40 °C and winters bring snow and –10 °C cold snaps. May–June and September–October are the comfortable windows.
Winter season
The Christmas market in Piața Constituției and festive lights along Calea Victoriei.
Watch: Genuinely cold, sometimes well below freezing; short daylight hours.
Festivals and holidays
Dates as our data lists them. Moving holidays (lunar and Islamic calendars, Easter) shift every year: check the date for your year before you build a trip on it.
New Year
1–2 January (public holidays) · Citywide
Many restaurants and shops close for a day or two; fireworks over Revolution Square and Constitution Square at midnight on 31 December.
Unification Day (Union of the Principalities)
24 January · Citywide
A public holiday with some ceremonies; most shops stay open.
Crowds and prices
- Crowds · Romania overall
- Low
- Prices · Romania overall
- Low
Romania overall: Cold, often snowy; ski season at Poiana Brașov and Sinaia; Bucharest is quiet and cheap. Epiphany (6 January) processions and blessings of water.
What to pack
- A warm coat, hat and gloves for mornings and evenings
- A rain jacket or umbrella and shoes that dry fast
- Layers: a fleece or light jacket