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Sport
Romanians are obsessed with football. The day of a World Cup game ends either in dancing in the streets or a hushed gloom, depending on the outcome. The main football stadium in Bucharest is Lia Manoliu National Stadium, Bulevardul Basarabei 37-39. Tickets to games cost US$5.25-8.25. Four Bucharest football teams dominate the top of the Romanian First Division football league tables – Dinamo, Soseaua Stefan cel Mare 9 (website: http://domino.kappa.ro/paginivirtuale/dinamo/dinamo.nsf), National Buchuresti, Strada Dr. Lister 37 (website: www.nationalfc.ro), Rapid Soseaua Giulesti 18 (website: www.rapid.pcnet.ro), and Steaua, Bulevardul Ghencea 35 (website: www.steaua.com). Romania has been a formidable player on the international circuit for 15 years.
Other popular team sports are volleyball and basketball – Romania won the European basketball championship in 1999. Boxing is also roaring ahead, after Leonard Dorin Doroftei took the WBA world title in early 2002, the first Romanian to get the diamond belt.
Tickets to sporting events are available for purchase at the individual venues.
Fitness centres: Afisos Luxurious, Strada Ava Popa Marin (tel: (01) 231 5134; website: www.afisos.ro), is a relaxed and posh club for women only, while the Butterfly Club, Strada Erou Iancu Nicolae 6 (tel: (01) 490 8484) boasts one of the best swimming pools in the city, along with Jacuzzi and aerobics. A day guest ticket costs US$15. Sydney Health and Fitness, Bulevardul 1 Mai 60 (tel: (01) 222 3485), is flashy and well equipped, as well as reasonably priced, at US$10 a visit.
Golf: There are no golf courses in the city, outside of a nine-holer at the members-only and fabulously expensive Diplomatic Club, Aleea Minova 1. However, a new club with a nine-hole course, Lac de Verde Breaza, Strada Carierei 24, Breaza (tel: (044) 343 525), has opened and is situated several hours north of the city. Rates for non-members are between US$20-35.
Horseriding: Horseriding is available at Ecvalahis, Aleea Privighetorilor 35 (tel: (01) 659 7728), open 1030-1600, with lessons in English or French costing US$6-8. Hipocan, Comuna Corbeanca S.A.I. (tel: (01) 795 2957), offers similar prices. Both offer rides through Baneasa Forest.
Skiing: The crescent of mountains that make up the Carpathians provides good skiing. The season runs November to March and favourite resorts include Poiana Brasov and Sinaia (journey time – 2 hours). These are perfect for beginners and intermediates preferring picturesque, tree-lined trails to barrelling down barren slopes.
Tennis: Tennis is another serious sport in Romania – after all, the tone for John McEnroe was set by local hero Ilie Nastase in the 1970s. One of the best places to play is Herastrau Park sports complex, Soseaua Nordului 7-9 (tel: (01) 232 2128 or 9668), where courts cost US$4.50 per hour weekdays and US$6.25 per hour evenings, on a floodlit court. Equipment can also be hired. Other tennis courts are the National Tennis Centre, Bulevardul Pierre de Coubertin 8-10, open 0900-2100, with lessons available, and Tenis Club Herestrau, Soseaua Nordului 5-7, which has 21 courts.
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