When the sun’s shining and the weather’s warm, there’s nothing better than spending the day in one of Bucharest’s many parks. If you’re looking for family favorites or a bit of countryside in the capital city, we’re helping you pick the best park to visit.
In Bucharest’s busy world and heavy traffic, it can be difficult to schedule time outside in the park with your child. That’s why we want to come to your aid with this article about parks in Bucharest. You can choose according to distance, easy access by transport or according to the activities for kids available there. The parks in Bucharest offer some great options for kids, including playgrounds, carousels, and other fun outdoor activities.
1. King Michael I Park (Herastrau)
Herastrau Park is the largest park in Bucharest, located in the northern part of Bucharest, with an area of more than 100 hectares, with a huge lake in the centre.
It’s a popular park, especially with exercise enthusiasts, as it offers the right space for running, cycling, rollerblading and many other sports.
A lap around the lake is about 6km and, whatever the time of day, you’ll find people enjoying walking or running along the route.
On the lake you can go for a ride on a rented hydrofoil or boat, or you can go for a boat ride. For children, such an adventure would certainly be exciting.
From 5 April 2024, the recreational season has reopened on Lake Herastrau. A boat ride in Herastrau Park costs 18 lei for adults, 12 lei for pensioners or children between 7 and 14 years old, and children under 7 travel free. For a crossing of Lake Herastrau by boat, an adult pays 12 lei, while pensioners or children aged 7 to 14 pay 6 lei.
The park has many play areas for children with various themed equipment such as climbing structures, swings, slides, seesaws and all sorts of other fun games.
For slightly older children, there are also basketball courts and table tennis tables, as well as fitness equipment for older children and adults.
There is also a special performance area with a playground with access for a fee. The Children’s Island is located inside the Herastrau Complex, with access by car from Șos. Nordului.
There is a landscaped area with vegetation and trees, a pond with turtles and a stage where children’s shows often take place. There may be puppet theatre, karaoke, circus or various fun games and competitions for the little ones.
Children can go to the inflatable play area, where there are 10 different attractions – slides, obstacle courses, ball pool.
Adults have access to a bar where they can order refreshments and a games area – billiards, table tennis, chess, backgammon or rowing.
2. IOR Park (Alexandru Ioan Cuza)
Located in Sector 3, IOR Park, considered the most beautiful park in Bucharest, is very popular among both lovers of walking and outdoor movement and families with children in the area, who can enjoy the many ways to spend their leisure time in the middle of nature.
A very well-kept park, with upgraded playgrounds and open access sports fields where slightly older children can play football, basketball or even tennis, handball or volleyball.
The lanes are very suitable for cycling or rollerblading, especially since the cycle paths around the lake have been abolished.
The children’s play areas are surrounded by hedges and most offer shade on very hot days. They are equipped with swings, slides, seesaws, trampolines, climbing frames of various sizes and other games suitable for different age groups.
The lake offers a beautiful view but also the possibility to rent hydrofoils for a ride on the water or to take a boat ride in the first part of the day. The boat rides are free, our recommendation is to book in advance : vaporas.primarie3.ro/.
A walk around the lake can lead you to a children’s amusement park area with a carousel, train and other attractions, to the area where you can admire the peacocks or one of the 5 small islands on the lake. Various events are held regularly on the Isle of Arts, but even without these, it is very pleasant to walk around or sit on the grass and admire the lake.
There are several areas where you can watch ducks, swans or turtles from the shore.
In the IOR you can have a picnic on the grass in the warmer months and you will often see people relaxing on hammocks or playing badminton on the grass. Sport in the IOR is a normal thing, you will often see people or even groups of people running, climbing stairs at a fast pace or even doing yoga and aerobics on the grass.
IOR Park hosts many festivals, open-air concerts or themed fairs, which can be interesting activities for families with children during weekends in Bucharest.
As the largest park (or the only large park) over a fairly large area, the park gets pretty crowded at times, especially on weekends or hot days, so if you’re looking for peace and quiet, it might not always be the best option. It’s still a very large park, though, so you can probably find a place to sit on the grass for a picnic or free play with the little ones even during the busiest times.
For older children and adrenaline junkies, there is also a skatepark where they can practice their skills with the right equipment. It is located near the entrance to the park at the intersection of Liviu Rebreanu Boulevard and Câmpia Libertății Street.
Bicycles can be rented in the park.
3. Youth Park and Children’s Town
Located in Sector 4, Youth Park is a very well maintained park that offers many leisure opportunities for both adults and children.
There are many playgrounds in the park, some of which have stood for many years. So if you miss the swings, carousels with horses and chains and games that were in parks in your own childhood, Youth Park is probably the only park where you can still find them. They have been repaired periodically and can be used by new visitors.
There are also parks with new equipment, basketball and football pitches, as well as an area where children have paid access to a bouncy castle or a carousel near the entrance from Bd. Gheorghe Șincai.
Generous walkways provide plenty of space for cycling or rollerblading.
The grassy and vegetated areas provide the perfect setting for picnicking, playing or relaxing, and in winter the snow-covered hills turn into toboggan runs.
The lake offers a great view and the area around the lake is very suitable for walking or sports, but also for relaxing, especially if you want to admire the ducks and swans that make their home here.
4. Cismigiu Park
A park with a long history, located in the ultra-central area of Bucharest, Cișmigiu Park welcomes every day teenagers eager to go for a walk after school and pensioners coming to relax in nature and enjoy the warm rays of the sun.
The narrow alleys through the trees are full of chairs and benches to sit on and the bridges over the water are already famous for their beauty.
You can choose to go for a ride on a hydrofoil or boat or admire the birds on the lake.
The playgrounds in the park are very generous in terms of space and equipped with games and equipment for all ages. Some of these were completely refurbished last year.
Slightly older children might also appreciate a visit to the Writers’ Rotunda, where busts of great Romanian writers, the rose garden and Eminescu’s spring are on display.
5. Carol I Park
Another very nice park in Sector 4, located on Filaretului Hill, Carol Park is quite small, but it can be a good option to spend your free time.
Generous walkways offer plenty of space for walking or cycling and rollerblading, and the park has plenty of playgrounds with swings, swings and other fun games for the little ones.
Carol Park is also a place steeped in history, where you can admire some very important monuments, such as the Mausoleum housing the remains of fallen soldiers from the Second World War or the Roman Arenas.
You can also visit the Dimitrie Leonida National Technical Museum right in the park and admire the Zodiac Fountain, right at the entrance to the park or the Cantacuzino Fountain.
6. Drumul Taberei Park (former Mohghioros)
Located in Sector 6, it is the largest park in the area, with an area of 30 hectares, formerly known as „Alexandru Moghioros Park”.
It was built around a 3-pool swimming pool known as the „Trei Ligheane”, the area where Magic Summer Waves is now located.
In the centre of the park is a recreational lake, with a peninsula supporting the famous Bengaules Bridge, a well-known landmark in the neighbourhood.
You can go for hydro-bike rides on the lake and in the warm season there are various events that attract many locals, such as film screenings that people can watch from boats.
Among the park’s attractions are an artesian fountain with light shows and tropical plant greenhouses, which are sure to arouse the curiosity of the little ones.
Children can enjoy playgrounds with swings and seesaws as well as playhouses, towers and mazes, and very large grassy areas where they can run or play badminton or ball.
7. Children’s World Park
As the name suggests, this amusement park in Bucharest has several impressive playgrounds, colourful birthday parties and plenty of green space for playing and running around. It’s perhaps the most colourful park in Bucharest, with the most options for the little ones.
It is also in Sector 4, with entrance from Bdul Tineretului, to the right of the National Children’s Palace.
In this park you’ll find a playground with 13 slides, some of them starting from impressive heights, so it’s more suitable for older and, of course, braver children.
Children who are keen on adventure also have a zip line or go-karting track.
There are also basketball and football pitches, as well as table tennis and chess tables.
There is also a canal in the park where you can go boating.
For the gazebos, if you want to organise a party in one of them, you should know that access is free but you need to come very early in the morning to take your place.
8. Crângași Park
Located in Sector 6, this park offers opportunities for movement, play, relaxation and participation in cultural events. Although small in size, it is an oasis of tranquillity and beauty in the immediate vicinity of Lake Morii, which delights you. Recently, an open-air stage has been set up to host concerts and plays.
The very young are attracted like a magnet by the mechanical games set up in the three alleys of the park and the kiosks with toys and sweets, open especially on weekends and holidays.
The park is newly landscaped and has two very interesting playgrounds for children of all ages, sports fields for teenagers. A place where you can go for a walk or a picnic with your children.
9. Bazilescu Park
Bazilescu Park is a wonderful oasis in the north-west of Bucharest, located in the district of Bucharest Noi, and is an ideal place to spend leisure time with the family. The park impresses with its enchanting landscape, surrounded by ancient trees, which are among the last remaining of the Codrii Vlăsiei.
Covering 13.5 hectares, Bazilescu Park offers many facilities for visitors of all ages. Here you will find no less than three children’s playgrounds, where the little ones can have fun at their leisure, as well as football and basketball courts for sports activities.
During the warm season, the fountain in the centre of the park cools passers-by and the shady paths invite you to take a relaxing walk in nature. The park is very well maintained, and cleanliness and tidiness are particularly appreciated.
There are also additional facilities within the park, such as a gazebo, a chess-lovers’ area, outdoor exercise machines, a library and a club for various recreational activities.
Bazilescu Park is easily accessible, being located near the metro station „Parc Bazilescu”, and is a perfect place for a day out with the kids.
10. Izvor Park
Izvor Park is located in the vicinity of the Palace of Parliament, surrounded by B.P. Hasdeu Street and Splaiul Independenței, Națiunile Unite and Libertății boulevards. It’s a relatively new park, but a great option for those living close to the city centre.
The park has a generous playground, equipped with a castle „Mini Children’s Park”, which invites children to countless adventures. The playground is excellent and suitable for children of all ages, including teenagers and toddlers.
Crina D.In summer, the nature of Izvor Park becomes the ideal place for picnics, with green grass and specially designed areas for relaxation. The park, although relatively small and quiet, delights the eye with beautiful trees and colourful flower areas. In addition, the park offers a peaceful atmosphere and from some areas you can admire a panoramic view of the Parliament.
These beautiful parks are the perfect places to spend an afternoon in Bucharest. Looking for more fun activities to do in Bucharest with kids ? Check out our article: 20 Things to Do in Bucharest with Kids.
