Friday

1) 4 p.m. A dictator’s digs

Book in advance for a tour in English at the opulent Ceausescu Mansion, also known as the Spring Palace, which opened as a museum in 2016. A guide walks visitors through the villa where the head of state, Nicolae Ceausescu, and his wife, Elena, lived in relative luxury from 1965 until their execution by firing squad in 1989, after decades of social, political and economic repression. There’s a grand marble staircase, a glitzy bar, a private movie theater (“He liked to watch ‘Kojak’ but she preferred John Wayne,” our guide said), and a huge walk-in closet still displaying their dated designer clothing. Check out the private spa’s slimming machines and the lavish mosaics surrounding the indoor swimming pool, and remember the population that struggled to survive on rationed food and fuel. To join a group tour, entry is 50 lei, or around $12, a person. Free for war veterans and what the website calls “revolutionaries.”

2) 6 p.m. A taste of Romania

Catapult back into this century with a drink and an appetizer at Paine si Vin, a casual, but sophisticated, outpost emphasizing natural ingredients from regional butchers and farmers. The wood-fired flatbread with toppings like blue cheese and mushrooms (32 lei), or salami and eggplant (28 lei) make a nice snack with a glass of Romanian Alira rosé (17 lei). Or two can make a meal out of the charcuterie board of “traditional tastes from local producers,” including Mangalita smoked ham, Plescoi mutton sausages, marinated olives, salty Transylvanian sheep’s milk cheese, honey mustard and crunchy veggies (72 lei).