Advice on how to get around the Romanian capital.

ARRIVING

Romanian time is two hours ahead of GMT.

All international flights land at Otopeni International Airport, a 30-minute drive from the city centre.

Ignore any of the services on offer here, be it currency exchange or limousines to the city centre.

Instead, go through customs to the waiting taxi drivers in the arrivals area.

Ignore these taxi drivers, complete with meaningless 'official driver' badges, at all costs.

You call a taxi from an honest company (CrisTaxi, 021 9461) or Meridian, 021 9444).

A taxi fare should cost you £10-15 to reach the centre in a taxi.

If you need local money (lei), there's an ATM in the arrivals hall.

There is no tourist information desk.

You will not need to purchase a VISA.

GETTING INTO TOWN

Avoid the taxis that lurk outside the airport. A ride to the centre of town with a reputable company should cost no more than 150,000 lei (exchange rate is £1 sterling to around 55,000 lei.

You can also take bus 783, which stops right outside the arrivals hall, and leaves for the city centre (stopping at Piata Victoriei, Piata Romana and Piata Universitatii) every 30 minutes from 05:23 until 23:53.

Tickets costing 300,000 (valid for two trips) need to be purchased from the little booth which you'll find on your right hand side as you exit the airport building.

CURRENCY

It's quite likely you could become a millionaire as soon as you change sterling into this such is the exchange rate.

This currency doesn't seem to be obtainable in Britain so also remember that you won't be able to change it back once you arrive home.

US Dollars are accepted in many shops and bars etc but they are easily changeable at bureau de change kiosks, but avoid the sharks who will approach you on the street to change money.

Secondly, you could use the many cash machines in the city centre. Most Switch cards with the Cirrus sign on them can change money abroad and Romania is no exception.

Foreign currency may be exchanged at banks or authorized exchange offices (called: 'casa de schimb' or 'birou de schimb valutar'). International airports and larger hotels also offer currency exchange services.

How much money you will need depends on how long you are in the country.

Remember that food and drink can be VERY cheap here so you will struggle to spend £20 a day.

A cost of living survey earlier this year ranked Bucharest as the cheapest place to live in Europe.

THE CITY

Bucharest is fairly compact and easy to get around with both trams and a metro system.

Most fans will find themselves in Hotels either in the city centre or at the World Trade Centre area a couple of miles north of the centre.

Downtown Bucharest is where it all happens and roughly covers an area from Piatta Revolutiei in the north down to Piata Unirea in the south of downtown, a distance of about 3/4 of a mile as the crow flies.

Like any big city, its wise to be cautious and street crime does tend to be higher than most European Cities.

But it's the sneak thief you have to watch out for. A favourite trick is to slit open the bags of passengers on public transport, so keep all bags etc well within sight at all times.

Another hazard is the packs of wild dogs that roam the centre at night.

When the former communist regime decided to bulldoze a lot of the housing in the 1980s the inhabitants were turfed out to high rise buildings and, rather than destroy their pets, they turned them free. Over time these have multiplied and now come out after dark to scavenge, especially in the area of the Piatta Revolutiei.

The advice is to face up to them and move away slowly but calmly.

Dogs can smell fear and there is usually only a problem if you try to run.

DIRECTIONS

To get to the stadium from the city centre use the map provided. You can get a taxi, use tram #8 or #47, or get trolley bus #69. It may be walkable from the city centre, but only walk, if you are with others and take caution when it's dark.

You can go there from the airport by taking line #131, #449 or #335 to Piata Presei Libere (Free Press Plaza) which takes 25-30 minutes. From there, tram #41 will take you to the ground inside another 25-30 minutes.

Alternatively, choose line 783 from the airport to Piata Unirii, via Piata Romana. At the Piata Romana, you have buses 126, 168 and 368. Then at Piata Unirii, near the Unirea Shopping Center, you can take bus 385.

THE STADIUM

Steaua play at Ghencea, a couple of miles to the south west of the centre.

Information on travel to the ground does not appear to be readily available and it does not seem to be on any Metro lines.

It's unclear at the moment whether the Bucharest police have any plans in hand for marshalling Saints fans to and from the ground, although some of the charter flights will supply buses.

The ground itself would quite simply not get a safety certificate in the UK.

Though all seated with a capacity of 28,000, it is a vast open concrete construction popular in Europe in the mid-1970s with only a small covered stand on one side.

Although the stadium itself is probably perfectly sound in construction, the condition of the seats in the away section is of cause for concern.

They are just bolted on to the old concrete terracing, with many damaged to varying degrees and in some cases just not there at all.

It means that the Northam Enders present will finally get their wish to stand in peace - through necessity, however, rather that choice.

Steaua, like many European clubs, have their own band of Ultras called the Armata.

These are well organised fans groups who are rather colourful to say the least.

Usually they confine themselves to displays of rather large banners and flares.

But if Steaua lose, be sensible afterwards.

The Romanian Police don't take prisoners. This is not England and what would cause a major news story in the UK seems to be acceptable in Romania.

Baton charges are the norm, and the Armata have been complaining recently they are now being shot by the police.

The police are not keen on anyone taking anything into the ground that can be construed as a missile and this includes coins, mobile phones, small animals and probably cameras as, like most Eastern European police forces, they don't like their picture taken.

DRINKING

Downtown Bucharest is the place for this, and with everyone so spread out its difficult to suggest the best places.

Basically, though, you have two choices - traditional Romanian bars and restaurants, which will be very cheap, or the plethora of Westernised establishments that are becoming common.

In the Romanian-type places it will be very cheap and welcoming, beer is under 50p a litre and its rumoured to be as low as 15p.

A good meal can be had for the equivalent of a few pounds.

The Westernised pubs will be more expensive and aimed at the ex-pat community. They will charge more; all of them will be rubbing their hands with glee at the thought of a couple of thousand English in town with the power to spend more that the average Romanian earns in a month (approx £60) in a night.

Most open to the early hours of the morning and some as late as 5,30am.

Some that should be visited are:

The White Horse, Str. G. Calinescu 4A, Bucharest, Romania Phone: 01/6797796.

The Dubliner, Blvd. N. Titulescu 18, Bucharest, Romania Phone: 01/2229473

The Harp, Piata Unirii 1, Bucharest, Romania, Phone: 01/4106508

EATING

A traditional Romanian meal may include ingredients like meat (beef, pork, lamb), fish, vegetables, and even fruits in main meal.

If you want to eat like the locals, here's a sample menu.

Appetizer: All kinds of cheeses, cold cuts and vegetable spreads.

Soup: Ciorba de perisoare (meatball soup), ciorba taraneasca (vegetable soup, with or without meat), ciorba de burta (tripe soup).

Fish: Saramura (grilled carp in brine), nisetru la gratar (grilled Black Sea sturgeon) or scrumbie la gratar (grilled herring).

Entre: Tocanita or tochitura (meat stew seasoned with onions and/ or spices), ghiveci (over 20 vegetables cooked in oil), sarmale (pickled cabbage leaves stuffed with a mix of minced meats, rice and spices) and mititei (The 'Wee Ones' - small skinless grilled sausages - stired lamb and pork meat with garlic) are among the favourites.

Dessert: Papanasi (cottage cheese donuts, topped with sour cream and fruit preserve), clatite cu branza (crepes filled with cottage cheese, raisins and spices) and cozonac (traditional holiday sweet bread filled with walnuts, poppy seeds or cream cheese).