The set of Netflix’s Wednesday, the latest addition to Bucharest’s tourist circuit

The outdoor sets of the hit Netflix series Wednesday are still just outside Bucharest and can be visited for a limited time on weekends. For more details on what to expect for those planning to visit the site and how to book a tour, see this visit report.

Wednesdaydirected by Tim Burton and starring Jenna Ortega, was filmed in Several locations in Romania. Most of them are located in Bucharest, like Polytechnic University, Botanical Garden and Casa Monteoru. Romania didn’t just contribute the look of the filming locations to the show – in fact, Wednesday was mainly filmed in the country. Some of his impressive sets can be seen outside of Bucharest at Buftea Studios, the largest and most advanced studio complex in Romania and one of the most important in Central and Eastern Europe.

To visit the spooky, dark world of Wednesdayyou have to register first a form, which is conveniently entirely in English. The studios organize guided tours around noon on weekends only, and each ticket costs RON 200 (EUR 41). A delicious lunch is included. Groups of 25 or more must be registered by telephone.

Once access to the studio grounds is permitted, the group of visitors will be greeted by production designer Mihai Dorobantu, the guide. Armed with a cane and a wealth of cinematic experience, Dorobantu leads the group to Stage 12, a large set used for commercials and interiors. Throughout the tour, he dutifully enlightens the enthralled listeners in the mysteries of the set design and the history of the studios.

Construction of Buftea Studios began in 1951 on the orders of Romania’s first communist-backed leader, Petru Groza. Completed in 1959, the studio became ground zero for the production of Romania’s communist-era films. Buftea Studios was privatized in 1998 and changed hands several times before its latest modernization and renovation in 2019. Currently, the area is home to 19 sets. Since 1957, more than 500 nationally and internationally acclaimed films have been produced, at least in part, in Buftea.

However, the newest is perhaps the most famous. Upon entering the door of Buftea’s Stage 9, the visitor is greeted by the pool of water in which it is used Wednesday‘s famous piranha and boat racing scenes. Now emptied, the deep pool can be rented for filming, says the guide, for a mere 80,000 euros a day.

Next on the route is an interior of an airplane used for filming. Right next to it is a veritable cinema museum with stage equipment and miniature sets used in Romania’s famous historical films from the communist era. Another very large room, with walls covered in radiators, housed every interior scene from the show, including Wednesday and Enid’s famous room. However, the actual sets no longer exist as they are trademarked.

However, it’s the next stop that steals the show. From the outside an unassuming cluster of wooden panels, the famous Nevermore Academy opens up as soon as one enters its confines, its Gothic gray columns and walls enveloping the visitor. Instantly recognizable as Wednesday and her gang of misfits, Nevermore is located not far from the sheriff’s house, who also has a presence on the show.

Upping Nevermore is difficult, but the so-called Boston (or for the Wednesday aficionado, Pilgrim) set does just that. Used on several productions including several recordings by Django Unchained, the Wild West-style old town is so well done and believable that you expect gun-wielding outlaws to be bursting out of one of the saloons at any moment. Walking through the streets of the city, you feel transported back in time.

The entire city of Jericho, Vermont, from the restaurant where Tyler works to the recognizable white church, can also be found on the studios lot. However, the statues featured in the show are not included as they are also trademarked.

The visit concludes at Buftea Studios’ beautifully decorated Onset Restaurant, where one is free to imagine Jenna Ortega dining between shoots.

Outside the dated but impressive archway guarding the entrance to the studios, the visitor is thrown back into reality after briefly and magically leaving it for a while, just outside Bucharest.

How to get there: The way to the studios can be done in different ways. The most direct is by car or via ridesharing apps like Bolt or Uber, which will get you there from downtown Bucharest in about 40 minutes for around RON 50 (EUR 10). Public transport is also available. The shortest route takes about an hour and 10 minutes and starts at Gara de Nord, Bucharest’s main train station, where the traveler can board the airport train and get off at Parc Mogosoaia. After a short walk to the bus station, one has to board the 436 bus at the Parc Industrial station to reach the town of Buftea in about 20 minutes. Once off the bus, it’s another 5 minute walk to the studios.

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Photos by Radu Dumitrescu