Bucharest

Located at the southeast of Romania Bucharest has been the Capital City of Romania since 1862. It is also a very important commercial and industrial hub for the country. This city is lovingly referred to as “Little Paris” and “Paris of East” because of the elegant mix of modern, historical as well Communist era architecture. In fact, the whole city re-established after it was burned down in the early 17th Century. Later on in the following 200 years till today the city has been destroyed number of times by wars and natural disasters like earthquakes but has always been rebuilt and continued to prosper. Since year 2000 the city is changing its face very rapidly with more modern look and getting an urbanized appearance due to the country’s economic growth. The historic center is also undergoing major facelift. With diverse elements from traditional art to modern architecture, from folk culture exhibitions to botanical parks, from visual art to nightlife, Bucharest is a place where you might not want to come back from.

The Arch of Triumph

Arc de Triomphe or Arch of Triumph is 85 feet high with a staircase inside, through which you reach at the top of the arch and enjoy a beautiful view of Bucharest city. The arch was designed by the architect, Petre Antonescu and decorated with the sculptures by great Romanian artists like constantin Baraschi, Constantin Medrea and many more. The arch is erected in the memory of brave Romanian soldiers fought in World War I.

Victory Avenue

In 1692 a beautiful oak lined street was built to link the Old Princely Court to Mogosoaia Palace. In 1878 after the victorious Romanian War of Independence, the street was titled as Calea Victoriei or the Victory Avenue. This street boasts of holding some of the most beautiful buildings as well as some important historical architecture in Bucharest. Today this street is the most fashionable as well as charming street in the city.

Cantacuzino Palace

Built between 1898 and 1900 the Cantacuzino Palace was built for one of the wealthiest citizens as well as a Prime Minister of Bucharest. He wished to have the most stylish residence in the city and the Palatul Cantacuzino was designed by architect Ion Berindei using French Style architecture. The Palace though is very old, the contemporary design is still worth a visit.

The Romanian Athenaeum

Ateneul Roman or the Romanian Athenaeum has a very interesting history. During building of Athenaeum was going on the original clients of the project ran out of funds and one of the most wonderful fund raising campaign was run to complete this project. The project was designed by the French architect Albert Galleron. The “Give a penny for the Athenaeum” campaign was so successful that it could complete almost the entire building in the year 1888 with the money donated by public. The building is built beautifully and is known worldwide for its impressive acoustics.

Royal Palace Great Concert Hall

The Sala Palatului or the Great Concert Hall is located next to the Royal Palace. The hall has a capacity for 3000 people at a time. This concave roof structure was built in 1960 for Communist Party congress held every five years. The contemporary structure of the hall hosts a lot of conferences, events as well as festivals and concerts even today.

The Military Club

The Cercul Militar National – The Military Club was built in 1912 as place for cultural, social as well as educational events of Romanian army. Today the ballroom is used for official events and banquets where as the upper area is the army’s library, classrooms and offices.

Old Historical Center of Bucharest (Lipscani District)

If you want to experience the real Romanian culture you must visit Lipscani. This place is glamorous, charming though its changing towards the modern residency; it still has its cultural beauty intact. This area of the city used to be the market place with merchants and craftsmen from around the world during 1400s. Lipscani is name for German Traders from Lipsca, the streets in the area are also called after various craft communities. The architecture in this area too reflects this mix of cultures and nationalities. Continuing the culture, today the area hosts a lot of art galleries, antique shops and coffeehouses.

University Square

This square boasts of having some of the most impressive architectural pieces on its four corners, having the Bucharest National Theater at one corner with the neoclassical coltea Hospital and its beautiful church to its other corner. With School of Architecture building at one corner and Sutu Palace, now holding the Bucharest History Museum at the other corner the square has a very impressive look to itself. . The University square or Piata Universitatii is one of the most crowded areas in Bucharest and is also the most popular meeting points in the city.

Parliament Palace

Palatul Parlamentului was known as People’s palace when it was built in 1984 by Nicolae Ceausescu, the Communist Party leader. This building is the second largest administrative building in the world after the Pentagon. It took 20,000 workers and 700 architects to build this structure with 12 stories and 1,100 rooms. This palace has long lobby of 328-ft. This building also boasts to have a large nuclear bunker with three other underground levels. The building is Romania’s Parliament house today and also serves as an international conference center for the country.

Metropolitan Church

Since 17th Century the Metropoliei or Metropolitan Church has been the foundation of the traditional Romanian faith. The Walachia Ruler Constantin Serban Basarab built the church during 1656 and 1658. The church became Metropolitan Church in 1668. The interior of the church is very impressive with elegant carvings and intricate designs. On Easter Midnight huge crowds gather for the service.

Bucharest History & Art Museum

The History and Art Museum boasts of having a collection of 300,000 items like coins, books, paintings, maps, arms and traditional costumes as well as furniture. Prince Constantin Brancoveanu’s sword decorated with precious stones is also exhibited here. The Museum is located in Sutu Palace.

Museum of the Romanian Peasant

Over 90,000 artifacts, about 18000 pottery items with a ceramic item dated 1746, 20,000 folk costumes all the way from 19th Century unfolds in front of you a very impressive folk art in Romania. This museum also houses a range of agricultural tools, folk items like carpets, furniture, films and photographs showing you the folk culture in Romania. This museum was titled as European Museum of the year in 1996. Apart from the exhibition area, the church also has a shop where you can buy the regional art.

National Art Museum

Located in the Royal Palace and founded in 1948 the national art museum is Romania’s significant art museum. The museum used to house Romanian and European royal collection from 15th to 20th Century. The museum is divided into two different parts – National Gallery where you will find the world’s largest collection of Romanian art and European Gallery, where well known and impressive European artists’ art work is displayed in 15 different rooms. The Museum houses some 10,000 art work pieces in total.

National History Museum

The museum building used to be the city’s main post office in 1900s. The 41 rooms of the National History Museum present a detailed introduction to Romania from prehistoric times till 20th century. The museum also holds a unique exhibition of 3000 gold items like jewelry and valuable artifacts in the National Treasury Hall.

Cismigiu Garden

Take a break from visiting the art and palaces and visit Bucharest’s oldest park – Cismigiu Garden. About 30000 trees and plants were brought form the Romanian mountains and some exotic plants were imported form Vienna to make this garden. The Garden was opened to public in 1860. Today the Garden has facilities like a lake with rowboat; children play area, Chess area for amateurs, a beer garden and a lot of benches to relax.