Bucharest
The Palace of Parliament is the world’s second-largest administrative building (after the Pentagon) and former dictator Nicolae Ceauşescu’s most infamous…
Must-see attractions in Bucharest
Bucharest
The exquisite Athenaeum is the majestic heart of Romania’s classical-music tradition. Scenes from Romanian history are featured on the interior fresco…
Bucharest
This restored villa is the former main residence of Nicolae and Elena Ceauşescu, who lived here for around two decades up until the end in 1989…
Grigore Antipa Natural History Museum
Bucharest
One of the few attractions in Bucharest aimed squarely at kids, this natural-history museum, showing off Romania's plant and animal life, has been…
Bucharest
West of Calea Victoriei is the locally beloved Cişmigiu Garden, with shady walks, a lake, cafes and a ridiculous number of benches on which to sit and…
Bucharest
Tiny Snagov Island, at the northern end of Snagov Lake, is home to Snagov Monastery and Vlad Ţepeş' alleged final resting place. The small stone church…
Museum of the Romanian Peasant
Bucharest
The collection of peasant bric-a-brac, costumes, icons and partially restored houses makes this one of the most popular museums in the city. There’s not…
Bucharest
What was supposed to be a 6km-long dam during the communist era, left abandoned after the 1989 Revolution, turned over 22 years into a vast urban delta…
Bucharest
The city’s most prestigious burial ground houses the tombs of many notable Romanian writers – a map inside the gate points out locations. Many Romanians…
Bucharest
The tiny and lovely Stavropoleos Church, which dates from 1724, perches a bit oddly a block over from some of Bucharest's craziest Old Town carousing. It…
Bucharest
This is the lovingly restored residence and studio of 19th-century Romanian painter Theodor Aman. Aman's skill was in small, finely rendered oil paintings…
Bucharest
On the shores of Herăstrău Lake, this museum is a terrific open-air collection of several dozen homesteads, churches, mills and windmills relocated from…
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Bucharest
Housed in the 19th-century Royal Palace, this massive, multipart museum – all signed in English – houses two permanent galleries: one for National Art and…
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Bucharest
This important synagogue dates from the mid-19th century and was established by migrating Polish Jews; entry is free, but a donation (10 lei) is expected…
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Bucharest
Sprawling over a large area north of Piaţa Victoriei, this 200-hectare park surrounding a large lake is (arguably) Bucharest’s nicest park, with plenty of…
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Bucharest
Elegant Cotroceni Palace dates from the late 19th century and is the official residence of the Romanian president. Many rooms are open to visitors, but…
Bucharest
The modest Creţulescu Church stands in repose near the far larger and more dramatic Royal Palace. Look for the original paintings near the door to the…
National Museum of Contemporary Art
Bucharest
The Palace of Parliament houses a superb art gallery, which displays temporary, ever-changing exhibitions of eclectic installations and video art. Check…
Bucharest
Just to the north of the National Art Museum is the Athénée Palace, so evocatively captured in its postrevolutionary, prostitute-teeming state by Robert…
Bucharest
The Jewish History Museum is housed in a colourful synagogue that dates from 1836 (rebuilt in 1910). Exhibits (in English and Romanian) outline Jewish…
Bucharest
Hardly a 'national' museum of history, given the rather small collection of maps, statues and jewels on display. The museum is strong, however, on the…
Bucharest
The Choral Temple, built in 1857, is the city's main working synagogue and is visually stunning inside. You'll need your passport to enter. A memorial to…
Bucharest
A few blocks south of Piaţa Victoriei is this museum dedicated to national composer George Enescu (1881–1955). The real lure is the chance to peek inside…
Bucharest
The Theodor Pallady Museum is housed inside the exquisite early-18th-century Casa Melik, a former merchant's house. It contains the private art collection…
Bucharest
This pretty monastery, surrounded by a lush walled garden, dates from the mid-19th century and was once the property of the private Dârvari family.
Bucharest
This beautiful walled complex was built in 1715 by the metropolitan bishop Antim Ivireanu. Today it's hidden by communist-era housing blocks.
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Bucharest
Tricky to find, the little Zambaccian Museum is in a restored villa between B-dul Aviatorilor and Calea Dorobanţilor (just north of Piaţa Dorobanţilor)…
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Bucharest
The Sephardic Jewish Cemetery lies opposite Bellu Cemetery in the south of the city. Two rows of graves dated 21 to 23 January 1941 mark the Iron Guard's…
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Bucharest
The New St George’s Church dates from 1699 and is significant primarily as the burial place of Wallachian prince Constantin Brâncoveanu (r 1688–1714)…
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Bucharest
The Old Princely Court Church, built 1546–59 during the reign of Mircea Ciobanul (Mircea the Shepherd), is considered to be Bucharest’s oldest church. The…
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Bucharest
The former symbol of Bucharest, the 16th-century Prince Mihai Monastery was built from 1589 to 1591 under the orders of Mihai Viteazul (r 1593–1601)…
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Bucharest
A grab bag of several dozen private collections, particularly strong on folk and religious art and Romanian painting from the 19th and early 20th…
Bucharest
From the centre of Piaţa Unirii, look southwest to the Patriarchal Cathedral, the centre of Romanian Orthodox faith, built between 1656 and 1658. It…
Bucharest
About halfway up Şos Kiseleff you'll find the 27m Triumphal Arch. Based on Paris’ namesake monument, it was built in 1935 to commemorate the reunification…
Bucharest
This striking memorial, respected and reviled in equal measure, marks the dramatic events of 1989, when many people died in this area for their opposition…
Bucharest
West of Calea Victoriei is the country's formal memorial to Romanian Jews and Roma who died in the Holocaust. The monument, the shape vaguely recalling a…
Central Committee of the Communist Party Building
Bucharest
The scene of Ceauşescu's infamous last speech was the balcony of the former Central Committee of the Communist Party building, on 21 December 1989…
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Bucharest
A 45-minute walk west of the Palace of Parliament (or take bus 385 from outside the Parliament ticket office on B-dul Naţiunile Unite) leads to Ghencea…
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Bucharest
About 1km southwest of Piaţa Unirii, Carol I Park was inaugurated in 1906. The main sights here are an eternal flame burning for an unknown soldier and a…
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Bucharest
The National Military Museum doubles nicely as a Romanian history museum, with its chronological rundown of how the country defended itself. In the museum…
