Romania’s capital is an excellent option for a short vacation or the beginning of a longer travel route, allowing you to better understand Romania before exploring its wonderful landscapes.
I’ll suggest several city tour routes here to experience its best.
Victoria Passage, the famous colorful covered umbrella street (Photo: Carmit Weiss)
Short Walking Route
We will walk straight to Victoriei Avenue, the street that is the beating heart of the city, with an abundance of shops, restaurants, and cafes. A similar distance along the avenue, and I’m at one of the sites that caught my eye as a photography enthusiast when I was working on the plan. The Romanian Athenaeum is an impressive neo-classical building, built at the end of the 19th century, and serves as the home hall of the philharmonic of Bucharest, which is also named after George Enescu.
A short distance down the street, in the center of Revolution Square, stands an impressive monument, rising to a height of 25 meters. It commemorates the heroes of the 1989 revolution, which began in the city of Timișoara and led to the fall of communism in Romania. Here, from the balcony of the Communist Party building, Nicolae Ceaușescu delivered his last speech, which turned into a massive demonstration against his rule.
The Romanian Athenaeum – check when concerts are held here and enjoy twice as much (Photo: Carmit Weiss)
The University of Bucharest Library building and the statue of Carol I, King of Romania, in Revolution Square (Photo: Carmit Weiss)
The Passages of the Old City
A little south, we enter the gates of Bucharest’s Old City (Centrul Vechi), through Pasajul Victoria, the famous colorful covered umbrella street. From here, continue south Pasajul Macca-Vilacrosse with restaurants, cafes, bars, and boutique shops, all covered and full of atmosphere. The passage was established at the end of the 19th century, inspired by similar passages in Western Europe, and indeed, for a moment, you might think we’re in Paris or Milan. It’s a pleasure to wander here at all hours of the day and a must return at night, when the atmosphere is twice as special.
We turn to Strada Lipscani and are impressed by the magnificent buildings, some of which have existed since the 15th century. Don’t miss Stavropoleos Monastery, a small monastery inhabited by nuns, built in 1724 in the Brâncovenesc style – a combination of Byzantine style and Gothic influence, characterizing many religious buildings in Romania. Not far from it, the Cărtureşti Carusel bookstore, which means “Carousel of Light,” is also worth a visit. The building, which was built as a bank at the beginning of the 20th century, became a bookstore towards its end, with a high ceiling and galleries loaded with books and stunning in their beauty.
Stavropoleos Monastery in the Old Town, for a moment you might think you’re in Turkey or Greece (Photo: Carmit Weiss)
The Fountain Show in Front of the Parliament Palace
We cross the Dâmboviţa River towards Piața Unirii (Union Square). In the center of the huge square are countless fountains that burst into a dance of music and light in the evening, on summer weekends (Friday-Sunday, May-September), for about 45 minutes.
Facing the square stands the massive and controversial building of the Palace of the Parliament, Ceaușescu’s showpiece, which stands out and grates doubly against the background of the country’s residents’ poverty. This is the second largest building in the world, after the Pentagon in the USA, and the heaviest in the world, due to the enormous amounts of marble used in its construction. It rises to 12 floors with 8 more underground, the lowest of which is a huge atomic shelter, another of Ceaușescu’s follies. Today it houses both houses of the Romanian parliament and several museums and visiting its luxurious and excessive rooms is by guided tour only, for which you’ll undergo thorough security checks, like before a flight.
The Palace of Parliament, a megalomaniacal eye-sore from Ceaușescu (Photo: Carmit Weiss)
Ceaușescu’s Extravagance
To better understand the enormous gap between the wealth and ostentatious luxury in which Nicolae and Elena Ceaușescu lived, and the poverty of the people they tyrannically led for 25 years, it’s worth traveling to his private estate in the north of the city. Palatul Primăverii (Spring Palace), so called because of the boulevard where it’s located (Bulevardul Primăverii). It’s beyond my understanding why the couple and their three children needed 80 rooms or a gold-plated shower, while their subjects earned starvation wages.
If you’re already here, turn to Bucharest’s Arch of Triumph (Arcul de Triumf). Don’t set excessive expectations, it doesn’t radiate the power of Paris’s arch, and you can also make do with passing by it on your way from the airport. It was first built of wood in 1878 to celebrate the return of Romanian soldiers from the Ottoman-Russian war but didn’t survive the weather damage. In 1922 the current arch was built, intended to commemorate Romania’s victory in World War I.
Massive amounts of marble make the Palace of Parliament the heaviest building in the world (Photo: Carmit Weiss)
A Glimpse into Romania’s Village Life
The arch is located at the entrance to Herăstrău Park (Parcul Herăstrău), on the shores of a large lake of the same name, created in a river bend. In 2017 the park’s name was changed to that of Romania’s last king, King Michael I, who was deposed by the communist regime, but many still know it by its old name. The lake shores have gardens, sculptures, cafes, restaurants, and bars, and you can sail on it in tour boats or rowing and pedal boats.
Here is also the Open Village Museum (Muzeul National al Satului), which recreates village life in the 17th to 20th centuries, in Romania’s different ethnographic regions. Among the 120 buildings stands out a wooden church brought here from Maramureș region in northern Romania, one of dozens like it characterizing the region, which also stars on the museum’s logo. Particularly impressive are the houses with enormous straw roofs, which needed to be renewed every summer, and the giant haystacks, which always captivate me on the roads.
How to Travel in Bucharest?
Bucharest is not a city you fall in love with at first sight. The city and its metropolis are a huge conglomerate, with over 2 million residents. Many neighborhoods were built in a rather ugly communist style, including quite a few such buildings in the city center. A significant portion of the buildings have yet to be renovated, and the feeling is sometimes gray and suffocating. The average salary in Romania is 800-900 euros, but the shops and shopping centers aren’t that cheap, and this is noticeable on many residents.
The city center and old city are completely different, with beautiful historic buildings, most of which have been renovated. In my opinion, the comparison to Paris, which many use, is a bit exaggerated, but the city center is a pleasant place to spend time. If you’re not a fan of gambling or shopping, a day or two of city touring will suffice. If you’re also interested in visiting the city’s many museums, you’ll need an additional day or two.
The Old Town is small, some of its streets are closed to vehicular traffic and it’s recommended to wander it on foot (Photo: Carmit Weiss)
Transportation in Bucharest
Bucharest suffers from traffic congestion and jams during most hours of the day, and during rush hours they’re unbearable. But this can be avoided by using the extensive public transportation system, consisting of subway (metro), light rail, buses, and trolleybuses (buses connected to overhead electrical lines). The metro has 5 lines, and an additional line is planned to reach the international airport by 2026. For those who prefer taxis, the BOLT app does excellent work.
Bucharest Henri Coandă International Airport is located 18 km from the city center and has many direct flights from Israel. The terminal is extremely crowded, and the services (restaurants, cafes, wireless internet, power outlets) are not excellent, to put it mildly. Otopeni Water Park, only 6 km north of the airport, can be an excellent waiting point for an evening flight if you’re coming here from around Romania.
So yes, there are more beautiful cities than it, but Bucharest is an interesting city, carrying fascinating cultural and historical baggage, a close and successful destination for a long weekend or the beginning of a route to Romania’s other travel destinations.
About the Author:
Carmit Weiss tries to convey her love for landscapes through photography and writing, which she has turned from a hobby into a profession. She is the managing director of GoTravel Website for travel & Tourism and is one of its main writers. She has experienced all continents and has traveled as far as Antarctica, and there is no place she doesn’t dream of returning to again. She has extensive experience in trip planning, is a skier, and mother to four “most beautiful in the world” children.
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