Worth visiting

Also the National Museum of Contemporary Art is located in one the building's sectors. It is the largest in Romania and one the most appreciated in Europe. It exhibits periodically works of art belonging to national and international contemporary artists.

The House of the People has been and still is the subject of incessant controversial. Its aesthetic and architectural value, along with the surrounding buildings, wells, streets and monuments has been largely disputed. Having been built on an artificially created hill, after several houses, churches and historical buildings had been demolished, the House of the People is mostly considered a shameful and caricature-like symbol reminiscent of the communist era.  


There are several extremely beautiful parks in Bucharest that are worth visiting.







Victory Avenue (Calea Victoriei) is the most famous street in the capital and it also has a long and colourful history. Many of the historical monuments, palaces and residencies along the street no longer exist, their place was taken by luxury hotels and business centers. The best thing to do is to walk along the street and take time for all the sightseeings in turn.

Beginning with Piata Victoriei: There you can see the Victoria Palace – The Government Headquarters. Down on the street toward the Dambovita River you will encounter lots of old beautiful buildings, The National Music Museum "George Enescu", Piata Revolutiei with the Romanian Athenaeum, the Senat Building, a concert Hall "Sala Palatului" the University Central Library and the wonderful National Museum of Art.

The National Museum of Art is the former royal palace that belonged to King Carol I and it was built on the place of famous nobleman’s residence, Dinicu Golescu. First there was the actual house of the nobleman dating back in the 1820s and the palace was built around it. Then a big fire destroyed the central part of the construction. The old house was demolished and replaced with a new modern construction in 1935.  

The palace became the National Museum of Art in 1948 exhibiting works primarily taken from the Royal Collection and other public collections in the Capital’s museums. At the present moment the Museum is house to the finest and largest art collection in the country including approximately 100.000 works.

Further on Victory Avenue you will come across two major hotels. On the right side there is the Novotel building, constructed on the place of the former National Theater. Its architecture combines the classical style of the former Theater's entrance and a post-modern steel&glass structure.

Downwards, on the left side, you’ll find the old Capsa House, one of the most elegant and exquisite five star hotels, a symbol of Bucharest high-life society. The hotel has a very long history, starting with 1852 when it was established by Grigore Capsa as a restaurant and very sophisticated confectionery. The owner of this building had managed from the very beginning to set a high standard of quality and refinement to the name of Capsa.  

Just across the street there is Cercul Militar National built at the beginning of the 20th century in a French neoclassical style. This is a place where most of the social reunions took place along with concerts or exhibitions. The history of the fountain in front of the building "Sarindar" is strongly connected with Romanian religious belief: it used to be famous for a gorgeous icon representing Virgin Mary.

Stavropoleos Church is a very old and awesome construction dating form the 18th century with a typical Romanian architecture, also known as the "brancovenesc" style – the word is derived from the name of a Romanian ruler Constatin Brancoveanu. Having been severely damaged due to earthquakes and natural degradation, the small church was repeatedly repaired and rebuilt and even today it is subject to a large restoration process. The construction lies in the Historical Center of the ton, behind the National History Museum.

This latter building which is the former Post Palace, is also one of the most important monuments on Victory Avenue. It was established as a museum in 1970 and it exhibits wonderful archaeological collections, treasures and historical objects.

Across the street you will find the CEC Palace. CEC is the Romanian abbreviation for Central Savings Bank. It was build in 1900 by the French architect Paul Gottereau who is also responsible for the Cotroceni Palace, the present residency of the Romanian President.

The CEC building is one of the most beautiful and remarkable constructions in town. It is famous for its amazing structure that has barely been affected throughout the century and for its gorgeous architecture. It has been planned that this building will become the National Museum of Bucharest in 2007.

Just a few steps more and you reach the Dambovita river that crosses the Capital forming a lake in the north-western part of the town.

You can find many old images of buildings on Calea Victoriei here.

The heart of the town is considered to be Piata Universitatii (University Square). If you want to see it, again, you have to walk. The large University Building is being presently restored. It was founded in 1864 and today it is the largest educational institution in Romania.

Across the University you will see the National Theater. The cultural institution was founded in 1852 and it is of course the main stage for the most famous actors, actresses and directors in the country. The theater has four halls and a museum exhibiting an impressive collection of personal objects, props and photos belonging to various artists.

The building of the National Theater is also famous for the pubs inside. Laptaria lui Enache is a traditional pub where many artist, writers and singers used to spend a lot of time. It is not much different today, you can enjoy theater plays and concerts every week and the place is always full.

Sutu Palace - The Museum of Bucharest is just across the crossroads. It is an old wonderful neogothical mansion which was built 200 years ago by a Greek court official. Today it is home to a large collection of objects that recreate the history of the city. At the same time there are art exhibitions and concerts the happen here all the time.


Probably the best place to visit in order to understand the Romanian spirit and mostly the rural atmosphere ar the Romanian Peasant's Museum and the Village Museum, both located on Kiseleff Street and open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The former was founded in 1990 and is home to an impressive collection of popular art, more than 90.000 objects. The latter - one of the largest and oldes museums in Europe is also home to a great collection of Romanian traditional houses, objects and tools that are specific to the popular traditional village.