30 of the best · Bucharest, Romania

The Best Things to See in Bucharest

From the colossal Palace of the Parliament to a tiny monastery in the Old Town, the essential sights of Bucharest, with the back story of the city and our tips for seeing it at its best.

Our 30 favourites, listed A–Z · Updated October 2026

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Insiders' picks

Three of our favourites from this list, vetted by people who know and love Bucharest.

One of the largest buildings in the world

Palace of the Parliament

Parliament·Landmark·Ticket

The colossal palace begun in the 1980s, one of the largest administrative buildings in the world, open for guided tours.

Strada Izvor 2-4Explore View on map
The symbol of Bucharest

Romanian Athenaeum

City Centre·Concert hall·Ticket

The domed concert hall of 1888, home of the George Enescu Philharmonic and the heart of Romania’s musical life.

Strada Benjamin Franklin 1-3Explore View on map
A jewel of the Old Town

Stavropoleos Monastery

Old Town·Monastery church

A small 18th-century monastery church in the Old Town, with carved stone arcades, painted walls and a peaceful courtyard.

Strada Stavropoleos 4Explore View on map

The full list: Sights, A–Z

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The back story 8

The story of Bucharest.

The back story

Bucharest: the back story

Bucharest·In depth: the city

How a market town on the Dâmbovița became a Belle Époque capital, lost a whole district to a giant palace, and became one of the most dynamic cities in Europe.

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The back story

Dracula and Vlad the Impaler: the man behind the legend

Old Town·In depth: history

The real prince who signed the first document naming Bucharest, and the novel that made him a vampire.

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The back story

Interwar Bucharest: the modernist city

City Centre·In depth: architecture

Clean white blocks, ocean-liner balconies and Art Deco cinemas: the Bucharest of the 1930s.

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The back story

Jewish Bucharest: synagogues, theatre and memory

Old Town·In depth: heritage

The Coral Temple, the Great Synagogue and the city where Yiddish theatre found a home.

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The back story

Little Paris: the Belle Époque architects of Bucharest

Calea Victoriei·In depth: architecture

French-trained architects, a domed concert hall and a bank with a glass dome: how Bucharest earned the name “Little Paris”.

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The back story

The churches that moved: Bucharest’s monuments on rails

City Centre·In depth: history

How an engineer slid whole churches hundreds of metres across the city to save them.

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The back story

The Old Town: merchants, inns and Lipscani

Old Town·In depth: history

Princes, merchants’ guilds, caravan inns and a street named after Leipzig: the story of Bucharest’s historic centre.

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The back story

The Palace of the Parliament

Parliament·In depth: architecture

One of the largest buildings in the world: how a colossal palace came to dominate Bucharest.

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The icons 7

The landmarks that define the city.

The triumphal arch

Arcul de Triumf

Kiseleff·Monument

Bucharest’s triumphal arch on Kiseleff Avenue, rebuilt in granite in 1936, at the gateway to the northern parks.

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Bucharest’s grandest street

Calea Victoriei

Calea Victoriei·Historic avenue

Bucharest’s oldest and most elegant avenue, lined with palaces, churches, museums and cafés from the Old Town to Piața Victoriei.

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One of the largest buildings in the world

Palace of the Parliament

Parliament·Landmark·Ticket

The colossal palace begun in the 1980s, one of the largest administrative buildings in the world, open for guided tours.

Strada Izvor 2-4Explore View on map
An Art Deco skyscraper

Palace of the Telephones

Calea Victoriei·Landmark

An Art Deco tower of 1933 on Calea Victoriei, once the tallest building in Bucharest.

Calea Victoriei 37Explore View on map
Where 1989 happened

Revolution Square

City Centre·Historic square

The great square where the events of December 1989 unfolded, surrounded by the former Royal Palace, the Athenaeum and the University Library.

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The symbol of Bucharest

Romanian Athenaeum

City Centre·Concert hall·Ticket

The domed concert hall of 1888, home of the George Enescu Philharmonic and the heart of Romania’s musical life.

Strada Benjamin Franklin 1-3Explore View on map
The delta in the city

Văcărești Natural Park

Văcărești·Urban nature park

A wild wetland that grew in an abandoned reservoir, now a protected urban nature park.

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Old Town & Calea Victoriei 10

Churches, passages and palaces in the historic centre.

The “carousel of light”

Cărturești Carusel

Old Town·Bookshop

A dazzling bookshop in a restored 19th-century building in the Old Town, with white galleries rising over six floors.

Strada Lipscani 55Explore View on map
A Belle Époque bank palace

CEC Palace

Calea Victoriei·Landmark

The domed palace of the national savings bank, completed in 1900, one of the most beautiful buildings on Calea Victoriei.

Calea Victoriei 13Explore View on map
Moorish Revival splendour

Coral Temple

Old Town·Synagogue·Ticket

Bucharest’s great synagogue, built in 1866 in Moorish Revival style, with a richly painted interior.

Strada Sfânta Vineri 9-11Explore View on map
A restored inn

Hanul Gabroveni

Old Town·Historic inn

A restored historic inn in the Old Town, now a cultural centre.

Strada Lipscani 86-88Explore View on map
An inn of 1808

Hanul lui Manuc

Old Town·Historic inn

Bucharest’s oldest surviving inn, built in 1808 around a wooden-galleried courtyard.

Strada Franceză 62-64Explore View on map
Red brick on Calea Victoriei

Kretzulescu Church

Calea Victoriei·Church

An 18th-century red-brick church in the Brâncovenesc style, beside Revolution Square on Calea Victoriei.

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Under a glass roof

Macca-Villacrosse Passage

Old Town·Covered passage

A curving 19th-century shopping passage with a yellow glass roof, lined with cafés and hookah lounges, off Calea Victoriei.

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Where Bucharest began

Old Princely Court

Old Town·Ruins & museum·Ticket

The ruins of the 15th-century princely palace of Wallachia, where Bucharest is first named in a document signed by Vlad III.

Strada Franceză 25-31Explore View on map
Treasures and a Trajan’s Column cast

Palace of the Post Office (National History Museum)

Calea Victoriei·Museum·Ticket

The neoclassical former Post Office Palace, home of the National History Museum of Romania.

Calea Victoriei 12Explore View on map
A jewel of the Old Town

Stavropoleos Monastery

Old Town·Monastery church

A small 18th-century monastery church in the Old Town, with carved stone arcades, painted walls and a peaceful courtyard.

Strada Stavropoleos 4Explore View on map

Palaces & beyond 5

Residences, a cathedral on a hill and a world of thermal pools.

Sculpture and memory

Bellu Cemetery

Bucharest·Cemetery

Bucharest’s most famous cemetery, with the graves of writers and artists and fine funerary sculpture.

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Belle Époque splendour

Cantacuzino Palace

Calea Victoriei·Palace

A Belle Époque palace on Calea Victoriei with a famous shell-shaped canopy, home of the Enescu Museum.

Calea Victoriei 141Explore View on map
The presidential palace

Cotroceni Palace

Cotroceni·Palace & museum·Ticket

The residence of the President of Romania, part of which is the National Cotroceni Museum, open by booked guided tour.

Bulevardul Geniului 1Explore View on map
On Mitropoliei Hill

Patriarchal Cathedral

Parliament·Cathedral

The 17th-century cathedral of the Romanian Orthodox Church, on a small hill above the city, beside the Patriarchal Palace.

Strada Dealul MitropolieiExplore View on map
Inside the Ceaușescus’ home

Primăverii Palace

Primăverii·Historic residence·Ticket

The private residence of Nicolae and Elena Ceaușescu, opened to visitors, with its gilded rooms, cinema and mosaic swimming pool.

Bulevardul Primăverii 50Explore View on map