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Stories from Bucharest, Romania

Every story, long read and guide in the ULTIMATE Bucharest City Guide, in one place.

A city of music

Bucharest loves its music. The domed Athenaeum, home of the George Enescu Philharmonic, fills night after night, the Opera has a full season, and every two years the George Enescu Festival brings the world’s great orchestras to the city.

The CEC Palace on Calea VictorieiConstitution SquareChristmas in BucharestThe great market, the carols and Sibiu by trainThe Romanian National OperaOpera & balletThe National OperaA full season of opera and balletThe Cantacuzino Palace, home of the George Enescu National MuseumCalea VictorieiThe George Enescu MuseumA composer’s palace
  1. Every two yearsThe George Enescu FestivalOne of Europe’s great festivals

Our advice

Plan around the Athenaeum

Book a concert at the Athenaeum first, then plan your days around it: a morning at the National Museum of Art, lunch on Calea Victoriei and an afternoon at the Peasant Museum. The back story

History

History & heritage

How a Wallachian princely seat first named in 1459 became the capital of Romania: Latin roots, Byzantine churches, Belle Époque palaces, the Athenaeum and a city of music.

The domed Romanian Athenaeum concert hall in BucharestHistory & heritageA princely court, Belle Époque palaces and the Little Paris of the BalkansFrom a princely court to Little ParisThe Grand Hotel Continental on Calea VictorieiThe back storyBucharestBucharest has reinvented itself again and again, and it is still…The back storyBucharest Art, Architecture & CultureWalk Calea Victoriei from end to end and you walk through two…

The Belle Époque city

At the turn of the 20th century, Bucharest built banks, palaces and passages to rival any capital, and walking Calea Victoriei and the Old Town you still feel that golden age.

The CEC Palace on Calea VictorieiCalea VictorieiThe CEC PalaceA Belle Époque bank palaceThe glass-roofed rotunda of the Macca-Villacrosse PassageOld TownMacca-Villacrosse PassageUnder a glass roofThe white galleries of the Cărturești Carusel bookshopOld TownCărturești CaruselThe carousel of light

Our advice

Look up on Calea Victoriei

Walk Calea Victoriei from the CEC Palace to the Athenaeum and Revolution Square, and look up at the façades: the city’s history in a single street. Little Paris

Know Bucharest

The stories behind Little Paris: our guides to the Old Town and Calea Victoriei, the Belle Époque architects, the Romanian New Wave and the food.

Café terraces on Lipscani Street in the Old TownNeighbourhood guideOld TownMonasteries, inns and nightlifeThe red-brick Kretzulescu ChurchNeighbourhood guideCalea VictorieiPalaces and grand hotelsThe domed Belle Époque façade of the Corinthia Grand Hotel du Boulevard lit at dusk on Calea VictorieiLuxury guideLuxury BucharestGrand hotels and fine diningThe back storyLittle ParisThe Belle Époque architectsThe foyer of the Romanian AthenaeumThe back storyThe Romanian New WaveCinema that conquered Cannes
  1. The back storyRomanian foodSarmale, mici and papanași

Green Bucharest: parks and lakes

All the parks

A chain of lakes across the north, a 19th-century garden in the middle of the old city and a great park with its own lake in every district: where to row, walk and skate.

A rowing boat under the white bridge on the lake in Cișmigiu Gardens, autumnThe oldest gardenCișmigiu GardensRowing boats and the Writers’ RotundaPedal boats and a canoe on Lake Herăstrău in King Michael I ParkHerăstrăuKing Michael I ParkThe great lake park of the northThe central avenue of Carol Park running down to the lake1906Carol ParkBelle Époque grandeur on Filaret HillAutumn trees reflected in Lake Titan in Alexandru Ioan Cuza (IOR) ParkTitanIOR ParkLake Titan in its autumn coloursTropical plants inside a glasshouse at the Bucharest Botanical GardenCotroceniThe Botanical GardenGlasshouses, roses and a tropical forest
  1. Wild BucharestVăcărești Natural ParkThe delta in the city

Beyond Bucharest: castles and the Carpathians

The Carpathian Mountains rise two hours north of the city, with a royal castle at Sinaia, the Saxon city of Brașov and the castle of Bran, and a prince’s palace and an island monastery are even closer.

Peleș Castle in the Carpathian foothills at SinaiaDay trip · 2 hoursSinaia & Peleș CastleA royal castle in the mountainsThe Council Square in BrașovDay trip · 2.5–3 hoursBrașov & BranA Saxon city and “Dracula’s Castle”The Brâncovenesc loggia of Mogoșoaia Palace in evening lightHalf day · 30 minutesMogoșoaia & SnagovA prince’s palace and an island monasteryA great white pelican skimming the water in the Danube DeltaTrip · 2–3 daysDanube DeltaPelicans and fishing villagesSibiu’s Large Square and its painted Saxon housesTrip · 2 daysSibiuA Saxon town in Transylvania

Transylvania and beyond

Further north, the citadel and fortified churches of Sighișoara and the wooden churches of Maramureș.

  1. Trip · 3 hoursThe Black SeaConstanța and the beaches

Bucharest and Belgrade: twin capitals

Two of the most energetic capitals of the region are only a short flight apart, and many travellers combine them. Our sister guides to Belgrade and Sofia are live, and ULTIMATE Istanbul is coming soon.

The railway station at Henri Coandă airportGetting aroundOnward travelTo Belgrade by air, to Istanbul by trainThe old town of Belgrade above the Sava, with the spire of the Cathedral Church of St MichaelOur sister guideULTIMATE Belgrade City GuideWhere to eat, stay and explore in Belgrade

Know your neighbourhoods

Café terraces on Lipscani Street in the Old TownNeighbourhood

Old Town (Lipscani)

Cobbled lanes, a medieval princely court, Stavropoleos, Carusel and the busiest terraces in the city.

Explore Old Town (Lipscani) The Grand Hotel Continental on Calea VictorieiNeighbourhood

Calea Victoriei & Revolution Square

Bucharest’s grandest avenue: palaces, museums, the Athenaeum and Revolution Square.

Explore Calea Victoriei & Revolution Square The white galleries of the Cărturești Carusel bookshopNeighbourhood

Piața Romană & Amzei

Cafés, a covered market, students and some of the best specialty coffee in the city.

Explore Piața Romană & Amzei Primăverii Palace, the former Ceaușescu residenceNeighbourhood

Dorobanți & Primăverii

Leafy streets of villas, embassies, smart cafés and the Ceaușescus’ former palace.

Explore Dorobanți & Primăverii Boats on Herăstrău lake in King Michael I ParkNeighbourhood

Herăstrău & Kiseleff

The great lakeside park, the Arch of Triumph, the Village Museum and the museums of Kiseleff Avenue.

Explore Herăstrău & Kiseleff The Palace of the Parliament’s gardens looking down Unirii BoulevardNeighbourhood

The Parliament & Union Boulevard

The colossal Palace of the Parliament, the Patriarchal Cathedral and the great boulevard of the 1980s.

Explore The Parliament & Union Boulevard Infinitea, from its own photographyNeighbourhood

Cotroceni

A quiet hill of villas, the presidential palace, the Botanical Garden and the National Opera.

Explore Cotroceni The towers of the northern business districtNeighbourhood

Floreasca & the north

Glass towers, lakes, modern restaurants and the business district of the new Bucharest.

Explore Floreasca & the north

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