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Key Attractions
Palatul Parlamentului (Parliament Palace)
Ceausescu’s greatest folly, begun in 1984, initially took 20,000 workers, 7000 architects and uncountable billions of Lei to build. But when the dictator died, only the exterior and three rooms had been finished. Work continues on it to this day. What is seen from street level on Bulevardul Unirii is a monolith rising 84m (276ft) above ground level but it is nearly as deep under ground, rumoured to hold a nuclear bunker big enough to contain the entire government, although its actual functions have not been revealed. Inspired by North Korean Communist architecture, which reflected Ceausescu’s political leanings, it is 330,000m2 (1,082,677ft2) in area and the second-largest administration building in the world (after the Pentagon). Intended to house Communist Party offices, ministries and state rooms, it is now the seat of Romania’s Parliament and headquarters of the International Conference Centre, although it has also been used as a film set, imitating the Vatican.
Visitors now enter on the north side, from Bulevardul Natiunile Unite, where regular 45-minute guided tours are offered in English. However, by telephoning ahead, tours can also be arranged in French, German, Italian, Spanish and Hungarian. The lobby’s centrepiece is a magnificent crystal chandelier – only one of the palace’s 2800. At the far end, a pink marble staircase leads to shimmering stained-glass windows.
The tour focuses on ten rooms, including those used by the Senate – if it is not in session – decorated in plush pink carpets, mosaics, rich oak panelling and marble work carved by the country’s most talented craftspeople. The largest room, the 16m (52.5ft) high and 2200sq-metre (7218sq-foot) Sala Unirii, has a sliding ceiling, wide enough for a helicopter to enter – one of the many details indicative of the president’s paranoia. Vast sums were lavished on these rooms and stairways and the guides love to recount how often they were rebuilt or redecorated, as Ceausescu and his wife Elena kept changing their minds. The opulent Alexandru Ioan Cuza Room, where Ceausescu was to have signed all his documents, opens on to a balcony, which looks straight down the Bulevardul Unirii and over the Centru Civic. From this viewpoint, one feels at the centre of the universe – just the way the old dictator liked it.
Bulevardul Natiunili Unite
Tel: (01) 311 3611. Fax: (01) 312 0902.
E-mail: cic@camera.ro
Website: www.cdep.ro
Transport: Metro Izvor or Unirii; bus 136 or 385.
Opening hours: Daily 1000-1600.
Admission: US$3.00; US$2.50 (photography fee); US$10.50 (video fee).
Piata Revolutiei (Revolution Square)
This spot marks the death of President Nicolae Ceausescu more poignantly than the tombstone above his grave. On 21 December 1989, 80,000 people thronged the square, supposedly in support of the president after riots in the town of Timisoara, when the Securitate arrested an outspoken priest. But when Ceausescu appeared on the balcony of what was then the Central Committee building – now part of the Romanian senate – people began to chant ‘Ti-mi-soa-ra, Ti-mi-soa-ra’ and the shock on Ceausescu’s face pinpointed the true moment of his downfall – a moment televised all over Romania and, later, the world. However, this heroic ‘people’s revolution’ is also thought to have been an inside job, since, although Communism governments were falling all around him, the dictator did not plan to play ball. Ceausescu and his wife tried to escape in a helicopter from the roof but, being told they were low on fuel, were dropped within the Romanian border, after which they were hastily tried and shot by a firing squad.
A white, marble plaque on the Senate building points to the balcony where Ceausescu lost his grip on the country, inscribed with ‘Glorie martirilor nostiri’ (‘Glory to our Martyrs’), in remembrance of those killed in the fighting. Just behind the library, on the southern end of Calea Victoriei, the building that housed the Securitate (Ceausescu's secret police), has been left in its ruined state, as a grim monumnet. The battle wounds from this deciding moment in Romania’s history also can still be seen in the the bullet holes in buildings surrounding the square, as well as in photos in the National Art Gallery, which was heavily looted during the uprising.
Piata Revolutiei
Transport: Metro Universitatii; bus 122, 126, 168, 226, 268, 300 or 368.
Opening hours: Daily 24 hours.
Admission: Free.
Historic Centre
The ramshackle, cobblestone streets between Calea Victoriei, Bulevardul Bratianu, Bulevardul Regina Elisabeta and the River Dīmbovita still comprise Bucharest’s most atmospheric area and increasingly are home to an alternative culture of clubs, bars, trendy coffee houses and restaurants. At its heart is the Curtea Veche (Old Court), attributed to Vlad Tepes, which contains a few walls, arches, tombstones and one restored Corinthian column. This can only be entered by pre-arranged visits. Next door is Bucharest’s oldest church, the 16th-century Biserica Curtea Veche. Just east of here is the oldest inn, Hanul lui Manuc, Strada Franceza 62-64, which is still an inexpensive hotel. Inside the shady court of the inn, overlooked by tall trees and tiered wooden balconies, are several restaurants and an open café-bar, very popular with young Bucharestis in summer, although the food is not recommended. Must – a sweet and lightly alcoholic juice made with wine grapes before proper fermentation – is a recommended house speciality. North of here is Strada Lipscani, an old merchant street where everything from bridal gowns and handmade hats to cheap jeans are sold, as well as a number of second-hand and antique shops. Halfway down, on the left, is Strada Stavropoleos where the remarkable Biserica Stavropoleos can be visited 0830-1800. This church, completed in 1724, looks much older and could easily qualify as the city’s most beautiful, not least because its frescoes and icons have recently been restored and it is surrounded by a peaceful cloister garden filled with various antiquities – a fine place to rest. The church was designed by Constantin Brancoveanu (1688-1714), a Wallachian prince known for his religious architectural achievements.
Curtea Veche
Strada Franceza 60
Tel: (01) 314 0375.
Transport: Metro Unirii; bus 72, 90, 104 or 123; tram 21.
Admission: US$0.40.
Opening hours: Daily 1000-1700 (by appointment only).
Muzeul Taranului Roman (Romanian Peasant Museum)
This eclectic collection of peasant relics won 1996’s European Museum of the Year award and it is easy to see why. The juxtaposition of religious and traditional crafts is so ingeniously displayed – with excellent English texts relating rural functional items to contemporary sculpture – that the exhibition is a work of art in itself. Handmade rugs, pottery, tools and painted eggs rub shoulders with rosaries, icons and woodcuts, while the intimate style of a fairly recent peasant kitchen and school room celebrate the aesthetics of simplicity. Upstairs, a group of mannequins in peasant costumes looks like they are about to wake up at any moment and march across the room. This museum is a gem for lovers of both folk and contemporary art and also has an excellent gift shop, which includes antique clothing and fabrics.
Soseaua Kiseleff 3
Tel: (01) 212 9661 Fax: (01) 312 9875.
E-mail: mtr@digicom.ro
Website: www.itcnet.ro/mtr/
Transport: Metro Piata Victoriei; bus 205 or 300.
Opening hours: Tues-Sun 1000-1800.
Admission: US$1; US$4 (photography fee).
Muzeul Satului (Village Museum)
A number of peasant homes, barns, churches and mills, representing vernacular rural architecture, were transported from all over Romania, to a park along Herastrau Lake – always popular with families on weekend outings. However, several recent and a devastating fires have produced a depressing image of an outdoor museum that was intended to show the pride of Romanian peasants in their work and homes. Among them are rustic wooden churches and tall-roofed Transylvanian houses with beautifully crafted shingles containing everyday accessories such as tools, butter-churns, hay forks, beer kegs and clothes. However, five of these were totally destroyed and 15 badly damaged.
Soseaua Kiseleff 28-30
Tel: (01) 222 9106. Fax: 312 9068 or 222 9068.
Transport: Metro Aviatorilor; bus 331 or 131.
Opening hours: Daily 0900-1800 (Oct-May); daily 0900-2000 (May-Oct).
Admission: US$0.40; US$0.80 (photography fee); US$4 (video fee).
Muzeul National de Arta (National Art Museum)
Although tragically vandalised and looted during the 1989 uprising, the museum has now been lovingly restored. The European Gallery, in particular, is an absolute treasure, containing many rarely seen master works. Three rooms display Italian art from the 15th to 18th centuries, such as Boccaccio and Tintoretto. One room has German and Austrian work from the same period, with several works by Cranach. Another contains early Netherlandish and Dutch art, including Von Eyck’s ‘Crucifixion’ and a Rembrandt, 16th and 17th-century Spanish works, including several El Grecos, Flemish art including a Rubens and four more rooms revel in French sculpture and art up to the 20th century. This museum is a true feast and will only go on improving, as the 450 or so works damaged in 1989 are gradually restored.
Calea Victoriei 49-53
Tel: (01) 314 8119 or 615 5193. Fax: (01) 312 4327
E-mail: national.art@art.museum.ro
Website: www.itcnet.ro/museum/museum.html
Transport: Metro Piata Romana, Universitate; bus 122, 137, 178, 300, 336 or 601
Opening Hours: Wed-Sun 1100-1900 (May-Sept); Wed-Sun 1000-1800 (Oct-Apr).
Admission: US$1.25, photo and video recording (without tripod or flash) available for a negotiable fee, as are guided tours in English or French.
Zambaccian Museum
For visitors who want to see the best of Romanian art, this is the place to go. KH Zambaccian bequeathed his intimate collection of mostly Impressionist paintings – including one of Constantin Brancusi’s earliest sculptures – to the state, in 1946, along with his beautiful residence. Each room features a Romanian artist of the time and, on leaving, names like Nicolae Grigorescu and Stefan Luchian seem slightly less foreign. The small collection of Paris-based artists – including Picasso, Cezanne, Bonnard and Renoir – is situated on the top floor.
Strada Muzeul Zambaccian 21A
Tel: (01) 230 1920.
Transport: Metro Aviatorilor; bus 301, 131, 331 or 182.
Opening hours: Wed-Sun 1000-1700.
Admission: US$1.
Catedrala Patriarhala (Patriarchal Cathedral)
This stunning 17th-century cathedral, situated on a hill overlooking southern Bucharest, is the Romanian Orthodox Church headquarters. A fabulous fresco of the blessed and the damned, ascending to heaven or tumbling into hell, adorns the entrance, as well as the oldest icon on the site, depicting patron saints Constantin and Helen (1665). Inside, expressive and beautifully painted icons, embedded in an exquisite gilded altarpiece, dazzle the eye in the sombre darkness. St Dumitru, Bucharest’s patron saint, lies entombed in the left-hand corner and worshippers constantly climb the staircase to his shrine to pay their respects.
Strada Dealul Mitropoliei
Tel: (01) 337 0079.
Transport: Metro Unirii; bus 104 or 123.
Opening hours: Daily 0800-1900.
Admission: Free.
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