-
Antim Monastery
The surviving Antim Monastery is a beautiful walled complex built in 1715 by the metropolitan bishop Antim Ivireanu.
-
Armenian Church
Along B-dul Carol I, east of Piaţa Universităţii, is the alabaster Armenian Church, which originally dates from 1781 (though this church was built in 1915).
-
Art Collection Museum
The grab-bag of 15 private collections at the well-named Art Collection Museum is now part of the National Art Museum. A lot of the late-19th- to mid-20th-century Romanian works take on French landscapes or styles. But there's also paintings of Balchik before it went to Bulgaria, a re-creation of a 19th-century Arab room on the 2nd floor, plenty of Ottoman weaponry, and fine Japanese woodblock prints.
-
Athénée Palace
Now home to the Hilton hotel, the Athénée Palace is the grand dame of Bucharest, holding a particular place in the city's history. Built by French architect Téophile Bradeau in 1914, it's had a bumpy life. Sitting on the northern side of Piaţa Revoluţiei, it hosted political intrigue, scandals and high living when German and Allied officers used it as their base during the WWII.
-
B-dul Unirii
If you had time to walk only a few streets and wanted to see the different sides of Bucharest, walk B-dul Unirii. It's not inspiring, but Ceauşescu's B-dul Unirii is a 3.5km statement - in concrete.
-
Băneasa Park
Escape the heat or honks at some of Bucharest's urban oases. They tend to be best during the week when fewer people are enjoying the outdoors. All have nice areas to sit, drink beer or espresso, and many have swings or small rides for children. Băneasa Park offers nice respite from the city. It's 10km north of Piaţa Romană - take bus 301.
-
Belu Cemetery
Just south of the Martyr-Heroes of the December 1989 Revolution Cemetery is Belu Cemetery, the city's most prestigious cemetery, which houses the tombs of many notable Romanian writers. Space has gotten so tight, people are recycling spots from past family members; in other areas, sidewalks are filling with new grave sites! A map inside the gate points out locations. Many Romanians pay respects to national poet Mihai Eminescu (1850-89) and comic playwright and humorist Ion Luca Caragiale (1852-1912), who only have a bloke named Traian Savalescu between them; go to Figura 9 (to the right after you enter).
-
Botanic Garden
About 10 minutes south of the National Military Museum is the rather let-it-be Botanic Garden, on the former grounds of the nearby Cotroceni Palace (which can be visited by prior arrangement; call 430 6171). The 17-hectare garden is home to some 20,000 plant species from around Romania.
-
Calea Griviţiei
If you had time to walk only a few streets and wanted to see the different sides of Bucharest, walk Calea Griviţiei. From glue-sniffers outside scrappy Gară de Nord, it continues past quiet blocks and French-style buildings (some abandoned) to Calea Victoriei.
-
Calea Victoriei
At its western end, Str Lipscani crosses Calea Victoriei, Bucharest's most historic street. It was built under Brâncoveanu's orders in 1692 to link his summer palace in Mogoşoaia, 14km northwest of Bucharest, with the heart of his capital city. The historic thoroughfare makes a nice walk, as it connects the two main squares of the city: Piaţa Victoriei in the north, and Piaţa Revoluţiei in the centre, passing many belle époque buildings.
-
Advertisement
-
Carol I Park
About 1km southwest from Piaţa Unirii, Carol I Park may have been inaugurated in 1906, but the eternal flame burning for an unknown soldier, and 20m black-granite mausoleum - and a heavy military presence who ask you not to photograph it - make it feel more of the communist era. The mausoleum, topped with five arches made of red Swedish granite, was put up in memory of the 'Heroes for the Struggle for the People's and the Homeland's Liberty for Socialism'. That's pretty communist. Enter the park from the north at Piaţa Libertăţii or from the south along Calea Şerban Vodă.
-
Central Committee of the Communist Party
The scene of Ceauşescu's infamous last speech was on the balcony of the former Central Committee of the Communist Party building on 21 December 1989. Amid cries of 'Down with Ceauşescu!' he escaped (briefly) by helicopter from the roof. Meanwhile, the crowds were riddled with bullets, and many died.
-
Central University Library
The 1895 Central University Library houses the European Union Information Centre, HVB bank and the university library.
-
Choral Temple
The Choral Temple, built in 1857, is the city's main working synagogue and is visually stunning inside. You'll need your passport to enter. A memorial to the victims of the Holocaust (including 400,000 Romanian Jews), erected in 1991, fronts the temple.
-
Church of Bucur the Shepherd
Other churches that miraculously survived the 1980s demolition include the Church of Bucur the Shepherd, dating from 1743 and dedicated to the city's legendary founder.
-
Church of the Icon
East of Piaţa Romană, via Str Pictor Verona or Str Jules Michelet, past the slightly scrappy Icoanei Garden, are a couple of religious sites. The Church of the Icon was built by monk and former privy secretary Mihail Băbeanu in 1745-50.
-
Cişmigiu Garden
Escape the heat or honks at some of Bucharest's urban oases. They tend to be best during the week when fewer people are enjoying the outdoors. Cişmigiu Garden is central and oozing with laid-back peace; open-air cafés overlook the pond, and there are plenty of benches (and flirters - it's known locally as 'lovers' park').
-
Creţulescu Church
Creţulescu Church stands just south of Piaţa Revoluţiei; the 1722 red-brick structure was damaged in the 1989 Revolution. To the side stands a memorial bust of Corneliu Coposu, who spent 17 years in prison for his anticommunist activities and, prior to his death in 1995, was awarded the Légion d'Honneur by the French government. Behind the church is a statue of a headless torso, a memorial to fallen revolutionaires.
-
Dâmboviţa Lake
Dâmboviţa Lake is a murky, mossy, concrete-bedded lake created from a dam built to control the Dâmboviţa River. Couples stroll down the windswept sidewalk facing a fairly edgy neighbourhood of towering housing blocks. Some dare to swim, others cross Şos Virtuţii, where there's a water park. To reach the lake walk 300m through the park to the elevated rim from the Crângaşi metro station.
-
Dâmboviţa River
All great cities have their rivers, and Bucharest slips in its quest for greatness thanks to the way it's treated the miserly Dâmboviţa River. Centuries ago, when Bucharest first took its steps, the river rushed through woods on this relatively hilly part of the plain. Mosquitoes loved the river though, and brought malaria to a growing population; sewage seemed drawn to it too, and the flood-prone river grew more and more contaminated.
-
Advertisement
-
Economic Consortium Palace
Bucharest's financial houses moved to the historic heart in the 19th century after the princely residence was moved to the north of the city. Just north of the National History Museum is the Economic Consortium Palace, designed by French architect Paul Gottereau in 1894-1900. Next door stands the Bucharest Financial Plaza, a mirrored building.
-
Former Main Residence of Ceauşescu
Just east of Piaţa Charles de Gaulle is the former main residence of Ceauşescu, also known as the Primăverii Palace. It's heavily guarded now, and off-limits to everyone but state guests, but it is easy to look over the wall at the lush and leafy pad.
-
George Enescu Museum
National composer George Enescu (1881-1955) lived for a short time in the former Cantacuzino Palace, a few blocks south of Piaţa Victoriei. The lovely building, built in the early 1900s in a seriously French baroque style, features a fantastic clam-shaped porte-cochere above the main entrance. Now called the George Enescu Museum, the palace is home to various manuscripts and belongings from George (Romanian-language only); be sure to see George's little home-studio, with original furnishings, behind the palace.
-
Ghencea Civil Cemetery
About 3km west of the Palace of Parliament, Ghencea Civil Cemetery has two infamous inhabitants: Nicolae Ceauşescu and his wife Elena (dubbed the 'Romanian Eva Perón'). The pair were secretly buried here - and notably not at Belu Cemetery, the city's most reputable resting place - on 30 December 1989, in hastily prepared graves. Both lie before the small chapel that faces the entry.
-
Grigore Antipa Natural History Museum
At the start of the Şos Kiseleff boulevard, on the north-western side of Piaţa Victoriei, is the interesting Grigore Antipa Natural History Museum. Children get a kick out of it, despite the dated exhibits. In one room, a display of crude earth suddenly clanks when you walk by and 'lava' flows out. There's lots of ethnographic displays, including eerie decapitated mummy heads and Sioux head-dresses, plus test tubes of various invertebrates and stuffed (smiling) pythons.
