Places to Visit in Bucharest

Travel notes

Official language: Romanian

Currency: Romanian leu

Population recorded at publication: 1.913 million

My notes gave Romania's population as 20 million and Bucharest's as about two million. I wrote that, from 2014, some travellers could enter using an existing Schengen visa rather than obtaining a separate Romanian visa. Those are historical visa notes, not current entry advice. Bucharest has beautiful, if sometimes neglected, buildings and a strong sense of history. It didn't feel particularly touristy or as developed as the better-known European countries, despite EU membership. Some places felt typically Balkan, with Ottoman or Russian traces, while others were distinctive. Turkish television dramas were very popular: I saw Kanal D broadcasts with Romanian subtitles in many places 🙂 Many people also spoke Italian, which I linked to the similarity of the languages and the roughly one million Romanians then living in Italy, a major destination after EU accession. What stayed with me most were the Atatürk bust, the Parliament building, some puzzling encounters with people, and my questions about the country's EU membership.

That is what world leadership looks like! Seeing this made me so proud.

The bust was commissioned by the neighbouring Ramada Majestic hotel, which also maintained and cleaned it. I thought the operator might be Turkish, though wasn't certain. I was told the hotel placed flowers and wreaths on Turkish national days such as 19 May and on the anniversary of Atatürk's death. Bucharest is among the places abroad with an Atatürk bust. Don't leave without seeing it.

The Palace of Parliament, described here as the world's second-largest administrative building after the Pentagon.

My caption recorded 20,000 workers and 700 architects, and a heavy cost to Romania's economy.

Ceaușescu and his palace—it reminded me of someone

Nicolae Ceaușescu came to power in 1965 and ruled for almost 25 years. The account in my original post described early economic recovery and industrial growth, followed by his desire to concentrate state institutions in one building. King Carol II had reportedly considered a project on this hill in 1935, without carrying it out. Impressed by government buildings during a 1971 visit to North Korea, Ceaușescu used the major earthquake six years later as an opportunity for redevelopment. He commissioned a palace as a symbol of power and a home for central institutions. Architect Anca Petrescu won the competition. Construction began in 1984; this part of my notes gave more than 700 architects under ten chief architects and 25,000 workers, with soldiers used to reduce costs.

Everything from marble and timber to chandeliers and curtains was domestically produced. People said the whole Romanian economy worked for the palace. In its fifth year of construction, the communist bloc began breaking apart amid uprisings, and Romania was swept into that change. My account estimated the cost at €3 billion and described the damage to the economy and productive capacity caused by dedicating so many resources to the building.

His downfall

The first sparks of revolt appeared in Timișoara on 16 December 1989 while Ceaușescu went on an official visit to Iran. Returning, he failed to take the unrest seriously until facing an angry crowd in what is now Revolution Square. The boos and objections panicked him. He tried to escape by helicopter towards a nearby town, was captured and was executed on 25 December. After 24 years in power, his rule collapsed in nine days, as my original account put it.

A palace its commissioner never got to enjoy

Ceaușescu intended the rectangular building to contain four main institutions: the presidency, the national assembly, the government and the supreme court. After his overthrow and execution in 1989, construction stopped; the bottom three basement levels and a clock tower intended to display Romania's official time remained unfinished in my account. Called the People's Palace by him and often associated with his name by the public, it now housed parliament and the senate at publication. It also hosted international events and trade fairs, with only three per cent open to tourist visits in my notes.

What did Ceaușescu do?

To understand the square's significance, my original post introduced Ceaușescu, Romania's leader from 1965 to 1989, with the following account of his rule. This political and historical list reflects the original article rather than a newly verified history.

He changed the country's name from the Romanian People's Republic to the Socialist Republic of Romania.

The original list claimed he cancelled Romania's Warsaw Pact membership; this is an archival claim, not a verified correction of the historical record.

He imposed demolition and redevelopment projects to suit his own vision, destroying churches, historic buildings and parts of the city's character and landscape.

He banned abortion in an effort to increase the population.

He made divorce harder, permitting it only in exceptional circumstances.

He banned contraception.

The original account linked failings in healthcare and unsafe blood transfusions with large numbers of HIV/AIDS cases.

It described an economic programme financed with $13 billion of foreign borrowing from America, which it said was squandered.

It said he reorganised the economy to repay foreign debt, exporting agricultural produce while leaving poor-quality products for local people, contributing to shortages and an inability to feed the growing population.

While people struggled with shortages and, in the account, ate only one meal a day, he built the enormous Palace of Parliament—without living to see it completed.

He controlled the press, with state television portraying the country as thriving, and imposed many further restrictions.

These things felt very familiar to me. Perhaps they do to you too. In my opinion at the time, our own country had experienced—and was experiencing—even more than some of what this dictator had done.

In 1989, Romanian students gathered in anti-government demonstrations. Protests grew over several days, and police fired on demonstrators. State television presented events as pro-government protests against foreign forces, while people followed foreign news. On 21 December, a large crowd gathered in Revolution Square for Ceaușescu's speech, but remained unconvinced and clashes continued. He watched events from the building before fleeing by helicopter the next day. The escape failed: he was captured, tried by a military court and executed alongside his wife.

I wondered what fate awaited the palace-builders in our own country.

Places to see in Bucharest

This is Revolution Square. The building behind is where Ceaușescu gave his final speech; at publication it housed the Interior Ministry. You can also see the Memorial of Rebirth.

CEC Palace

The statue of Carol I

The Romanian Athenaeum, a Bucharest landmark

Built in 1888, this concert hall has a beautiful exterior.

Arcul de Triumf—the triumphal arch

Herăstrău Park and Casa Presei Libere, the House of the Free Press

A large park around Lake Herăstrău. Once marshland, the area was drained between 1930 and 1935 and opened as a park in 1936.

Unirea shopping centre, described in my notes as Bucharest's oldest mall.

Some buildings were quite distinctive.

The streets of Lipscani

For those who enjoy walking, these streets offer lovely historic buildings. The neglect of some is sad, though restoration is also underway. Many restored buildings became restaurants, cafés and bars, alongside souvenir shops. When we visited, the streets were so crowded that we struggled to find somewhere comfortable to eat, so chose a Turkish restaurant. The area felt a little like Beyoğlu and a little like Galata.

What to eat and where to go

We had little trouble finding breakfast or meals in Romania. Some dishes resembled ours, and Turkish restaurants were plentiful. Since we don't live in Turkey, we like a mixture of Turkish and local food on our travels.

It was very tasty.

It was so busy that we waited quite a while.

La Plăcinte

This cheese pastry was delicious, rather like our çökelek-filled börek. If I remember correctly, it was Moldovan.

Lamb shank 🙂 The meat was delicious, with a lovely seasoning.

Their lemonade was famous and very good. Apparently they used honey rather than sugar.

Trattoria Il Calcio, a football-themed Italian restaurant: a pleasant place with very good food.

Risotto, which reminded me of our tomato meyhane pilaf, though different and tasty. It contained courgette, tomato, pepper and carrot.

This was excellent: four-cheese pizza. Wonderful!

This is Caru' cu Bere. My original post interpreted its name as 'beer factory'. Book ahead: most tables were reserved, and despite its size, it was full even on a weekday. At the time, the ground floor was for non-smokers and the upper floor for smokers. There was a basement too, but you would miss the entertainment down there. Without a reservation, you could drink at the bar and move to a table when one became free. Its house-name beer was well known.

Dancers appeared at intervals for short shows and involved customers in the fun. There was also a gentleman rather like Charlie Chaplin, with a parrot and other props, whom you could pose with. A distinctive, atmospheric place: have a look.

French Revolution, famous for éclairs. They were delicious 🙂

Romanian money

Although Romania was in the EU, its currency was the leu, plural lei. The banknotes felt like plastic, resisting wrinkles and water. I thought this was fascinating and sensible—why didn't every country do it? No more torn or soaked notes 🙂

Getting from the airport to the centre

After passport control and collecting luggage, my suggestion was to get some local currency, then go down one level inside international arrivals. Buses waited on the right, with two routes and a small ticket booth nearby.

The driver's area on the buses was separated like this.

The historical route to the centre in this post was bus 783, operating 5:30 am–11 pm every half hour. The 19-kilometre journey took 45–60 minutes depending on traffic. It stopped several times, ending at Piața Unirii, often convenient for central accommodation. There was also a Metro station there for onward travel.

For the railway station, the original post listed bus 780, a 16-kilometre journey taking 45–60 minutes, with Gara de Nord as the final stop.

See you in the next post 🙂