Bucharest is a city of a culture shaped by earthquakes, war, and a great dictator. Today is still under construction – a long time ago a new wave of glass facades and tall buildings continued to be scattered throughout the city. However, you can always find parts of the city that have not changed since the beginning of the 20th century; hence, the reason this city has the nickname “the Little Paris.”
If you have never thought about Bucharest as a tourist attraction, it will surely surprise you with its beauty. That is especially evident among the churches that peak from the shadow of the great communist blocks of buildings.
The trip to Bucharest is not too expensive, and there are many things in the city that you can see. In this article, we will present to you the ten biggest attractions in Bucharest worth visiting.
In the following lines, we will present to you some attractions that you should visit during the daylight hours of your bachelor party out in Bucharest.
1. Enjoy the Game of Hilarious Bubble Football or Paintball Matches
Undoubtedly, one of the most favored activities for all bachelor groups that arrive in the Romanian capital. What better way to split the time between drinking and finding something interesting to see then playing a game of bubble football. both hilarious and thrilling.
Just don’t forget to get your own best lace up ankle brace and you won’t have to worry about potential injuries when you are far away from home. They will come in handy once you start strolling through the streets and also once you head back home and play other tiring activities.
2. Palace of Parliament
This building of absurd size today serves as a building of the National Assembly, but perfectly reflects the obsession of the former Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceaușescu. This is a monument to harsh times is one of the greatest attractions if not the greatest that tourists love to visit and admire.
With about 365,000 square meters, this is the second-largest administrative building in the world. Despite the vast reception hall, museums, and offices, as well as a large room for assembly sessions, almost three-quarters of this building is still empty.
This concrete behemoth was unimaginably expensive in terms of money and the lives of thousands of people who died during its construction. It was the focal point of Causeway’s pompous restoration of Bucharest after the earthquake in 1977 and had eight underground floors, of which the last one is a nuclear bunker.
If you go on a trip to Bucharest, be sure to visit this massive building. There is the Museum of Communist Totalitarianism and the National Museum of Contemporary Art.
3. The Old Town
If you want to see how Bucharest looked before the Second World War, the Old Town is the best place for it. From the Middle Ages, this was the central place in the city. Some of the streets still have the names of the gilders that once used to be, for example, the Street Furrow or Sadlard Street.
That is one of the rare parts of Bucharest that still stands after the Second World War, and today it has been turned into a large pedestrian zone. Many charming boutiques, restaurants, and bars operate in restored buildings that breath Romanian architecture.
4. Romanian Peasant Museum
Opened in 1906, this museum stopped its work during the communist rule to be reopened only six weeks after the dictator’s death. During communism, this museum represented a museum of communism, and today in the basement of the building you can still find “The red part” of its college.
This museum is dedicated today to the history and culture of Romanian villages. Here you will see 400 years of history and an incredible collection of costumes, furniture, religious items, and ceramics. There is also a whole wooden house brought from the district Gorge, from the southwest of the country.
5. Herastrau Park
The largest park in Bucharest lies on the northern edge of the city, and its large part consists of the 74-hectare lake of the same name. This lake is made on the river Kolentin when wetlands drained during the thirties of the 20th century. The dug is about six kilometers long, and there’s also a track for jogging. In summer you can rent a bicycle or go on a boat tour.
Near the park, there is the Island of Rose and the Japanese garden. Its cherries flourish in the early spring bringing the coming of nature first to the Romanian capital. This park is a lovely place for which most tourists who embark on a trip to Bucharest do not have enough time to visit.
6. National Museum of Art of Romania
After the Second World War, Romanian king Mihail I abdicated. The Neoclassical Royal Palace at the Revolution Square became the National Museum of Art. During the Revolution in 1989, many collections parished, but this museum remains a real eye treat for every lover of contemporary art.
In the section for European art, you will see paintings by many famous painters: Lukas Kranaha, Jana van Ajka, El Grek, Tintoretto, Rubens, and Monet. Also, learn about the giants of Romanian painting: Nikola Toni and Stefano Lukijan, as well as with the faithful Victor Brauner.
Without a visit to this museum, the trip to Bucharest will not be complete.
7. Revolution Square
Revolution Square got its name after the violent demonstrations in 1989, which led to the fall of the communist regime. It contains almost all essential state institutions and ministries today. One of the most impressive buildings is the Ministry of Internal Affairs. This building was built to be the Central Committee of the Romanian Communist Party. From here in 1989, the dictator and his wife fled with the helicopter before they were arrested, sentenced and shot at Christmas that same year.
This place is also significant, because 20 years before that event, the same dictator published the independence of Romania from the Kremlin and condemned the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia. That is a place worth visiting for anyone who comes to Bucharest.
8. Spring Palace
Not far from the Herastrau park is the Spring Palace. It got finished during the 1960s and today serves as a museum. Since this was the home of a former dictator, here you can see a beautiful winter garden, a wine cellar, silk wallpapers, valuable artworks, a large swimming pool, gilded bathrooms, and even a cinema.
The most famous politician who was here was Richard Nixon, who at this place, he had tea with Ceaușescu in 1969.
9. Grigore Antipa National Museum of Natural History
Named after a man who was the director of the museum for more than 50 years in the 20th century, this natural museum was significantly renovated several decades ago and reopened in 2011. Today, you can see multimedia and interactive exhibitions. Of course, there are also skeletons of dinosaurs and prepared animals. Antipa brought many of them himself.
In the basement, there is a large exhibition showing the biodiversity of Romania, while on the ground floor exhibitions showing all the significant ecosystems on the planet.
10. Primăverii Palace
One of the oldest places in the center of Bucharest and one of the city’s attractions is the Primăverii Palace complex. The chief architect was Karl Meier, and it is no wonder that the park is in the German style.
At a site that once had a vineyard near the lake, he planted thousands of trees and other plants that he brought from the Viennese Botanical Garden and the Romanian mountains. It is interesting to visit regardless of the season. On the lake, you can ride a boat, and in the winter it turns into a great ice rink.
The palace has a memorial garden with the representation of twelve Romanian most famous writers. There are also monuments to French soldiers who died in Romania during World War I and US soldiers who died in Romania during the Second World War.
In Conclusion
It’s hard to make a top ten list of all the attractions from this great city and not exclude some of the interesting sites. According to numerous travel magazines, you should spend at least three days in this otherwise not small city to experience it fully.
Whatever is the reason for your visit, make sure that you taste some of that tasty cuisine and wines. Enjoy one of the kind spirits of locals that will be more than willing to show you around and don’t forget to party all night long.