Bucharest: Top things to do and see

Bucharest is the capital of Romania and thus located in Eastern Europe. Although Bucharest might not be the first city you’re interested in when it comes to travelling Europe, I came to the conclusion that Bucharest shows just very adequately life in Eastern Europe as Bucharest is rarely touristic. Which does not mean that Bucharest does not offer great things to do and see!

1. Gawk at the Palace of Parliament

You know the Pentagon, don’t you? The Pentagon is the biggest building in the world. On the second rank is the Palace of Parliament in Bucharest where Romania’s parliament is seated.

If you are standing in front the big, actually heaviest building of the world, don’t forget to breathe. As soon as the shock-admiring-moment is over, you can also consider to go inside and make a tour to see it all!

2. Search for hidden, historic churches

Bucharest is a city of contrasts. It is nothing unusual to find a villa next to a totally abandoned ruin.

Also, churches are not that pompous, but rather hidden. Still, they are (mostly) intact and beautiful. If you want to uncover some secrets of Bucharest, keep in mind to literally search for these hidden, historic churches!

3. Stroll around in the Old Town

Bucharest is not the typical historic city which has a defined inner city center.

Bucharest suffered heavily under WWII, but what the war did not destroy, communism did. So, be prepared to not walk through these shiny, restored place, but rather where history actually did happen obviously.

4. Visit the Village Museum

The village Museum is an open air museum in the heart of Bucharest.

It shows how typical rural life was like about 100 years ago in Romania. Definitely something that sounds interesting to me!

5. Spend some time in one of the parks

Bucharest has many public parks, some bigger and some smaller ones.

So if you happen to be near of one or another, don’t hesitate to just step in and enjoy the beauty of nature in the city of Bucharest!

6. Take a photo of the National Library

7. Notice the trams

There are not many trams in Bucharest, but if you see one of them, I guess you will most likely feel like in a transport museum.

These trams are just so old that they are worth being mentioned separately!

8. Keep an eye out for historic buildings

As I already mentioned, Bucharest is a city of contrasts. Admittedly, it is a question of perspective what to call historic.

But what I mean are the restored ones. Like the Ateneul or the Galateca Gallery. There is so much to discover!

9. Discover the Triumphal Arc

I’m honestly not sure whether the Triumphal Arch is special or just symbolic.

What I mean is that any relatively big city like Paris, Rome, Barcelona or Brussels all have one. That’s up to you!

 

More interesting articles about Bucharest can be read on our city page!