Places to visit in Bucharest Romania
Casin Monastery
It was built in 1937 nearby the Triumphal Arch. It is a great monument which combines harmoniously the traditional architectural elements with the modern ones.
Its mural decoration is made of multi-coloured mosaic and marble. Its catapetasma and apse are also made of marble with icons made of mosaic and enamel.
Nadia Comaneci (one of the world’s best gymnasts) and Bart Conner got married here on April 27, 1996, in a lavish church ceremony. Their godparents were Adrian Nastase (our Prime Minister) and his wife Dana Nastase.
The National Art Museum
The National Art Museum (housed by the Royal Palace) is Romania’s largest and most representative gallery of European, Oriental and national art. Here you can admire paintings by Italian, German, Spanish, Flemish, Dutch and French masters of the 14th – 18th centuries. There are also valuable collections of Chinese jade carvings and Japanese prints.
The Gallery of National Paintings contains works by N. Grigorescu, I.Andreescu, St. Luchian, N. Tonitza and other Romanian masters. There are also several sculptures by Brancusi, a Romanian sculptor who is world-famous.
Situated in the old centre of Bucharest, the Curtea Veche Museum is worth visiting. Here you can see fragments of constructions raised in the ages of Vlad Tepes (Dracula), Mircea Ciobanul and Constantin Brancoveanu.
The museum houses a large number of flag-stones, vases, stone cannon balls and traces of settlements going back to the 4th century, as well as other important historical vestiges.
Nearby is the church Buna Vestire, Bucharest’s oldest building (1558-1559) kept to our days.
Baneasa Zoo is children’s favourite attraction.
It is situated in Baneasa Forest, a wonderful place where you can relax and breathe fresh air.
You can see some of the world’s most rare and endangered species of animals and birds here. Every Sunday morning you can ride the ponies, too.
Come and visit this wonderful place! It is open all year.
The Palace of Parliament
From Unirii Square, towards the west is Unirii Boulevard ending in front of the Parliament building. It is a huge palace where Nicolae Ceausescu wanted to reside. He did not live to see it finished. It competes with the Pentagon in size.
It is located in the new civic centre, on the left bank of the Dambovita River. By order of Nicolae Ceausescu most of the old buildings which stood in this area were pulled down to make way for the new buildings. Two old and extremely beautiful churches were demolished, too.
Bucharest Botanical Gardens
Bucharest Botanical Gardens (opened to the public in 1895) contain plants and trees from different parts of Romania as well as a hothouse with plants and trees from all over the world. This is a wonderful place where you can relax and breathe fresh air. It is located opposite the Cotroceni Palace and quite close to the Dambovita river.
