Why we chose Bucharest ?
Dear participants,
We are sure you already know that Bucharest is the Capital of Romania, the largest city and the main political, administrative, economic, financial, banking, educational, scientific and cultural center of the country, being certified more than 500 years ago.
Known in the 20th century as the Little Paris of the East, due its Art Nouveau architecture and impressive buildings inspired by the French ones, Bucharest is also the seat of the Government and of the Presidency, the location of the worldwide known House of Parliament – the second largest building in the world after the U.S. Pentagon, in Washington, D.C.
Bucharest is home to a wider range of attractions which can make you fall in love with the city the moment you discover them. For example, the museums which can cover almost all interest you might have, ranging from the famous National Museum of Art of Romania (https://www.mnar.arts.ro/en/) housed in the former Royal Palace, to the small K.H. Zambaccian Museum (https://www.mnar.arts.ro/en/k-h-zambaccian-museum), tucked away in a residential neighborhood of Calea Dorobanti. Other beautiful museums located in the center of the city to be visited are:
- the Theodor Pallady Museum (https://www.mnar.arts.ro/en/theodor-pallady-museum),
- the Theodor Aman Museum (https://muzeulbucurestiului.ro/en/the-theodor-aman-museum.html),
- the Sutu Palace (https://muzeulbucurestiului.ro/en/sutu-palace.html),
- the Frederic Storck and Cecilia Cutescu Storck (https://muzeulbucurestiului.ro/en/the-frederic-storck-and-cecilia-cutescu-storck-museum.html), just to name a few.
One can also visit the Village Museum, an open-air ethnographic museum exhibiting genuine examples of rural architecture from all regions of the country and, of course, the Peasant Museum.
In the middle of Bucharest there are many old churches and monasteries such as:
- Kretzulescu Church (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kretzulescu_Church),
- Stavropoleos Monastery (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stavropoleos_Monastery),
- Bucur Ciobanu Church (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bucur_Church),
- Radu Voda Monastery (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radu_Vod%C4%83_Monastery)
- the Romanian Orthodox Patriarchal Cathedral (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romanian_Patriarchal_Cathedral)
Unfortunately, Bucharest has its share of traffic jams and pollution, but there are also square miles of greenery. Ranging from the trees and bushes in front of most residential buildings to parks like Cismigiu, in the heart of the city, and Herastrau Park, in the north, to the Botanical Garden.
Bucharest is a great city, getting better every day. New restaurants, pubs and boutiques, new shopping centers and office buildings are arising all over like mushrooms, while the older beautiful buildings get cleaned up and renovated, preserving the scent of the past. For example, Manuc’s Inn (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manuc%27s_Inn) – built around 1808 to shelter traveling merchants – is the best preserved of Bucharest’s old inns. Close to Manuc’s Inn you may find the Lipscani area – the most important commercial zone from the Middle Ages to late 20th century – is the oldest remaining part of the city, also known as the “Old Town” of Bucharest. It concentrates the most appreciated restaurants, pubs and clubs of the nightlife in the city.
Bucharest has also a thriving cultural scene. There is the Opera and the Philharmonic and many traditional theatres together with small flourishing groups of experimental theatre.
According to a top, published in 2012 by a well-known online magazine, which took into account several criteria, such as the price of beer, the number of students in the city and the number of neighborhoods where tourists and residents can have fun, Bucharest was ranked second among Europe’s ‘coolest’ cities.
As in Bucharest you may also find a lot of fancy shopping malls, which seem to be everywhere inside the city, take some time off to visit them.
Wish you a pleasant journey in Bucharest!
