Bucharest, Romania

Bucharest is the capital city, cultural, industrial, and financial centre of Romania. It is the largest city in Romania, located in the southeast of the country, and lies on the banks of the Dâmbovița River. The city boasts wide, tree-lined boulevards and a mix of historical (neo-classical), interbellum (Bauhaus and Art Deco), Communist-era and modern architecture. It also features a broad range of convention facilities, educational facilities, cultural venues, shopping arcades and recreational areas.

Bucharest has a large number of landmark buildings and monuments. Perhaps the most prominent of these is the Palace of the Parliament. Others include the Arcul de Triumf, the Memorial of Rebirth, and the Romanian Anthenaeum. Other cultural venues include the National Museum of Art of Romania, Museum of Natural History "Grigore Antipa", Museum of the Romanian Peasant (Muzeul Ţăranului Român), National History Museum, and the Military Museum.

The Old Center is worth a visit. It features an assortment of middle 19th century buildings, ruins of the Wallachian princes' medieval court, churches, bank headquarters, a few hotels, clubs, restaurants and shops. Narrow cobblestoned streets retain the names of the ancient guilds that resided on them.

Things to See & Do

* Parliament Palace
* Old Center
* Museums
* Churches & Monasteries
* Revolution Square

General Information

Cruise Season – March to Dec
Currency – Romanian leu (RON)
Language – Romanian
Land Area – 288 km²
Population – 2,000,000 approx.
Electricity – 2 round pins European style
Time - GMT/UTC plus two hours
International Country Telephone Code – + 40

Port Location – There is no port at Bucharest. The nearest ports where river cruises dock are Giurgiu and Oltenita; both these towns are about 65 km/40 mi south of Bucharest.

Travel Links - Bucharest has reasonable connections with most European capitals and with the largest cities in Romania, but it can be difficult to find a direct flight to Bucharest from outside of Europe or the Middle East. Most flights, both international and domestic, land at the Henri Coandă International Airport, located in Otopeni, 18 km north of the city downtown.

Buses are a good option to get to Bucharest if coming from Moldova, Turkey, Greece and to some extent Bulgaria, given the low frequency and speeds of trains between these countries and Romania.

Bucharest is linked through direct daily trains to all neighboring countries’ capitals (Belgrade, Budapest, Chişinău, Kiev, Sofia), as well as to Vienna, Venice, Thessaloniki, Istanbul, Moscow and of course to main cities in all of Romania’s 41 counties.