Bucharest (ROMANIA / EUROPE)

Bucharest, is the economic, administrative and cultural centre of Romania. It lies in the middle of the Romanian plain, on the banks of the Dâmbovița, a small northern tributary of the Danube.

Formerly known as “Little Paris” for its magnificent architecture, explore Bucharest’s huge city parks, works of art, and exhibitions at its outstanding museums, and get lost in the gritty yet attractive streets that thread through the Old Town. Take a trip down Calea Victoriei to see some of the country’s most important structures and monuments, all of which bear witness to bygone eras.

The modern city is characterized by a number of squares from which streets and boulevards radiate. The two main streets, running parallel through the centre of the city, are Calea Victoriei and Bulevardul Magheru. Bulevardul Unirii, formerly called, under communism, the “Boulevard of the Victory of Socialism,” was vastly expanded in the 1980s under the dictator Nicolae Ceausescu and was bordered by such buildings as the palatial marble House of the People (Casa Poporului, now the Palace of the Parliament). About 25,000 acres (10,000 hectares) of old Bucharest were razed to make room for the new palace and grand boulevard.