bucharest travel guide

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Bucharest Travel Guide ........................................................................................................August 2010

Bucharest Travel Guide

1 Unrestand ................................................................................................................................................22 Revolution ...............................................................................................................................................23 Get around ...............................................................................................................................................3

3.1 Metro ................................................................................................................................................3

3.2 Buses, trams and trolleybuses .......................................................................................................... 53.3 By taxi ..............................................................................................................................................5

4 See ...........................................................................................................................................................64.1 The Arc of Triumph (Arcul de Triumf) ...........................................................................................64.2 Village Museum ...............................................................................................................................64.3 Museum of the Romanian Peasant ...................................................................................................64.4 Revolution Square (Piaţa Revoluţiei) .............................................................................................. 74.5 Atheneum .........................................................................................................................................74.6 Old Center .......................................................................................................................................74.7 The Beer Cart Restaurant (Carul cu Bere) ......................................................................................74.8 National Bank of Romania (Banca Nationala a Romaniei) ............................................................. 7

4.9 Stavropoleos Church (Biserica Stavropoleos) ................................................................................. 84.10 “Curtea Veche” (Old Court) Museum ............................................................................................84.11 Metropolitan Church (Biserica Patriarhiei) ....................................................................................84.12 Parliament Palace ...........................................................................................................................94.13 Cotroceni Palace Museum ..............................................................................................................9

5 Parks & Gardens .................................................................................................................................. 105.1 Cismigiu Garden (Gradina Cismigiu) ............................................................................................ 105.2 Botanical Garden (Gradina Botanica) ............................................................................................105.3 Herastrau Park (Parcul Herastrau) ................................................................................................. 11

6 Eat ......................................................................................................................................................... 116.1 La mama .........................................................................................................................................11

6.2 Carul cu bere .................................................................................................................................. 126.3 La Radu ..........................................................................................................................................126.4 Baba Dochia ...................................................................................................................................13

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Bucharest Travel Guide

1 Unrestand

Bucharest is the primary entry point into Romania. It typically elicits a wide spectrum of opinions

on the part of tourists. Known in the past as "The Little Paris" Bucharest has changed a lot lately and

today it has become a very interesting mix of old and new that has little to do with its initial reputation.

Finding a 300 year old church near a steel-and-glass building that sit both next to a communist style

building is common place in Bucharest. Perhaps "The Big Mix" would be a more appropriate name for

the current Bucharest. Some adore it and enjoy its unique charm, while others feel uncomfortable

around the gray Communist-era buildings and lack of western style tourist attractions. However,

Bucharest offers some excellent attractions, and has, in recent years, cultivated a sophisticated, trendy,

and modern sensibility that many have come to expect from a European capital. Bucharest has been

undergoing major modernization programs in recent years and is still going to continue not if more projects in the years to come.

2 Revolution

On the morning of 21 December Ceauşescu addressed an assembly of approximately 100,000

people, to condemn the uprising in Timişoara. However, Ceauşescu was out of touch with his people

and completely misread the crowd's mood. Starting his speech in the usual "wooden language",

spurting out pro-socialist and Communist Party rhetoric, Ceauşescu delivered a litany of the

achievements of the "socialist revolution" and Romanian "multi-laterally developed socialist society".The people, however, remained apathetic, and only the front rows supported Ceauşescu with cheers and

applause. As the speech went on, some in the crowd actually began to jeer and boo and utter insults at

him. Ceauşescu's lack of understanding of the recent events and his incapacity to handle the situation

were further demonstrated when he offered, as an act of desperation, to raise workers' salaries by 100

lei per month (about 9 US dollars at the time, yet a 5-10% raise for a modest salary) and student

scholarship from 100 to 110 lei while continuing to praise the achievements of the Socialist Revolution,

unable to realize that a revolution was brewing right in front of his eyes.

As he was addressing the crowd from the balcony of the Central Committee building, sudden

movement came from the outskirts of the massed assembly, as did the sound of (what various sources

have reported as) fireworks, bombs, or guns, which together caused the assembly to break into chaos.

Initially frightened, the crowds tried to disperse. Bullhorns then began to spread the news that the

Securitate was firing on the crowd and that a "revolution" was unfolding. This persuaded people in the

assembly to join in. The rally turned into a protest demonstration.

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Ceauşescu and his wife, as well as other officials and CPEx members, panicked, and Ceauşescu

went into hiding inside the building.

The reaction of the Ceauşescu couple on the balcony is memorable: They staged futile attempts to

regain control over the uprising crowd using phone conversation formulas such as "Alo, Alo" ("Hello,

Hello"), Ceauşescu's wife "advised" him how to contain the situation "Vorbeşte-le, vorbeşte-le" ("Talk

to them, talk to them"), and they urged the crowd "Staţi liniştiţi la locurile voastre" ("Stay quiet in your

places"). In the end Ceauşescu allowed himself to be directed into the Central Committee building by

his underlings.

The jeers and whistles soon erupted into riot; the crowd took to the streets, placing the capital, in

turmoil. Members of the crowd spontaneously began shouting anti-communist and anti-Ceauşescu

slogans, which spread and became chants: "Jos dictatorul!" ("Down with the dictator"), "Moarte

criminalului!" ("Death to the murderer"), "Noi suntem poporul, jos cu dictatorul!" ("We are the People,down with the dictator"), "Ceauşescu cine eşti?/Criminal din Scorniceşti" ("Ceauşescu, who are you? A

murderer from Scorniceşti").As the hours passed, many more people took to the streets. Soon the

protesters were confronted by soldiers, tanks, TABs, USLA troops (Unitatea Specială pentru Lupta

Antiteroristă, anti-terrorist special squads), and armed plain-clothes Securitate officers. The crowd was

soon being shot at from various buildings, side streets, and tanks. There were many casualties,

including deaths, as victims were shot, clubbed to death, stabbed, and crushed by armored vehicles

(one TAB drove into the crowd around the InterContinental Hotel, crushing people — a French

journalist, Jean Louis Calderon, was killedFirefighters hit the demonstrators with powerful water jets

and the police continued to beat and arrest people. Protesters managed to build a defensible barricade in

front of Dunărea ("Danube") restaurant, which stood until after midnight, but was finally torn apart by

government forces. Intense continuous shooting continued until after 3:00 a.m., by which time the

survivors had fled the streets.

Records of the fighting that day include footage shot from helicopters — sent to raid the area and

to record evidence for eventual reprisals — as well as by tourists in the high tower of the centrally

located InterContinental Hotel, next to the National Theater and across the street from the University.

3 Get around

3.1 Metro

The metro, which has four lines (M1, M2, M3, M4) and covers the city quite extensively, is

usually a cheap (2.2 lei for 2 trips, 8 lei for 10 trips and 23 lei for a monthly pass) and easy way to get

around even though there are surprisingly few stops in the city center, since the system was originally

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built to transport workers and commuters from outlying neighborhoods through the city to peripheral

industrial areas. If you're staying outside the city center, or even if you want to travel within it, the

Metro can be a very fast and convenient way of traveling to your destination, avoiding the traffic jams

and crowds that frequently characterize surface transport.

Line M1 starts in the eastern part of the city and then goes through the downtown on a circular

route, passing by the main train station Gara de Nord and meeting up with the M2 line (which runs

north-south) at Piaţa Unirii and Piaţa Victoriei stations. Line M3 links the western and eastern parts of

the city. The central section on the M3 between Eroilor - Nicolae Grigorescu is shared with M1 and

trains from both lines run in tandem having the terminus displayed at the front of the cab. Line M4 is a

short shuttle line and it’s starts from Gara de Nord.

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3.2 Buses, trams and trolleybuses

Bucharest has a very complex network of buses, trams and trolleybuses which is, at first glance,

fairly confusing to the tourist. This is not because of any inconsistencies within the network, but rather

due to the intricate web of hundreds of bus, tram and trolleybus routes found in the city. Once you

know your way around the network, however, public surface transport can be a very good way of getting around since there is a bus, tram or trolleybus stop virtually everywhere in this city. The

vehicles are usually very frequent, although they can also get terribly crowded at peak hours.

Make sure you know the stop you're getting off at - even though in most trolleybuses and in some

modern buses and trams, following stops are announced automatically and displayed on a screen inside

the vehicle. However, these displays tend to be not very reliable, pointing to either a wrong stop or not

working at all. In addition, the older buses (most commonly found outside the core center) do not have

any displays or announcements. If you are uncertain if a stop is the one you want, you can always ask

your fellow travelers.

The ticketing system uses contact-less smart-cards, called Activ cards. Once bought (you will need

some ID to do that) the cards can be loaded with various ticketing options, including some that allow

usage on both the subway and surface networks. To validate the card after entering a vehicle (or

subway station) hold it still in front of the validating device (an orange box with a small LCD screen)

until you hear a short beep. If you do not wish to buy a card, paper tickets valid for one ride on one

route are also available (1.3 lei). Be warned that you cannot buy tickets/cards in the vehicles and if

caught by an inspector (controlor) you could be fined with 50 lei. Some buses still use the old system of

paper ticket, essentially a strip of paper that needs to be validated inside the bus. Be sure to validate

your ticket, as enforcers can be very strict, even to visitors unfamiliar with the system.

3.3 By taxi

There are a lot of taxi companies in Bucharest and you'll easily find a cab here. But be aware!

Don't take any independent cab drivers, but use only the services of big taxi companies. Cars from

these companies have the rates displayed on the door. Each door used to contain an initial "sitting" fee

(between 1.6 to 3 lei), a per km fee (1.4 to 3.6 lei) and per hour fee. However, taxis now display a

single number which is both the initial "sitting fee" and the per km fee. The per hour fee is not listed,

but should be around ten times the per km fee. Independent have significantly higher fees (up to ten

times the average!) If a taxi does not display these prices on the door it is best not to take it and find

another, as you'll probably be charged a rate five to ten times higher than usual. Also, it should be

noted that some taxis now have a low "nighttime rate" listed in a large font with an expensive daytime

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rate listed in a small font. So, read carefully and remember that "noapte" means night. If you are

traveling outside the city limits (say to or from the airport) prices per km and per hour are often

doubled, or an extra 10-15 lei is added to the fare. Be wary of taking taxis from places where a lot of

tourists pass through, especially from Gara de Nord. Many of these taxis may be operated by con men.

Cheeap taxies:

• Taxi Ass 021-9435, 0722.69.9435

• Cris Taxi 021-9461, 0723.349.461

• Taxi Cobalcescu : 021-9451, 0723.009.451

• Meridian Taxi 021- 9444 , 021-9888, 0723.344.433

• Taxi D’Artex 021-9630, 0722-963.100

4 See

4.1 The Arc of Triumph (Arcul de Triumf)

The first, wooden, triumphal arch was built hurriedly, after Romania gained its independence

(1878), so that the victorious troops could march under it. Another temporary arch was built on the

same site, in 1922, after World War I, which was demolished in 1935 to make way for the current

triumphal arch, which was inaugurated in September 1936.

The current arch has a height of 27 meters and was built after the plans of the architect Petre

Antonescu. It has as foundation a 25 x 11.50 meters rectangle.

4.2 Village Museum

Address: Şoseaua Kiseleff, nr.28-30

Program: ????

Price: 6 Ron Adults, 2 Ron Students

Audioguide: 50 Ron

Currently has around 300 traditional buildings (including churches, workshops, mills etc.) plus

furniture, pottery, clothing gathered from villages in every region of the country in an effort to

showcase the traditional way of life of the Romanians. Occasionally hosts folkloric and traditional

crafts festivals.

4.3 Museum of the Romanian Peasant

Prorgram: 10:00-18:00 Wen-Sun

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Curtea de Arges monastery. It became the Metropolitan Church in 1668 and the seat of the Romanian

Orthodox Church in 1925.

The Byzantine interior, containing the most dazzling of the city's iconostasis, as well as a couple of

exquisitely carved side altars, bestows great beauty on the services presided over by the Romanian

Patriarch. A huge crowd gathers here for the Easter midnight service.

The outstanding bell-tower at the entrance was built in 1698 and restored in 1958. Next to the

church, and closed to the public, is the Patriarchal Palace (1708), residence of the Patriarch Daniel,

supreme leader of the Romanian Orthodox Church.

4.12 Parliament Palace

Program: everyday, 10:00-16:00 with an appointment

Price: 15 RON, students and pensioners free with card for students / pension coupon. You must

have an ID with you

Address: Str. Izvor 2-4, sector 5, Bucuresti

In the center of Bucharest, near Piaţa Unirii (Union Plazza), the tourist can see the world's second

largest building (after the US Pentagon), formerly named "Casa Poporului" (People's House). The

building, which was built in 1984 by Nicolae Ceauşescu, spans 12 stories, 3100 rooms and covers over

330,000 sq m. 1/9 of Bucharest was reconstructed to accommodate this magnificent massive building

and its surroundings. There are 30-45 minute tours every half hour which lead through the building's

vast collection of marble rooms and culminates in an impressive view from Nicolae Ceauşescu's

balcony. The marble and all the original decorations are 100% from Romania.

4.13 Cotroceni Palace Museum

Visits to the Cotroceni National Museum are only available with a guided tour in Romanian,

English, French, German, Italian or Russian

Visiting Hours: Thu - Sun 9.30 - 5.30 pm (4.30 - access of the last group)

Booking visits: Via phone 021.317.31.07 (Monday to Friday 9.30 - 4.30 pm), E-mail:

[email protected] (at least one day prior, Monday - Thursday, 9.30 - 4.00 pm, Friday 9.30 - 1.00 pm)

With no booking, depending on availability.

Prices: Romanian visitors: 12 lei / pers

Foreign visitors: 27 lei / pers (12 lei museum access and 15 lei foreign language tour)

Students 5th - 2th grade, students, retirees: 6 lei / pers

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Free of charge: Persons with a handicap

Adress: .Bd. Geniului, nr. 1

Between 1679 and 1681 the ruler Şerban Cantacuzino (1678 - 1688) built, in the West of

Bucharest, the Cotroceni ensemble, his most important architectural endevour. It stood out through the

Assumption Church, dedicated to Virgin Mary, a structure similar in style to the one in Curtea de

Argeş, and through the impressive palace, decorated in the Baroque style that dominated Western

European architecture at that time. Some main events in the history of the palace should be

emphasized: its founding by the ruler Şerban Cantacuzino (1678 - 1688), Barbu Dimitire Ştirbei’s reign

(1849 - 1853, 1854 - 1856), when, in 1852, the ensemble was rebuilt and modernized and the Cotroceni

garden was set up (one of the major public gardens of Bucharest); the building of the palace (1893 -

1895), decorated by the French architect Paul Gottereau. Unfortunately, after the 1977 earthquake that

hit Bucharest, most of the palace had to be rebuilt, contrary to the medieval part of the building, thatdid not suffer major damage; the new wing of the ensemble was erected between 1977 - 1986, in order

to host the Presidential Administration. Up to 1895 the palace in Cotroceni served as the official

residence of different rulers. In 1895, though, the new palace built by the state was meant for the heir

apparent, Ferdinand de Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen. After the Great Union, extensive works were

carried out in the palace, by the Romanian architect Grigore Cerchez. Princess, and later Queen, Mary

left her unmistakable mark at Cotroceni, that bears the proof of her artistic affinities. Today it is also

the residence of the Romanian presidents.

5 Parks & Gardens

5.1 Cismigiu Garden (Gradina Cismigiu)

Address: Blvd. Regina Elisabeta (across from Bucharest City Hall)

Designed in 1845 by the German landscape architect Carl Meyer, the garden opened to the public

in 1860. The name, Cismigiu, comes from the Turkish cismea, meaning "public fountain." Cismigiu is

Bucharest's oldest park and a great place to stroll and enjoy a break from the hectic city. Set amid green

lush lawns and winding paths, the park offers a lake with rowboat rentals, a beer garden, a playground

for children, a chess area for amateurs and plenty of park benches for relaxing and people-watching.

5.2 Botanical Garden (Gradina Botanica)

Address: Sos. Cotroceni 32 (across from Cotroceni Palace)

Open: Mon. - Sun. 8:00am - 8:00pm

Price: 5 Ron Adults, 2 Ron Students

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6.2 Carul cu bere

Old city center (see 4.7)

6.3 La Radu

Sos. Kiseleff nr.32 (vis-a-vis from pavilion H—herastrau park –41 Tram)

Sf. Voievozi Nr.38 (next to Moxa Hotel)

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6.4 Baba Dochia

Str. Visarion nr 20, Sect 1

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