Bucharest / Romania

The  Hanul lui Manuc is the city's only preserved caravanserai from the 19th century. Bucharest was for a long time a trading centre of the Wallachian principality. In inns such as this one belonging to the Armenian Manucbey, coaches and merchants stopped over in times when trains and cars had not been invented. *
Muzeul satului -the Village Museum with numerous well-preserved houses from different epochs.
The Stavropoleos Church, a Greek building from the first half of the 18th century with facades covered in delicate flower and leaf ornaments fits in perfectly with the surroundings. Inside there is a valuable wooden carved icon also with flower motifs in the Brancoveanu style.
The Bucharest Royal Palace was built in U shape between 1927 - 1937 after plans by Nicolae Nenciulescu in the neoclassical style. The Romanian King Mihai lived here until 1947. Since 1950 it has hosted the most important Art Museum of the country. Over 70,000 exhibits show the richest collection of Romanian paintings from Nicolae Grigorescu to Camil Ressu, masterpieces of Italian, Dutch, Spanish and Russian artists as well as Byzantine icons and modern sculptures. After 1947, the other part of the huge castle complex was inhabited by the Communist rulers. From one of the balconies, the Ceasescu family tried to regain power on December 21, 1989. But they had to quickly flee by helicopter as seen in world-famous scenes broadcast on TV.
* Cotroceni Castle
* Mogosoaia Castle
In the Iuliu Maniu side street you bump into the remains of the Bucharest Royal Court (Curtea Veche) from the 15th and 16th century. They remains consist of a few ruins and the 400-year-old triconch court church Biserica Curtea Veche. Here as well, you are impressed by the flower and leaf ornaments of the Brancoveanu style. The Romanian Athaeneum was designed by the architect Albert Galleron and built after his drafts between 1885-1888. The Ionic columns rise powerfully in front of the watcher towards the sky from the closed atrium in form of a triangle gable. Behind it is the domed rotunda of the actual Concert Hall, which is now seat of the State Philharmony George Enescu. Among the columns portraits of round gold mosaics of important sovereigns of the history were added later on. In front of the entrance, a bronze portrait of Mihai Eminescu, Romania's princely poet looksdown to the people.
* Palace of Justice.
* Parliament, also known as the " House of the People.
* National Theatre.
* George Enescu Museum.
* Grigore Antipa Museum of Natural History.
* The Jewish Museum (built close to the centre in the former Schneider-Synagogue). The Bucharest Arc de Triomphe was started in 1922 as a cenotaph for the Romanian troops who fought in World War I. From 1933 - 1936 completed as a huge construction in classical Roman style. Just like in Paris, the traffic runs towards the huge arch from wide star-shaped boulevards run towards the mighty arch.