"Bucharest" Bucharest by glenn57

Bucharest, with a population of about 2 million people, would not be considered a beautiful city by very many people. But a visit to Bucharest is worthwhile to understand something of the recent history of Romania, particularly its suppression under the heavy hand of Nicolae Ceausescu.

Bucharest was once known as the "Paris of the East", but Ceausescu made sure that that name could no longer be used on his city by flattening almost anything of beauty, and replacing it with concrete. I believe he must have been severely claustrophobic, because he replaced old narrow streets with immensely wide boulevards. Almost nothing remains of the old city - really, there are just 2 streets (a block or two each) left of the old city.

Still, there are a few architectural gems to be seen around the city, such as Catedrala Mitropoliei (headquarters of the Romanian Orthodox Church), and Biserica Curtea Veche (a very old Romanian Orthodox Church). There is also the 'Arcul de Triumf', which appears to be an exact duplicate of the Arc de Triomphe in Paris (at least, to my eyes). And whatever you might think of it, you must see the parliament building (built by Ceausescu), the world's second largest building in terms of floor space.

Another sight worth seeing is Revolution Square (Piata Revolutiei), where the first shots of the 1989 revolution were fired (there are crosses to mark the places where people were shot dead by Ceausescu's men).

Bucharest has a very good public transportation system, including a metro.

• Pros:nice people, quite safe, some interesting sites
• Cons:not much left of the old city