"The place where I was born...." a Bucharest Travel Page by monica71

Bucharest is the town I was born in and where I lived for almost 24 years. It is a place close to my soul and no matter where I am, the name of the city will always bring a smile on my face.

Bucharest is a city full of wonders and I hope that you will discover them once you start reading my Things To Do and also other people's pages about Bucharest. I hope to be able to finish this page soon. Bucharest is a big city with lots of things to do and it will take a while to build the pages :)

A lot of people I meet ask me if a trip to Bucharest is worth the time and the money. All I can say is "read on" and if you like what you find out about this colorful city, then "yes", go there. You will be pleasantly surprised to discover even more wonders than written on these pages!

The legend says that Bucharest was named after a young shepherd, Bucur.
Bucur was visiting the eastern bank of the Dambovita River, he fell in love with the beauty of the area and he decided to build a church here. People started to come to this church. They settled down in this area and decided to name the small village Bucuresti (Bucharest). The remains of the church are long gone, but the legend is still there.

Regardless if the legend is true or not, the fact remains that Bucharest entered its swinging heyday after it was crowned the nation's capital in 1862. Due to the elegant architecture that was present all over the town, Bucharest was given the nickname of "Little Paris".

The first official document discovered in which the name of the city is mentioned for the first time, is dated Sept 20th, 1495 and it is signed by Vlad Tepes (known as Dracula). Vlad was the king of Valahia at the time.

During the communist era, Bucharest went through lots of transformation. The city lost important buildings that played a big role on the city heritage.
Ancient buildings with French and Turkish influences were replaced with communist inspired concrete block buildings in redevelopment projects.
The first church destroyed by Ceausescu was Enei Church (built in 1611 and destroyed in 1977).

The "must see" if you are in town are:
1. Parliament Palace/House of People, the second largest building in the world after Pentagon.
2. stop briefly in the Royal Palace Square. This was the scene of riots in 1989, which finally led to the collapse of the communist dictatorship. The former Royal Palace now houses the NATIONAL ART MUSEUM.
3. Village Museum (this is an open air museum)
4. the Atheneum, the Opera House, the Triumphal Arch
5. stop briefly in the Revolution Square
6. Cotroceni Palace (check to make sure it is open)
7. stop briefly in one of the many old churches around the town

For something different, try to stop by Manuc's Inn (Hanul lui Manuc) and either eat lunch there or have a cup of coffee.