For centuries, peasant communities—cut off from the world by impassable mountains or languishing under Turkish, Hungarian, or Austrian rule—were forced to eek out an existence with what they had. The quirky Museum of the Romanian Peasant shows off the elaborate woodworking, pottery-making, egg-painting, and weaving skills of the peasantry in a way that's both educational and amusing.
Small tongue-in-cheek signs at the entrance to each room poke fun at modern life, bring a chuckle, and draw you in. Downstairs there's a side exhibition on the Communists' efforts to nationalize the peasantry in the s and '80s, with some jarring busts of Lenin.
At the back, there's a big shop in which to buy authentic souvenirs to take home. After all, Bucharest was just beginning its rise as an important city in the 15th century, when Vlad III of Impaler fame was defending the fledgling principality of Wallachia from Ottoman incursions.
Thanks to Stoker, Dracula is more commonly associated with the region of Transylvania though he didn't spend much time there either, apparently. However, just 25 miles 40 kilometers north of Bucharest, an isolated island monastery in the middle of Lake Snagov houses the prince's purported final resting place.
As with all Dracula stories, Vlad's death and burial are shrouded in mystery. Even if it turns out he's not buried here, lovely Snagov makes for an ideal outing. Once in Snagov town, hire a boat for the final leg out to the monastery. Start with an 11th-century medieval fortress nestled between the French regions of Bordeaux and Cognac.
Add 22 rooms with silky walls, rich berry-hued drapery, white marble baths, and cornice canopies. Then decide between veal with caramelized chanterelles or Ballotine quail with reduced grape and shallot chutney from Chateau de Mirambeau's Michelin-starred restaurant. Romania has exploded onto the contemporary art scene in recent years.
The excitement was generated initially by a group of young painters and visual artists from the northern city of Cluj-Napoca, but at least some of the action has shifted to the capital as new galleries and design centers open up. It's hard to pinpoint precisely what constitutes Romanian contemporary art, though critics point to shared elements of wit and dark humor, a somber mood, and bits of surrealism in defining a common style.
Some of the best new galleries for experiencing the excitement include the Zorzini Gallery , the H'art Gallery , and Anaid. The Galateca gallery , across from the National Museum of Art , specializes in cutting-edge design and hosts art events and happenings. Stop by the gallery's shop, Neogalateca, to see some envelope-pushing design in glassware and home furnishings including a fetching coat rack carved from a tree trunk.
Part of the pleasure of strolling through the city's dense urban fabric is discovering hidden pockets of green between the buildings and hearing the buzz of conversation beneath the trees. In recent years, outdoor cafes and drinking gardens have sprung up all around town to take advantage of Bucharest's hot summer nights, when, frankly, no one wants to sit indoors.
The OAR Garden , next door, offers more privacy and the possibility of live jazz or acoustic guitar on some evenings. Romania is deeply Eastern Orthodox, but the real beauty of Bucharest's ecclesiastical architecture is not found in big cathedrals.
Rather, it's the tiny churches and chapels—usually squeezed into impossibly small corners—that surprise and delight. Many date from the 17th and 18th centuries and fuse elements of Byzantine, Greek, Ottoman, and Renaissance styles.
The churches share common elements that include impossibly high steeples built over tiny floor plans, elaborate frescoes, and signature details such as raised pillars and stone balustrades. You can still see the bullet scars on the buildings in what is now called Revolution Square, where in , Ceausescu was one of the last European Communist dictators to fall, in a revolution that was one of the bloodiest.
But 30 years makes a world of difference, and the city feels optimistic now. The serious-sounding Memorial of Rebirth in that Revolution Square is more commonly referred to as the potato on a skewer. The irreverent description is not wrong. Historic hotels are being renovated and will open under flags like Corinthia and Marriott Autograph Collection. The city has gained a reputation for nightlife even if that has been subdued in these pandemic times , particularly along the narrow lanes of the Old City and the Lipscani district.
The new POT Stories has an airy, open design and a menu that leans toward international flavors and a good number of vegetarian dishes. The lakeside Casa di David has a menu of seafood, pasta and risottos with a clear Mediterranean accent. Other historical landmarks remain, especially the many beautiful Eastern Orthodox churches and small chapels around the city, such as the Stavropoleos Church, hidden away in busy Lipscani.
The Romanian Athenaeum concert hall survived the upheavals of the 20th century and remains absolutely gorgeous inside. Across the street from the concert hall, the Athenee Palace Hilton Bucharest recently completed a renovation of some of the guest rooms. It was designed by a French architect and built in , and it has managed to stay open through everything that followed. From the elegant marble-clad lobby which saw its share of spies and counter-spies to the splendid Art Nouveau ballroom to the very outdoor dining area, the hotels feels both historic and contemporary.
Its architecture is a mix of historical neo-classical , interbellum Bauhaus and art deco , communist-era and modern. In the period between the two World Wars, the city's elegant architecture and the sophistication of its elite earned Bucharest the nickname of "Little Paris". In recent years, the city has been experiencing an economic and cultural boom. According to the census, 1,, inhabitants live within the city limits, a decrease from the figure recorded at the census.
The urban area extends beyond the limits of Bucharest proper and has a population of about 1. Adding the satellite towns around the urban area, the proposed metropolitan area of Bucharest would have a population of 2.
According to Eurostat, Bucharest has a larger urban zone of 2,, residents. According to unofficial data, the population is more than 3 million. Bucharest is the 6th largest city in the European Union by population within city limits, after London, Berlin, Madrid, Rome, and Paris.
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