Bucharest (Romanian: București) is the capital city, cultural, industrial, and financial centre of Romania. According to January 1, 2009 official estimates, Bucharest proper has a population of 1,944,367. The urban area extends beyond the limits of Bucharest proper and has a population of 2 million people. Adding the satellite towns around the urban area, the metropolitan area of Bucharest has a population of 2.15 million people. 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.

Bucharest was first mentioned in documents as early as 1459. Since then it has gone through a variety of changes, becoming the state capital of Romania in 1859 and steadily consolidating its position as the centre of the Romanian mass media, culture and arts. Its eclectic 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 the "Little Paris of the East" (Micul Paris).

The Palace of the Parliament

The Palace of the Parliament from Bucharest, Romania, known by the name “People’s house” (before the revolution) measures 270 by 240 m, with 86 m in height, and 92 m underground. According to the Guinness Book of Records, the Palace of the Parliament is the biggest civilian use administrative building in the world, the most expensive administrative building in the world, and the heaviest in the world, with 3 entries in the book of records.

The Arch of Triumph

The Arch of Triumph is a monument situated in the northern side of Bucharest. The monument was designed by Petre Antonescu and built between 1921 and 1922, then renovate between 1935 and 1936. It commemorates the victory of Romania during the 1^st World War.

The Romanian Athenaeum

The plot where the Romanian Athenaeum was built belonged to the Vacaresti family. The construction of the present edifice began in 1886; and a part of the funds were collected by public subscription. The designs of the building were devised by French architect, Albert Galleron.

The Palace of the Romanian Savings Bank

The Palace of the Romanian Savings Banks, also known as the C.E.C Palace after the institution’s former name is situated on Victoriei Way. The palace’s ground stone was set on July 8 1897 in the presence of King Carol I and Queen Elisabeth. The construction was finalized in 1900 and since than, CEC has worked in this building without bringing any remarkable modifications to it.

Lipscani

Lipscani is a street situated in the 3^rd sector of Bucharest. The name of the street comes from the Lipsca (Leipzig) traders. In the past, it was one of the most important commercial routes of Bucharest.

The National Opera House of Bucharest is one of the four National
Opera Houses from Romania, and the country’s greatest lyrical theater.The present building of the Opera House, with a capacity of 2200 seats, was performed in 1953 in accordance to the designs of architect Octav Doicescu, and took the name the Opera and Ballet Theater.

Cismigiu Park or Garden is the oldest public garden in Bucharest. It lies in the middle of the city and has a surface of almost 16 hectares. Cismigiu garden is arranged like English parks and has 5 entrances: 2 from Regina Elisabeta Boulevard, 2 from Schitu Magureanu Boulevard, and 1 through Stirbei Voda Street.

The Palace of the National Military Club is a building from Bucharest hosting the central cultural institution of the Romanian army. Its interior is grand and throughout time hosted balls, reunions, and nowadays painting exhibitions, sculpture expositions, and book launchings. The Palace’s halls are: The Marble Hall, The Moor Hall, The Byzantine Hall, the Gothic Hall, the Norwegian Hall, and the Honorary Stairway.

The Stavropoleos Church

Hidden between several taller buildings, Stavropoleos Church is situated behind the former Palace of the Post (presently the Museum of National History). A small and beautiful church, it was built by the archimandrite Ioanichie Stratonikeas. It is a bower with some of the most representative and excellent influences of late Brancovenesc style.

Manuc Inn 

Manuc Inn is an old building from Bucharest, important tourist attraction and historical monument. Its founder, Manuc Bei (Manuc Marzaian) was born in 1769 in Rusciuc.

The Old Mansion House

The Old Mansion House is the first of its kind in Bucharest. According to researchers who studied the history of Bucharest, the mansion house seems to have been built by Mircea cel Batran sometime at the end of the 14^th century and beginning of the 15^th century. Presently, the ruins of the Voivodal Palace have become a protected archeological site as it was arranged as a museum, the Old Mansion House Museum.

The Patriarch’s Cathedral

The Patriarch’s Cathedral is a church in Bucharest situated on Patriarch’s Hill and built by Constantin Serban Basarab Carnul and his wife Balasa, between 1654 and 1658. The church bears the wake Saints Emperors Constantine and Helen, and was sanctified by Mihnea III in 1658 and shortly after transformed into the Metropolitan Seat. After World War I, the Metropolitan Church is transformed into the Patriarch’s Church.

The Village Museum

The National “Dimitrie Gusti” Village Museum (Village Museum by short) is one of the biggest tourist attractions of Bucharest. The Museum is a creation of the folklore lover and sociologist Dimitrie Gusti and was inaugurated in 1936. It is an outdoors museum surrounded by greenery and lakes as it occupies a surface of 30 hectares with 70 households, traditions utensils, as well as a water mill, a wind mill, an oil press, etc… gathered from all corner of the country.