Well I have been lucky to visit Bucharest 7 times in the last 10 years,and even if slow down nowdays the memories will stay for a longer time. The pictures were found in my vault and should be in my blog, therefore, he is more of Bucharest!! The city has been called the Little Paris, and even the Paris of the East , folks there even told me so. I like to show you my share and see it for yourselves.Let me tell you more of curiosities of Bucharest, part I !! Hope you enjoy the post as I.
I remember my hotels by the congress center and near the Romanian-American University . This was my Bucharest central , going to the Ramada Parc Plaza hotel and the Crown Plaza Hotel.
The Ramada Parc Plaza at Poligrafiei boulevard 3-5 in district 1. This was always a nice welcome even coming at night. The Ramada Plaza Hotel was built in 1974 and last renovated in 2008, The Vitality Wellness Club features an indoor heated pool, wet and dry sauna, aerobics room, spinning center and full gym. The hotel ,also has a beauty center and a souvenir shop. A great restaurant Le Parc , a traditional atmosphere with modern elements and live entertainment. Its garden is the perfect place to spend the afternoon or evening. and a nice bistro bar Red Pepper and the bar with large bar counter call Anais. I have stayed here several times over the years. I really enjoyed here fyi. The official Ramada Plaza Hotel : https://ramada-plaza.bucharest-hotel.com/en/#main
The Crown Plaza Hotel, part of the Intercontinental hôtels group, also in the same park as above, I stayed couple times for one night but love the buffet.The rooms are big and well stocked, the elevator works fine and fast, checkin and checkout is smooth, just another wonderful IHG property. You start the day with a rich American buffet breakfast. Overlooking the garden and featuring a summer terrace, the Pine Restaurant serves international cuisine made from fresh local produce. The Crown Café-Bar is the ideal place to enjoy a drink during a relaxed meeting or a business session. Guests can relax at the ANA Spa, which is equipped with a swimming pool, gym, steam room, dry sauna, steam sauna and frigidarium. The Crowne Plaza Bucharest also offers a concierge service and on-site parking. You can walk and use facilities at the Ramada Parc Plaza as well. The official Crown Plaza Hotel : https://www.ihg.com/crowneplaza/hotels/gb/en/bucharest/buhrm/hoteldetail
I got to my nice Pullman , this is my chain ACCOR of France, wonderful always anywhere. very nice big rooms bathrooms and plenty of restaurant from the nice chic Aspérge bar to the steakhouse Barbizon, and the breakfast brasserie Paris -Bucharest. Excellent service , prompt, nice, many amenities too much for me to use, as was in and out always. This was a first and only time arriving at night , but is less than a mile from the other hotels!
The official Accor Pullman hotel: https://all.accor.com/hotel/1714/index.en.shtml
The first building that struck me passing by was the National Bank of Romania or central bank built at the end of the 19C. It is the first important bank building in Bucharest, the most imposing building of a financial institution, which can be compared with other great constructions of the time in European capitals. The museum’s central element is the former hall of counters, which goes today by the name of The Marble Hall, the largest hall in the Old Palace, two levels tall, reaching up to the building’s first floor. The ground floor displays a series of massive pillars, with archways where the counters for client relations used to be placed. A vault is embedded in each pillar, used by the clerks for their day-to-day activities. The first floor displays double columns, connected through small communication loggias to the gallery upstairs, from where the daily commercial activities in the hall and at the counters could be directly and discretely watched. nd the most interesting part which I did not go in yet is the museum inside
The official National Bank of Romania: https://www.bnr.ro/en/1408-history-and-patrimony
There is so much to see need at least a week to see it all. Many beautiful churches of the Orthodox Christian rite abound. The National Theater , the Arcul de Triumf or arch de triomphe Romanian ,royal palace, and many museums. Along Calea Victoriei street you have one resto, bar, cafe one after the other. The Romanian-American University, a great location, very modern facilities and it seems busy place as well with English spoken lol!, and next to my branch office !. I had my usual walks around the Romexpo exhibition center. A great place to spend your day and across plenty of public transport buses and tramways in the World Trade Center area.
A bit of history I like tell us that the city is mentioned for the first time in 1459 as a fortified market at the crossroads of trade routes between Târgoviște, then the capital of Wallachia, Braşov in Transylvania, and the port of San Giorgio founded by the Genoese on the Danube. This market quickly developed and, in the 17C, became the capital of the Principality of Wallachia, then, in 1859, of Romania. According to the legend attested in the 19C, Bucharest (București) would come from Bucur , a shepherd who would have established the first settlement on the present site. Like, in Romanian, bucur means “joy”, many Romanian writers name Bucharest “The City of Joy” Indeed, the city was founded in the 14C by Mircea the Elder (Mircea cel Bătrân), after his victory over the Turks, as “Fortress of Bucharest” (and It is then possible that Bucur could have been the first military governor) in the 19C, while Romania served as a theatre of operations in the wars of the neighboring empires and that the Romanians took part in the Revolutions of 1821 and 1848. Bucharest was frequently occupied and looted by the Ottomans, the Austrians and the Russians. It was occupied at length twice by the latter, in 1828-1833 and in 1853-1854, then by an Austrian garrison in 1854-1857. In 1861, in the Union of Wallachia and Moldova, Bucharest became the capital of the new Principality of Romania. Between December 6, 1916 and November 1918, the city was occupied by the Germans and the capital was transferred to Iaşi. After WWI, Bucharest became the capital of the Kingdom of Unified Romania, which now includes Transylvania and Bukovina until then Austro-Hungarian, and eastern Moldova (annexed by the Russian Empire in 1812). Between the two wars, the city had the nickname of Petit Paris, as the French are numerous (Romania forms, with Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia, the “small agreement” allied with France) like all of Romania, Bucharest had to undergo dictatorial regimes Carlist, fascist and communist from February 1938 to December 1989. During WWII, Bucharest suffered from both Anglo-American bombardments (during the Antonescu regime, allied with the third Reich) and Nazi (after Romania joined the Allies). In power from March 6, 1945 to December 22, 1989, the Communists develop a deliberate urbanism, disconnected from the realities and needs of the population, which translates into the field by a series of historical monument destructions (including statues and of churches, judged to bear the memories of the past). Since 1990, with the restoration of democracy and the opening of borders, the city evolves rapidly.
The official Bucharest tourist office: https://visitbucharest.today/
A nice private initiative on tourism in Romania on Bucharest: http://romaniatourism.com/bucharest.html
There you go folks, feel better now to have shown more of this friendly memorable city of Bucharest. Again, hope you enjoy this post on curiosities of Bucharest, part VI !! as I.
And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!
Paris1972-Versailles2003 