Romania

Lying 64km from the Danube, Romania's southern border, and 600km from its northern frontier, BUCHAREST (Bucuresti), Bucharest is Romania' capital and largest city, as well as the most important industrial and commercial center of the country.

With its 2 million inhabitants in the city proper and more than 2.4 million in the urban area, it is also one of the largest cities in Eastern Europe.

Founded by the princes of Wallachia and dominated by their Turkish overlords, Bucharest only came into its own with Romanian independence in the late nineteenth century, when it was remodelled by French and French-trained architects. The city was dubbed the "Paris of the East", as much for its hectic and cosmopolitan social scene as for its architecture. The architecture of the old city, with its cosmopolitan air, was notoriously scarred by Ceausescu's redevelopment project, which demolished an immense swathe of the historic centre and replaced it with a concrete jungle, the Centrul Civic , including a huge new palace for the Communist leader, now known as the Palace of Parliament . The palace has become one of the city's prime tourist sites and is best viewed along the approach from Piata Unirii.
The other site that can on its own justify a visit to the city lies to the north of the centre: the Village Museum , a wonderful collection of vernacular buildings collected from all regions of Romania.

Between these two poles, in the centre of the city, the National History Museum lays out the story of Romania's development from prehistoric times to the 1920s. It's in much the same style as every other county museum, but this is the biggest and best in the country.

The heart of the city is the Piata Revolutiei , site of the old Royal Palace and the scene of Ceausescu's downfall. It lies halfway along Bucharest's historic north-south axis, the Calea Victoriei , which is still the main artery of city life. Buses heading north and south, however, use the boulevards east of Calea Victoriei; the main junction along them is the Piata Universitatii , scene of major events immediately after the 1989 revolution. The majority of sights are within walking distance of these two Piatas. Just to the south lies the historic centre of the city, with the remains of the original citadel . Beyond this, across the River Dâmbovita, is the contrasting cityscape of Ceausescu's Centru Civic , with its centrepiece, the enormous Palace of Parliament , now the city's main tourist attraction.
Just west of the centre are the Cismigiu Gardens , a tranquil space and a popular place for assignations. For a taste of the old atmosphere of the city, you need to wander north and west of the gardens past the vine-covered facades, to suburbs where life retains a village-like slowness and intimacy, or head north from Piata Revolutiei along Calea Victoriei to Herastrau Park , the site of a superb collection of buildings brought here from all over Romania and assembled to form an area known as the Village Museum .

Bucharest is usually the entry point for most people into Romania. On the other hand, the city itself isn't particularly appealing to all tourists, and it is usually a matter of personal taste whether visitors like it or not. Some people adore it and think it really has a special feel to it, others feel uncomfortable due to the grey Communist-era buildings and lack of charm or tourist attractions. Yet again, others believe the urban myths about crime, homelessness and poverty, even though these are only what they state to be - myths.

Bucharest offers some excellent attractions, and increasingly has the sophisticated, trendy and modern edge to it that defines a European capital. If you're in the region, it would be negligent to not visit it, even if just for the curiosity of seeing such a paradoxical city.


Language

The official (and native) language is Romanian. Most educated people born after about 1970 will speak reasonably good English; most educated people born before about 1970 will speak reasonably good French. The Gypsies speak their native Romany, as well as Romanian, and sometimes English. Other than that, you'll find some people who know German and Italian. Beyond that, as in any major city, there will be a smattering of other languages.


Climate

Bucharest has, like most of Romania, a temperate-continental climate with hot summers and cold winters. This region of Romania gets all four seasons, although spring is brief and falls mainly in April. The average high daily temperature in summer is about 28ºC and in winter about 0ºC. It can get really hot and dry during the summer (40ºC) and really cold during the winter (-20ºC). Best time to visit is April through June, September through October and early December. Time Bucharest is in the Eastern European time zone (UTC+2, UTC+3 from April to October).

Contributors
2006-11-01 11:18:58 created by admin
2006-12-13 23:33:22 change by admin
2006-12-16 23:51:44 change by admin
2006-12-19 21:27:28 change by zuzi
2007-02-06 02:06:25 change by admin
2007-02-13 06:48:26 change by zuzi
2007-02-18 08:15:16 change by admin
2007-03-21 23:01:45 change by admin
2007-03-28 19:54:40 change by admin
2007-10-15 22:02:38 change by admin
2008-03-29 00:47:41 change by admin
2008-04-25 03:05:50 change by admin
2008-06-26 21:08:29 change by admin