Bucharest
judetul Bucoreşti
Bucharest (Bucoreşti), the present capital of Romania, owes its name to a legendary shepherd named Bucur, who allegedly founded the city and built a church on the right bank of the Dâmboviţa (Dambovita) River. Today its tree-lined boulevards, lakeside parks, public monuments, and its very own Arc de Triomphe give Bucharest a distinct Parisian flavor.
Judging by the comments of foreign correspondents stationed there at various times, few tourists fall in love with Bucharest, thanks in large part to its aggressive street hustlers and panhandlers (many of them orphan children dressed in dirty rags). Still, if you approach Bucharest with the right attitude, you can find a lot of interesting things to see and do. Maybe I shouldn't admit this, but I really, really liked some of the sweet shops (cofetărie). Thinking about all those luscious chocolate covered pastries makes my mouth water!
In the 1980s, the late Communist dictator Nicolae Ceauşescu (Ceausescu) attempted to recapture the glory that Bucharest enjoyed in the 1930s, when it was known throughout Europe as "Little Paris" or the "Paris of the Balkans." To prove to the world the superiority of socialism, in his mind at least, he built the behemoth House of the People (see the Buildings Photo Album for photos of the current Palace of Parliament). Even though Ceauşescu's cruel dictatorship ended with his execution in 1989, you still find remnants of his regime throughout Bucharest.
There is a great deal to see in Bucharest. I can't list all the tourist highlights here. Your best bet, if you are interested, is to find a good travel guide. There are several of them at your local bookstore.
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Photos in this set: 14.
Many of these photos were taken while my sister-in-law drove through Bucharest, pointing out this or that monument or interesting site. I had to quickly swing my camera from left to right to capture some of them. So they aren't the best of photos.
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