Romania Things To Do

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Things To Do

Bucharest may be on the verge of a cosmopolitan rebirth, but the rest of Romania owes much of its appeal to the past, which is ironic given the number of years that Ceausescu spent trying to eliminate all traces of the country’s history. Fortunately, many of Romania’s most impressive buildings … more and artistic masterpieces were spared the dictator's wrath. Art and architecture buffs will find satisfaction in the country’s museums, churches, monasteries, and castles. With its old world way of life, rural Romania has a charm all its own – go now, before the 21st century catches up with the villages.

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This underrated art museum, a two-floor building composed of two main galleries and a temporary gallery, is home to an impressive collection of Monets, El Grecos, and other old masters and impressionist painters, as well as a collection of Romanian art.

Calea Victoriei 49-53; Bucharest; 011-40-21-314-8119; www.mnar.arts.ro (Romanian only)

Head north to leafy Soseaua Kiseleff Street for a peek at the area’s Sessionist- and Art Nouveau-era mansions. For the best views of these grand buildings, take a staircase to the top of the 75-foot Arcul de Triumf, a 1935 model of Paris’ famous arch.

Soseaua Kiseleff St.; Bucharest

This charming, open-air reconstruction of a rustic Romanian village covers 30 acres comprising 50 cottages, churches, and shops that represent Romania’s rural architectural heritage from the 16th and 17th centuries. The steep-roofed peasant homes, thatched barns, log cabins, churches, and watermills were taken from all over the country and then reassembled to form one of Bucharest’s biggest attractions.

Sos. Kiseleff 28-30; Bucharest; 011-40-21-317-91-03; www.muzeul-satului.ro (Romanian only)

Four hundred years of Romanian rural life, from the 17th century to the present, are on display here. See everything from painted eggs, pottery, and woven crafts, to two rebuilt churches from the countryside.

Sos. Kiseleff 3; Bucharest; 011-40-21-317-96-60; www.muzeultaranuluiroman.ro

This sprawling estate (formerly called the Palace of the People) is the world’s second-largest office building after the Pentagon. The 45-minute public tour offers a look at the country’s previous Communist-style dictatorship. While the rest of the country starved, Mr. Ceausescu built a lavish, 1,100-room, 125-acre, crystal- and marble-bedecked temple for himself.

Calea 13 Septembrie 1; Bucharest; 011-40-21-316-0300; www.cdep.ro

Romanian Orthodox worshippers flock to this 17th-century cathedral. . None of the original icons remain, save for one of the cathedral’s patron saints, Helen, and her son, Roman Emperor Constantine, but the church itself is a breathtaking Byzantine monument.

Biserica Patriarhiei Nr. 21; Aleea Dealul Mitropoliei; Bucharest

Have a look at this orthodox, neo-Gothic, candy-striped church, located in historic Bucharest. The current building dates back to 1881, after a series of unlucky natural disasters destroyed the first three incarnations of the church. Don’t miss the surrounding garden and the statue that pays tribute to its namesake, the sixth daughter of the Brancoveanu, former ruler of Wallachia.

Sf. Apostoli, Nr. 60; Bucharest; www.crestinortodox.ro (Romanian only)

Built by Prince Constantin Brâncoveanu in 1690, this UNESCO-protected monastery is known for its priceless and sacred 17th-century Eastern Orthodox paintings (the well-preserved murals of Heaven and Hell are the crowning glory here). During the summer you can sleep at the modest inn here too, for a huge bargain (double rooms run around $36). A word to the wise: married couples receive a far warmer welcome here than unwed travelers.

Romanii de Jos; Horezu; 011-40-25-086-0071; www.romanian-monasteries.go.ro

Make time for a trip to this 160-room, 19th-century fortress commissioned by King Carol I. The building itself is designed in the neo-Renaissance style and boasts 800+ stained glass windows and a collection of over 4,000 European paintings from the 15th through the 19th centuries, including works by Gustav and Klimt.

Str. Pelesului 2; Sinaia; 011-40-244-31-0918; www.peles.ro (Romanian only)

Southern Bucovina is dotted with gorgeous 450-year-old monasteries, all of them exquisite examples of Orthodox painting and architecture. If you only have time to visit one, make it the Voronet Monastery, which owes its fame to the attached St. George Church, built by Stephen the Great in 1488. Visitors to this church are awed by the bright exterior frescoes, which stand out all the more against the blue background of the monastery.

Voronet Monastery; Village of Voroneţ (near the town of Gura Humorului); www.romanianmonasteries.org

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