The best museums Bucharest

The Village Museum (Muzeul satului), founded in 1936, offers a plunge into the countryside, right in the heart of the capital. Just like the Romanian Peasant Museum (the two are really complementary), it allows you to discover the richness of the peasant world, but this time in the open air. Typical houses from different parts of the country are gathered in a 14-hectare park, which stretches along the shores of the lake Herăstrău. Apuseni thatched roofs, Transylvanian and Maramureș wooden portals, carved columns from the Târgu Jiu region, Lipovene house covered with reeds, shepherds' huts... it's all there. You will also see mills, wells, presses and wooden churches. All these constructions (no less than 380!) were transported from their respective regions. The oldest date back to the 17th century, the most recent to the beginning of the 20th century. The place is a bit frozen, but it is pleasant to stroll in this beautiful park and very interesting to be able to penetrate in these old houses (we wish you to know this same pleasure in the countryside, the real one). Fairs, traditional celebrations, folk dances and music performances take place there very frequently. You may even have the opportunity to watch clips being shot by specialist TV channels such as Etno TV or Favorit. Good to know: the beautiful souvenir shop at the entrance offers a paying audio guide. There is also a mobile application to download.

This is one of the best museums in Bucharest. Designed by the painter and photographer Horia Bernea after the revolution, it was consecrated "European Museum of the Year" in 1996. Housed in an imposing neo-Romanian-style building, it previously housed the museum of the Romanian Communist Party during the forty years of its regime. A room, containing paintings and sculptures typical of this period, recalls this former function. But the National Museum of the Romanian Peasant (Muzeul național al țaranului român) has above all the vocation to reveal all the richness of the village world of yesterday and today. Crafts, folklore and architecture of the different regions are presented there. We discover the daily life of the peasants, the classroom, the costumes, the religious icons, the tools, the painted eggs, the carpets... A visit is essential, especially if your stay in Romania is limited to a few days in the capital. Unfortunately, the permanent exhibition has been closed for works since 2016 and its reopening date is not known. However, the temporary exhibitions, which are often very interesting, as well as the shop and the good restaurant with traditional specialities, remain accessible.

Beautiful craft markets are held several times a year, at Easter and Christmas in particular. In addition, the museum shop is one of the best-stocked in the city. There are some remarkable CDs of folk music.

An excellent museum, recently modernized and very popular with families. You'll meet the country's main species (bear, wolf, sturgeon, pelican, lynx...), stuffed and inserted in dioramas recreating their natural environment. Others are preserved in formalin. One section is dedicated to the world's fauna. There is also a large collection of insects, as well as imposing skeletons of prehistoric pachyderms, including that of a deinotherium, the only one of its kind in the world.

Situated on Cotroceni hill, surrounded by a beautiful park, this palace has been the residence of the President of the Republic since the 1990s. Neoclassical in style, it was built in the 1890s for Prince Ferdinand, to plans by French architect Paul Gottereau. Neo-Romanesque elements were added later. The full tour takes in the hall of honor, the kitchens, the basement, the king's library, various salons... Queen Marie's bedroom and the Oriental Room are the two highlights of this beautiful visit.

Opened in 2016, twenty-seven years after the dictator's fall, the Spring Palace(Palatul Primăverii) was his private residence for a quarter of a century. Located in a district reserved for the nomenklatura, it was built in the mid-1960s, then enlarged in the 1970s. It has some 80 rooms, and the 45-minute guided tour takes you through fifteen of them. The interiors, decorated in Renaissance and Rococo style, are luxurious and comfortable, furnished with paintings by local masters, handmade silk tapestries, sumptuous crystal chandeliers, objets d'art of all kinds and beautiful mosaics, such as those adorning the indoor swimming pool. You'll stroll through the offices, salons, dining room, winter garden... A marble staircase leads upstairs, where each of the Ceaușescu's three children had their own little apartment, with a bedroom, study and bathroom. The spouses also had their own private suite, as well as a gold-plated bathroom that had particularly scandalized, just after the revolution. You'll also see the cinema room, the couple's vast dressing room and, by the pool, the whirlpool, sauna and tanning booth. Outside, peacocks roam the garden: they are the descendants of those who lived there in Ceaușescu's time! For a tidy sum, you can opt for the full tour, which also includes the trophy room, the bunker and the underground tunnel.

The National Art Museum (Muzeul național from artă) is housed in the former royal palace, with richly decorated interiors. Built in the 1930s by Carol II, after the fire of the previous palace, it was damaged by the bombings of 1944. It also saw the arrest of Antonescu in the same year and the abdication of King Mihai in 1947. During the revolution, the palace suffered considerable damage and many works were destroyed, including several master paintings. It was fully restored in the 1990s, along with some of the works. It is possible to visit certain areas outside the museum, such as the throne room or the royal dining room. The Art Museum is divided into several sections. The European gallery presents works of painters such as Greco (The Adoration of the Shepherds), Rubens (Portrait of a Lady), Delacroix, Bruegel (The Massacre of the Innocents), Monet (Camille), Rembrandt, Renoir, Sisley... In the section of Romanian medieval art, where religious art dominates, you can admire pieces of great value : iconostases, icons, cult objects... Moldavian, Transylvanian or Wallachian, they come from the monasteries of Horezu, Curtea of Argeş, Snagov... The National Gallery of Modern Art exhibits works by Romanian artists such as Brâncuşi (including the superb Sleep), Baba, Grigorescu, Aman, Pallady or Brauner. Even if you don't know much about Romanian artists, hurry up! The museum also hosts prestigious temporary exhibitions.

In a pleasant neighborhood off boulevard Lascăr Catargiu, this striking 1911 red house houses a fine collection by sculptor Frédéric Storck, a leading figure in Romanian modern art, as well as paintings by his wife Cecilia Cuțescu-Storck and works by Storck's father and grandfather, both sculptors as well. The collection also includes ink and charcoal drawings, pastels, watercolors, gouaches and bronze plaques, as well as collectibles such as icons and antique coins.

Housed in the splendid Post Palace, this museum traces the country's history back to prehistoric times. The various sections house rich collections. In the lapidarium, you'll see a replica of Rome's Trajan column, as well as numerous frescoes and statues. The most interesting room is undoubtedly the Treasure Room, featuring the famous Poule aux poussins d'or, a set of gold coins in a highly refined style, said to have belonged to the Visigoth king Athanaric.

Installed since 2004 in a wing of the Parliament Palace, the museum has a vast exhibition space. It presents the works of contemporary Romanian artists, often satirical, as a thumbnail to the place. There are also works by foreign artists. The MNAC has a unique collection, inherited from the communist regime, reflecting the propaganda of the time. Part of it is exposed on the first floor. On the fourth floor, a nice rooftop offers an incomparable view of the city.

This small, recent museum is unique in Bucharest. As soon as you arrive, you'll be met by a guide who will explain the various stages of your visit. The first room displays documents (written, audio and video) tracing the history of the regime, from its advent through the darkest hours of Ceaușescu's dictatorship to its fall. Then, to make the experience more immersive, you'll have the opportunity to wander around and settle into the rooms of an apartment fully recreated with period furniture and objects.

Housed in a handsome, massive neo-Brâncovenesc building dating from 1906, it is divided into fourteen sections: Romanian geology, hydrocarbons, paleontology, paleobotany... The basement contains fluorescent minerals in astonishing colors. You can admire a fine collection of stones from all over the world and learn more about the tectonic plates that episodically shake Romania. There are also numerous reproductions of dinosaurs.

A superb house built in the Tudor style in 1940-1941 for the engineer Dumitru Minovici. Bequeathed to the Romanian Academy by his wife, with a collection of over 900 objects, it has been transformed into a museum. You'll see Flemish tapestries, paintings by European artists, furniture, stained glass, medieval and modern weapons... and a library of rare books. The house is surrounded by a beautiful garden, with sculptures and a pond.

A paradise for cartography enthusiasts. Opened in 2003, this museum features over 1,000 maps and engravings, dating from the ^16th to the ^20th century: of Romania, continents, cities and even the sky. The changing perception of the world, wars, propaganda... it's all here! The setting doesn't spoil anything: the museum occupies a beautiful neo-Gothic house from the 1920s, adorned with stained-glass windows and ceilings painted... with maps again! A fascinating journey through time and space.

Visitors come here as much for the works on display as for the building that houses them: Casa Melik, named after the family who lived there in the ^19th century. One of the capital's oldest and most beautiful homes, it was built in 1750 by a wealthy Armenian merchant. It serves as a showcase for the collection bequeathed in the 1960s by the Răut couple. In addition to paintings, engravings and drawings by Romanian artist Theodor Pallady, you'll admire European paintings from the ^16th to the ^19th century, sculptures, furniture, pottery and other precious objects.

In the heart of a beautiful residential area, this museum presents the private collection of Armenian merchant Krikor Zambaccian (1889-1962), one of the richest in Romania. Bequeathed to the state in 1947, it includes the country's only Cézanne, as well as works by Renoir, Sisley, Picasso, Matisse and Romanian artists of the late ^19th and early ^20th centuries such as Brâncuşi, Baba, Pallady, Luchian and Grigorescu. A treasure trove displayed in a superb mansion, which this art enthusiast had purpose-built to house his collection.

Located in the heart of the Jewish quarter, the museum is housed in a former synagogue, built in the ^mid-19th century by the tailors' union. Renovated and sumptuously decorated from 1910 onwards, looted in 1941, it has been used as a museum since 1978. In addition to a rich collection of objects, documents and photos, the centerpiece of the exhibition is a monument to the memory of the 200,000 Transylvanian Jews handed over by Hungary to Germany, and the 150,000 deported to labor camps.

The elegant neo-Gothic building that houses it, the Suțu Palace, is the work of two Viennese architects. Built between 1833 and 1835 by the Suțu family, it is one of Bucharest's oldest aristocratic residences. The exhibition traces the city's history from Neolithic times to the present day. But the museum's main interest, apart from the magnificent mansion it occupies, is its collection of photographs and documents relating to life in the capital in the ^19th century.

Housed in an elegant corner house, this museum reopened in 2017 after a complete redesign. Very well arranged, it presents manuscripts of great Romanian writers such as Mihai Eminescu, but also of foreign authors such as Marcel Proust. You will also discover old books, furniture and writers' objects... The explanations are only available in Romanian, but the museum's layout and the beautiful pieces on display are worth a look.

This museum tells you all about the life and work of the great musician George Enescu (1881-1955). It is housed in the sumptuous Cantacuzino Palace, one of the capital's most beautiful, built in 1901 to plans by architect Ion Berindei. Blending Baroque, Art Nouveau and classical styles, it was the home of Gheorghe Grigore Cantacuzino, an important politician of the time, nicknamed "the Mogul". Featuring an imposing marquee at the entrance, its interiors are richly decorated. A visit not to be missed, even if you're not interested in Enescu's life.