Streets squares and districts to visit Bucharest

A decisive moment in the 1989 revolution was played out here. On December 21, from the balcony of the Communist Party, Ceaușescu delivered a speech - his last. Interrupted by protests from the crowd, he fled by helicopter the following day, after a night of bloody repression. In the center of the square, the Renaissance Memorial pays tribute to the victims. In one corner, you'll also see the remains of a beautiful building burnt down during the revolution, reputed to have housed Securitate services. Renovated, a glass tower has been added.

Quiet and charming, this is one of the city's prettiest districts, where the streets bear the names of great doctors and researchers. It's a pleasant place to stroll, especially along Sfântul Elefterie, Joseph Lister and Romniceanu streets. This is a residential district, with no shops apart from a few good cafés, and often very large mansions built from the late ^19th century onwards in a variety of styles: neo-Romanesque, neo-Moorish and Art Deco. The streets, all lined with plane trees, are shaded in summer.

Located between Piața Unirii and the park Cișmigiu, it is the historical heart and the starting point of the development of Bucharest. Around the princely court, of which only ruins remain, this district attracted merchants and craftsmen from the 15th century onwards. Ravaged by a fire in 1847, foreign architects, mostly French, helped to give it a European look. The district is crossed by Lipscani Street, once the most commercial street in the city. Its name comes from Lipsca, or Leipzig. The streets Şelari (des Selliers) and Blănari (des Fourreurs), which bear witness to the age-old trading and craft activities in the district, are also interesting to walk along. To go from Lipscani to Blănari, you can take the Hanul cu Tei (Lime Tree Inn) street, lined with art and antique shops. Other points of interest include the Hanul lui Manuc caravanserai, the bookshop Cărturești and the Caru' cu Bere brewery. Having miraculously escaped the destructive madness of Ceaușescu, people now come to Lipscani to stroll along its lively pedestrian streets with numerous terraces. In recent years it has become one of the trendiest areas of the city, where tourists and Bucharesters mingle. It has in passing gained in glitz and lost some of its soul, but remains one of the most interesting to visit. The streets have a very special charm, where ruins and decayed buildings stand side by side with beautifully renovated buildings. A true concentrate of Bucharest.

The immense Place de la Victoire forms a kind of gateway to the city's upscale northern districts. It's surrounded by buildings in a variety of styles which, however tall and massive they may be, in no way detract from the square's appearance as an enormous crossroads. To the east, you'll notice the columns of the austere Palatul Victoriei, a rigid building designed by Duiliu Marcu. Built in 1944, it housed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs before becoming the seat of the Romanian government. To the south are buildings typical of the Ceaușescu era.

This vast square is equipped with a fountain to match its size. Built in the 1980s, the fountain was renovated in 2018 and now offers beautiful night-time shows with water jets, light shows, projections and music. A free "symphony of waters" that is played every weekend from May to October. The buildings, which are clad with pubs, are identical on three sides, only the northern part having survived the destruction. The Unirea shopping centre, created in 1976, saw the opening of the country's first McDonald's in 1995, an emblem of emerging capitalism.

This "Roman square" is an important crossroads for roads and urban transport, served by metro lines 1 and 2. The long boulevard Dacia runs right through it, and the boulevards Magheru and Lascăr Catargiu end here. It is surrounded by several fine buildings, such as the palace of the Commercial Academy, occupied by the Academy of Economic Sciences, to the north. Several facades are adorned with advertising. The most notable, emblematic of the premises, is the huge bottle of a well-known soda, which lights up at night.

Connecting Piața Universității and Piața Romană, they are one of the city's most important roads and commercial thoroughfares, making them busy and often congested. Built at the beginning of the ^20th century, these rectilinear axes stand in stark contrast to the surrounding winding streets. Many of their buildings date from the interwar period, in Art Deco or modern styles. Among the most noteworthy are the Ambasador and Lido hotels, and the astonishing Ciclop garage (no. 6).

Dominated by the Grand Hotel (formerly the Intercontinental), University Square is one of the emblematic sites of the 1989 revolution and the mini-mergerades of the 1990s, as witnessed by the many crosses, plaques and mausoleums that pay tribute to their victims. At its center stands the equestrian statue of national hero Mihai Viteazul (Michael the Brave), erected in 1876. Today, the square and its surroundings are a lively place where local youth gather around a small fountain. It also remains a focal point for demonstrators.

This covered passage, designed by architect Felix Xenopol and opened in 1891, is divided into two branches (Macca and Vilacrosse), which meet under an elegant rotunda. Both passages are occupied by boutiques and cafés. The yellow vaulted windows create a very special lighting ambience, whatever the time of day. A calm and pleasant place, which bears witness to a time when Bucharest shone and imitated the great capitals of Europe.

Between Piața Victoriei and the Arc de Triomphe, Chaussée Kiseleff(șoseaua Kiseleff), named after a ^19th-century Russian governor, forms a pleasant promenade. The street is first lined on either side by a park, then offers a succession of superb residences, including a few embassies. The Palacio Elisabeta (no. 28), dating from 1937, is one of the most beautiful. Others include Casa Doina (no. 4) and Casa Titulescu (no. 47). All these palaces date back to the heyday of Bucharest, when daring architecture was the rule.

This square is above all a vast crossroads where subways, streetcars and buses are constantly crossing. You're in the heart of a working-class southern district. On the other hand, it's a very lively place. Between the blocks and the power plant, you'll see vast markets that attract sometimes impressive crowds. In the south of the city, block districts follow one another: Vitan (home to the Bucureşti Mall), Berceni, Rahova... Ferentari is known as the city's largest Roma district, and is very much underprivileged.

Strada Paris runs through a superb neighborhood. Its streets, named after capitals from around the world, are lined with bold mansions in perfect condition. Some of them house embassies. Few cars, many trees. Ivy, Virginia creeper and arbors create an almost village-like atmosphere. Strada Paris leads to Piaţa Dorobanţilor, the heart of this upscale district, where opulent houses stand side by side with luxurious shops and renowned restaurants.

It is one of the most distinctive areas of the capital. Around the pretty park and the small church of the same name, this former suburb, mainly residential, has escaped destruction under Ceaușescu. Icoanei, like all the suburbs of old Bucharest, is made up of mahalas, a Turkish word for these eastern-style neighbourhoods, built around a church and which developed without a town plan. At the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries, Icoanei experienced an architectural effervescence: the rich owners competed in inventiveness, mixing styles. Neo-Romanian villas rubbed shoulders with Parisian-style neo-classical residences, decorated with Art Nouveau, Baroque or neo-Gothic elements. Confiscated under communism, many of these mansions fell into disrepair due to legal imbroglios over their restitution. More and more of them are being restored, sometimes in a flashy way, sometimes by cultivating their dilapidated side. The whole has a special, typically Bucharest charm. The Icoanei district is also home to several Art Deco buildings such as the Arcub centre. It is home to a number of trendy bars and tearooms, nestled in beautiful residences. You can extend the stroll to the neighbouring Armenian district, which has similar characteristics. Several agencies offer guided tours of this area, a good way to discover it in depth.

It is from this symbolic point, located in front of St. George's Church, that distances between the capital and other Romanian cities are measured. Some of these distances are engraved in stone. Created in 1938 by sculptor Constantin Baraschi, the monument was demolished in 1952 and rebuilt identically in 1998. It depicts a compass rose, divided into eight sections bearing the names of Romania's main historical provinces: Banat, Bessarabia, Bucovina... In the center is a sphere featuring the signs of the zodiac.