Private Bucharest city tour with Palace of the Parliament and Village Museum
The Bucharest city tour starts at your hotel where your travel guide will introduce you to the city’s history. The first stop is the People’s House - the largest building in Europe and second worldwide, currently hosting the Romanian Parliament. Take a full tour of the huge marble halls and get a rooftop view. You’ll have the opportunity to admire the city from the Parliament’s terrace. Lunch will be served in a 200-year old traditional Romanian restaurant. After lunch, delve into the city’s historical center, a place brimming with life and history. Your next stop is the Village Museum, a genuine time portal to the realm of traditional medieval villages built in a unique architectural style.
Sights included:
The Palace of the Parliament - originally called “the People’s House” or “the House of the Republic”, it is the most spectacular Romanian project carried out under the dictatorship of Nicolae Ceausescu. Built during communist times, the Palace of the Parliament dominates the city landscape due to its monumental dimensions. It is the largest civilian building in the world at 270 meters in length and 245 meters in width. At the same time, it is the second largest after the Pentagon in terms of built area. Today it houses the Romanian Parliament with its 12 stories above ground and its 92-meter underground structure.
The Village Museum - a panorama of Romania’s erstwhile villages, consisting of old traditional houses gathered from all the regions of the country. The Village Museum is an unmissable attraction. In the heart of the city, and yet away from urban noise and futuristic buildings, on the shores of the Herastrau Lake, the “Dimitrie Gusti” Village Museum manages to recreate the atmosphere of traditional Romanian villages, reconstructed here complete with churches, a windmill and a water mill, and animated by folk arts and crafts demonstrations. All the exhibits are authentic, genuine samples of architecture specific to various rural areas of the country, arranged according to relief and historical era. The oldest house here dates from the 17th century, while the newest was originally built in the 19th century.