Cantacuzino Palace. The palace was set in French Baroque style with Art Nouveau elements (1910), following Architect Berindei's plans. It was built by George Grigore Cantacuzino (1833-1913), also known as the Nabab – one of the richest men in Romania ever. After Grigore died, the building was inherited by his son, Mihai, once this one also died, by the latter's wife, Măruca. Măruca re-married in 1939, becoming the wife of George Enescu, Romania's greatest composer. Just before WW2, the building hosted the Council of Ministers. After the war, in 1956, it was turned into George Enescu Museum. The museum gathers documents and pictures referring to the composer’s life and work. Among other exhibits, there also is the violin the composer received as a present when he turned 4 year old.

On the first floor the balconies are guarded by great forged iron decorations, while the entrance is bordered by two lions. There are regular classical music concerts hosted by the palace (many of them being organized by the Polish Cultural Institute), and this is a good time to visit the building (for otherwise, the main hall of the palace is not included in the regular museum visit and the ladies in charge are of the Red Army type). The museum is open between 10.00 and 17.00, closed on Mondays. GPS - N44 26.929 E26 05.311

Romanit Palace. A rich landlord, Constantin Faca had a house built on this site at the beginning of the 19th century. However he did not live to see it accomplished and it was finished by Treasurer Romanit. The building hosted the Voyevodal Treasury (1834) and it was then bought over by the state (1836), hosting the Administrative Court and later on the Ministry of Finance. In 1883 it was expanded into a palace, with a part of the old building being incorporated into this one. In 1978 it was turned into a museum, gathering 33 art collections donated to the government or confiscated by the Communist government from its owners. Most of these collections used to be hosted in their owners' houses or in houses especially built for that, but some of these buildings were razed off to make place for Ceaușescu's communist development, while others were given another use or were abandoned (e.g. Avakian House). Some of the collections hosted by the museum include Anastasie Simu, Dona, Weinberg, Oprescu, Garabet Avakian. Some of the most interesting collections are the Oriental Art room and the cellar, hosting pieces of stone carving taken from Văcărești Monastery (when it was foolishly demolished by Ceaușescu).

Nowadays only the Southern wing is properly restored and open to the public, while the Northern one is under restoration (to be open soon, works are almost complete). The museum is open daily, except for Mondays and Tuesdays, 10.00-18.00. GPS - N44 26.690 E26 05.490

The Post Company Palace (The National History Museum). The place where the museum stands nowadays there used to be Constantin Vodă Inn, built by Constantin Brâncoveanu. It was demolished in 1856, but parts of its cellars still survive. In 1894-1900 on this site there was raised the Palace of the Post Company, following the designs done by Architect Săvulescu; the building cost an enormous amount of money at the time (4 millions lei-gold). The palace has a facade in Neoclassical style, with a vast portico sustained on 10 doric columns. In 1971 it was turned into the National History Museum which it still hosts. Its exhibitions go through the history of the country from the oldest finds until today. Its lapidarium contains, apart from various finds, a replica of Traian's Column in Rome (113 AD), telling the story of the conquest of the Dacian Kingdom by the romans. On the ground floor there are vestiges from the Paleolithic all the way to the Iron Age. On the first floor there is presented the history from the Gaeto-Dacians to the 20th century.

However the most interesting part of the museum is its Thesaurus, located in the basement. It contains 2000 pieces in gold, silver and precious stones, dating from the Neolithic to the 20th century. The most interesting exhibits include the Neolithic golden idols, Roman jewelry, an episcopal byzantine cross from Dinogetsia (11th century), the golden cover from Curtea de Argeș (14th century), jewelry of the Romanian royal family. The most important exhibit is the Vizigoth thesaurus of the 4th century AD, weighting 19 kg. and discovered by a peasant ploughing his land in Pietroasa Village. The museum is open daily except for Mon and Tue, 10.00 to 18.00. GPS - N44 25.908 E26 05.833

Șuțu Palace (Bucharest’s History Museum). Costache Șuțu had the palace built in Neogothic style, following the deigns done by Conrad Schwink and Johann Veit; it was completed in 1835. Costache’s heir, Grigore Șuțu, granted the palace its fame, as he hosted there glamorous high-life receptions and festivities; especially for the purpose, he also added the large awning for horse-pulled carts to call under, while Irina, his wife coming from a rich banker’s family, called Karl Storck (a renowned period sculptor and decorative artist) to add the double winding wooden stairway and the huge Murano glass mirror reflecting it in the lobby in 1862. In 1932 the building was rented by Crissoveloni Bank and hosted its offices, and in 1942 it was sold out to the CEC Bank, as the owner was going through financial problems. After the war and a rather shady decade, it was restored and turned into the Bucharest History Museum, opening in 1959. The museum nowadays hosts an interesting exhibition dedicated to the city evolution and development, presented backwards (from the present time towards the origins) and joined by rich rationales and explanations by Adrian Majuru in both Romanian and English. The exhibition contains coins, archaeological items, lithographs, engravings, old pieces of clothes, books and other typical items, but also has some appealing inserts of period life shaping up the city, such as the last Bucharest duel and the March 1977 earthquake and its aftermath. A collection of paintings including fine Grigorescu, Tonitza and Ressu (among others) is also hosted in two rooms upstairs, while 2017 saw the addition of a small exhibition dedicated to the before and after restoration aspect of several excellent Pallady paintings. Every now and then there is an exhibition or a small fair on premises (for instance, there are frequent antique and numismatic fairs in the small yard in front of the palace).

And a few personal picks... Entering the yard, note the two lions holding an initially gilded sun located right above the gate. Then, before stepping under the awning, note the double carmine blazon right above the main first floor windows, containing both the Wallachian and the Moldavian coat of arms (the eagle and the aurochs) - as Transylvania joined the Romanian kingdom only after WW1. When on the ground floor, note the richly decorated ceilings which are very well preserved in this part of the building. Then, when going up the stairs and automatically looking in the huge mirror, look above it and find Irina Șuțu’s (Grigore Șuțu’s wife) portrait. Along the backward history presentation, when in the medieval section, note the beam taken from the old pavement along the Podul Mogoșoaiei (the actual Calea Victoriei) and later on, when in the old pottery room, do not miss the Vidra Goddess, part of the Gumelnița Culture (exhibited at the room end). From the main painting collection room on the first floor there is a fine view towards the Colțea Church and Hospital across the avenue, while one of the lithographs in the museum history exhibition depict the missing piece, the Colțea Bell Tower, built in 1714 and demolished in 1888. Open Tue - Sun, from 10 AM to 6 PM. GPS - N44 26.094 E26 06.141

Cotroceni Palace. In May 1679 Șerban Cantacuzino started to build Cotroceni Monastery, made of a church, cells for the monks and a voyevodal court. Constantin Brâncoveanu also used the settlement as a residence and Alexandru Ioan Cuza, the ruler that had two of the Romanian kingdoms unified, developed the court, bringing fine pieces of furniture. When he got on the Romanian throne in 1866, Charles the 1st of Hohenzollern was given the Cotroceni as a summer residence. However Charles the 1st preferred as a summer residence the new palace in Sinaia.

In 1893 the Romanian Government decided to demolish the old voyevodal court and raise on the same location a Royal Palace, preserving Cantacuzino’s church in the middle. The design was done by the chief architect of the Romanian royal house, namely Paul Gottereau, and the palace was built between 1893 and 1895. Prince Ferdinand and his wife, Maria, moved into the palace in March 1896. Between 1900 and 1910, respectively between 1913 and 1915, Maria started to redecorate the interiors, especially the Golden Hall, the Green Hall, the Silver Bedroom (which she redecorated in a blend of Byzantine and Celtic style), the Norwegian Hall and the Paintings Hall. This way, the old Romanian architectural lines Ball Room met the Secession or Norwegian halls and the Neo-Romanian White Hall. The northern façade was added two new structures with obvious influences from Hurezi Monastery in Northern Wallachia. The furniture was ordered in Vienna and Paris.

During WW1, the palace was occupied by the German army and it also hosted between January and March 1918 the peace talks with the messengers of the Central Powers. After the liberation, on February 20, 1922, the palace and the old church hosted the marriage of Princess Mărioara of Romania with King Aleksandar of Yugoslavia. After King Ferdinand and Queen Maria died (in 1927, respectively 1938), their successors – King Charles the 2nd and Michael the 1st – no longer used the castle.

On April 4, 1944, the palace was damaged once again by the air raids of the Allies. In September 1946 it was restored. After King Michael being forced to abdicate on December 30, 1947, the palace was virtually robbed by the communists. Most of the books from King Ferdinand’s library (about 6700 tomes bound in gold or silk) were burnt in the garden, sculptures and paintings were stolen or destroyed, while rare pieces of furniture were loaded on trucks and smashed in the south-east of Bucharest. Moreover, between 1949 and 1976 it hosted a pupils’ club, fact that continued its deterioration which was completed by the earthquake in March 1977.

The church built by Șerban Cantacuzino was however turned into an old religious art museum that existed between 1968 and 1984. The palace was restored between 1977 and 1988 because President Ceaușescu wanted to turn it into a luxurious hotel for diplomats. This way, the palace was given back it splendor, but with a quite high price: in June 1984 Ceaușescu ordered the demolition of the church which had just celebrated 300 years of existence because it “spoiled the view”; only the cells survived and nowadays they shelter a few elements extracted from the former church (the portal, several columns, Șerban Cantacuzino’s tombstone). On the July 12, 1991 a part of it was turned into a museum, while the rest was meant for the president.

The president's entrance is on Doctor Gheorghe Marinescu Street (pictured above). Another entrance is on 37 Cotroceni Road (for poor mortals, also known as tourists), tel.: (021)2211200. Visits are only possible with previous appointment made by phone and you will need an ID to be allowed in.

GPS - N44 26.050 E26 03.995 (main entrance), N44 26.079 E26 03.613 (tourists’ entrance).