Bucharest

The colossal Palace of the Parliament is one of the largest administrative buildings in the world. Built in the Ceaușescu era at the end of the long Unirii Boulevard, it can be visited on guided tours of its marble halls and galleries. Its sheer size is best appreciated from the boulevard of fountains that leads up to it.

Nearby you can stroll the cobbled lanes of the Old Town (Lipscani), lined with cafés and restored merchant buildings, and step into the small Stavropoleos Church with its carved stone arcade. Further north, visit the domed Romanian Athenaeum concert hall and walk to the Arcul de Triumf on the leafy Kiseleff boulevard. The open-air Village Museum, in a large park by Herăstrău Lake, shows traditional houses, churches and mills from across the country.

Bucharest is where our East Balkans: Albania to Romania in 14 Days tour enters Romania; the tour returns here after Transylvania and ends in the capital. It is the natural gateway to Transylvania, with Sinaia and Brașov a short drive north.

Henri Coandă International Airport lies just north of the city. Bring a passport or ID card for the Palace of the Parliament tour. Spring and early autumn are the most comfortable seasons, as summers in the city can be very hot.

Gallery photos: Mihai Petre (CC BY-SA 3.0), Ștefan Jurcă from Munich, Germany (CC BY 2.0), Jorge Franganillo (CC BY 2.0), Neoclassicism Enthusiast (CC BY-SA 4.0), Pudelek (Marcin Szala) (CC BY-SA 3.0), Vaivoda Vlad (CC BY-SA 3.0 ro) · Wikimedia Commons