The heritage of the Romanian people is spread around the whole country and beyond, yet no place gathers more treasures than the capital of Bucharest. Astonishing historical relics and unique artistic masterpieces are gathered within the astonishing museums of Bucharest!
National Museum of History
Nevertheless, a small but important part of its permanent collection can still be visited in several of its halls. Among the most important parts of the museum, the Historical Treasury is definitely the highlight, followed by the Lapidarium collection, with over 150 ancient and medieval objects of art and architecture. Visitors can also admire a replica of the fascinating Trajan’s Column from Rome, made by craftsmen of the Vatican, as well as many interesting temporary exhibitions.
It houses the most important and interesting historical collections of the country, with an impressive wealth of priceless treasures. The building is known as the Post Palace and dates back to the end of the 19th century, housing the museum since 1970. Today, it is undergoing a long process of renovation in order to reorganize the collections previously influenced by the communist regime.
Open: Wed-Sun / 9-17
Tickets: 5 EUR / Adult
National Museum of Art
The most important art museum of Romania is hosted by the fabulous former Royal Palace of Bucharest, that used to be the seat of the royal family up to 1944. The museum includes an impressive heritage of works of art gathered through the years, starting with 1948. Visitors have the opportunity to admire many of the over 70,000 exhibits displayed in its two main collections, of Romanian and European art.
The Romanian Gallery is also divided into old art that includes icons, frescoes, manuscripts, jewels, ceramics or sculptures and modern art, with masterpieces by Romanian artists like Theodor Aman, Nicolae Grigorescu, Ștefan Luchian, Nicolae Tonitza, Constantin Brâncuși and others. The European Art Gallery is the largest of its kind in the country, including works of art by masters like Rembrandt, El Greco, Rubens, Tintoretto, Monet, Rodin and many more.
The museum also features an Islamic art collection and a virtual art gallery, as well as other smaller museums spread throughout the city, the most important being the Art Collections Museum, further along Victory Avenue.
Open: Wed-Fri / 10-18 / Wed-Fri / 11-19
Tickets: 5-8 EUR / Adult
Palace of the Parliament
The building was envisioned by a young woman architect and a large area of the old historical center was demolished to make room for the grand palace. It was built in a socialist-realist style combined with modernist-neoclassical elements. The massive structure holds many records, being the second administrative building in the world considering its surface and third for its volume.
It is also the first heaviest and most expensive building in the world, with seven floors above ground and eight underground. It is also an atomic shelter with tunnels that spread throughout the city, while only about a third of its 1,100 rooms and spaces being used or finished to this day. The palace also houses the Museum of Contemporary Art that features fascinating permanent and temporary collections about the recent history of Romanian art.
Open: Every Day / 9-19 (with pre-booking)
Tickets: 7-11 EUR / Adult
Natural History Museum “Grigore Antipa”
Throughout the years, over 2 million items were gathered by this fascinating museum, the most important being displayed inside the collections of zoology, paleontology, mineralogy or ethnography. Visiting the permanent interactive collection, visitors have to opportunity to discover dozens of unique habitat dioramas from the country and even some more exotic places. Other interesting collections include the paleontological one with over 6.000 fossils, the anthropological and ethnographic ones with amazing displays about world cultures, or the one about entomology with its thousands of colorful butterflies.
Open: Tue-Sun / 10-18 (19 on weekends)
Tickets: 4 EUR / Adult
National Geology Museum
It is located across the street from the Natural History Museum, inside a beautiful historical building. The superb halls of this museum feature an unbelievable heritage of over 85.000 samples from all branches of this science, including extremely rare pieces, some of them first discovered in Romania. It also includes extremely insightful displays about the evolution of Earth.
Open: Tue-Sun / 10-18
Tickets: 3 EUR / Adult
Romanian Peasant Museum
Another rich and complex museum, it is located in a historical building close to Victory Square. It was first established in 1906 and re-branded after 1990, being famous for its fascinating collection of over 100.000 items, though only a handful are now displayed across several halls. It features ceramics, traditional costumes, woodwork, ironwork, carpets and more.
Open: Wed-Sun / 10-18
Tickets: 3 EUR / Adult
NAtional Village Museum “Dimitrie Gusti”
This impressive open-air museum welcomes about half a million people each year, occupying 0,14 square km on the southwestern corner of Herăstrău Lake. Throughout the years, almost 400 monuments and over 60.000 objects were gathered here, displaying the lifestyle, art and architecture of the traditional Romanian village.
Among old wooden houses from all the regions of Romania, wooden churches, wind and water mills, old inns, various workshops and other buildings, visitors can discover the authentic history and traditions of the country. There are also amazing heritage items that can be admired within ten distinct collections, including woodwork, traditional costumes, customs, religion, textiles, ceramics and more, as well as an extensive collection of documents.
Open: Wed-Sun / 9-19 (Winter 9-17)
Tickets: 6 EUR / Adult
Bucharest City Museum
Located inside the superb Șuțu Palace, it includes a wide collection of objects and exhibits that tell the story of Bucharest and its people through the ages, including documents, photographs, artwork, textiles and many others. This museum also manages many smaller collections and memorial houses in Bucharest.
Open: Wed-Sun / 10-18
Tickets: 3 EUR / Adult
Cotroceni Museum
Built during the 17th century and originally a monastery, the Cotroceni complex is now a museum, while a new wing houses the seat of the Romanian Presidency. The museum features amazing collections of paintings, sculptures, religious art, decorative art, old books and photography.
Open: Tue-Sun / 10-18
Tickets: 8-10 EUR / Adult
Other Museums of Bucharest
Apart from the most renowned and visited museums of Bucharest, listed above, the capital of Romania also features dozens of other fascinating museums and collections, all of them worth the time for those that visit Bucharest for longer. Among these, we can include the Art Collections Museum, Pinacoteque Collection, George Enescu Museum, National Bank Museum, Little Paris Museum, Romanian Kitsch Museum, National Military Museum, Old Books and Maps Museum, Romanian Literature Museum, Ages Museum and much more.
