Victory Avenue in Bucharest

Walking along this marvelous street, we get a sense of the soul of Bucharest, making for a trip where the past and present collide, sometimes with amazing results. The avenue offers an unforgettable journey where each step reveals new marvels and hidden treasures, showing us an insightful page from the history and essence of the whole city!

The discovery of Bucharest continues with a stroll on one of the most elegant and fascinating streets of the capital. Victory Avenue crosses the center of Bucharest, possibly offering the most enticing and interesting stroll within the city. It has been one of the most important streets in Bucharest, flanked with museums, historical buildings, monuments, and lately, with hotels, boutiques, high-end fashion stores and chic cafes. Victory Avenue has always been a place for the rich and famous, now transformed into an eclectic combination of fast cars and tourist buses, luxurious storefronts and decrepit old facades, outrageous rents and strolling tourists. Nevertheless, it has an overwhelming number and diversity of sights, like the best museums of Bucharest, great architectural finds and little charming corners unknown to many.

Victory Avenue encloses the west side of Bucharest’s Old Town, from the bustling Victory Square in the north to the bank of Dâmbovița River in the south, for a total length of just over 2 km. Starting from the south, the highlights appear on both sides at a dizzying speed, starting with the imposing classical facade of the National History Museum of Romania. It houses the most important and interesting historical collections of the country, with an impressive wealth of priceless treasures. The building of the museum is known as the Post Palace and dates back to the end of the 19^th century, housing the museum since 1970. Unfortunately, the museum was closed for many years due to interior renovation works. Crossing the road to the left side, there’s a charming building known as CEC Palace, finished in 1900 and built in a beautiful French 19^th-century architecture style.

A little further, on the right-side, we can admire the gentle silhouette of Zlătari Church, rebuilt several times over the years. Next, still on the right side, we can discover one of the little secrets of Bucharest. The Macca-Villacrosse Passage is a truly amazing architectural marvel, with two forked small passages lined up with shops and cafes, covered by yellow glass-domed roofs. An old inn bought by the city, this space was opened in 1891 and continues to awe visitors to this day. Before Victory Avenue intersects the large Queen Elizabeth Boulevard, we can also admire the Nifon Palace and the Grand Hotel du Boulevard buildings. Crossing the boulevard, on the left side, there’s the large building of the National Military Circle, with the Flag Square in front. A few steps further, on both sides of the avenue there are two marvelous historical landmarks of Bucharest. On the left side, the beautiful Capitol Hotel was formerly known as Luvru Hotel, while the right side is occupied by Capșa House which includes a restaurant and a hotel.

Still, on the right side, the small Odeon Square is located in front of the Odeon Theater, housed inside a charming building dating from 1911. Passing by the Telephone Palace and two modern hotels, we enter the large and impressive Revolution Square. First, on the left side, we can admire the scarlet silhouette of Kretzulescu Church, an important religious monument built at the start of the 18th century. The center of Revolution Square houses a small park dominated by the Rebirth Memorial monument, dedicated to the 1989 Revolution. On the left side of the avenue, we can see the splendid building of the Royal Palace, the seat of the royal power before the Second World War. Today, it houses the National Art Museum which contains the most important and interesting art collections of Romania, including paintings, sculptures, and decorative arts. It was opened in 1948 and besides Romanian masterpieces, it also includes priceless European works of art. On the other side of the road, the mounted statue of Carol I sits in front of the Central University Library of Bucharest.

A few steps further, we are awed by the classical elegance of the Romanian Athenaeum, one of the most beautiful buildings in Bucharest, built in an impressive combination of neo-classical and eclectic styles. Similar to a Greek Ionic temple, it was constructed at the end of the 19th century and includes exceptional features, like the marvelous interior fresco depicting stages from the history of Romania!

Our journey continues, passing by high-scale hotels, restaurants, cafes, and fashion shops. A few streets further, we can see the beautiful neoclassical Știrbey Palace on the left side, followed by the large and elegant Romanit Palace, which houses the Museum of Art Collections, a branch of the National Art Museum. The end of the journey is near, yet there are still several interesting places to discover along the way, including the small Nicolae Iorga Park, several churches, the George Enescu National Museum, and other buildings. Reaching the end of an unforgettable walk, we are surrounded by the overwhelming commotion of Victory Square, with streets converging from everywhere, making for one of the busiest places in the whole city. This was truly an unforgettable journey, a dive into the atmosphere of a small metropolis. It can take a few hours or a whole day, depending on how much one wishes to get immersed.

Best Hotels on Victory Avenue in Bucharest