Articles (307)

How much does it cost to maintain a 3-room apartment in Bucharest? A detailed analysis of real expenses

Lately, social media has been full of discussions about housing maintenance costs in the capital. Bucharest residents have shared their experiences, offering a real picture of the monthly expenses for a 3-room apartment occupied by 3 people.Looking at these conversations, we see that the monthly budget varies significantly, from 800 to 1,500 lei, d...

What does the “Open Streets” project mean for Bucharest? Who organizes it and what can you see at the events?

Every weekend, until October 12, 2025, Bucharest transforms into a friendlier, more vibrant city through the project “Open Streets – Bucharest, Urban Promenade.” The initiative, launched by the Bucharest City Hall and implemented by ARCUB (Bucharest’s Cultural Center) and PROEDUS (Center for Educational and Sports Projects), closes car traffic on m...

August enters history with the first visit of a U.S. president to Bucharest

On August 2, 1969, Otopeni Airport witnessed an unprecedented moment in communist Romania’s history. Richard Nixon became the first American president to set foot on Romanian soil during an official visit, received with full honors by Nicolae and Elena Ceaușescu and the Communist Party leadership. This emblematic visit came just a year after Romani...

Bucharest’s main neighborhoods and the stories behind their names

Bucharest is not just a crowded capital, but also a collection of place names that tell the story of the city’s past. Each neighborhood carries a legacy — noble, military, popular, or industrial — and their names are often the key to understanding the identity of the place.Băneasa – a name with noble rootsThe neighborhood’s name comes from the titl...

The Palace of Parliament, between history and myth: What are the most credible stories about the People’s House?

Bucharest’s most emblematic building, the Palace of Parliament (also known as the People’s House), remains one of Romania’s most controversial and fascinating landmarks. Built during the communist era under Nicolae Ceaușescu’s regime, this colossal structure of concrete, marble, and steel has generated numerous legends over the years — some wildly...

What is the surface area of Bucharest? It’s not Romania’s largest city, but it has the highest population density per square kilometer

Bucharest, the capital of Romania, is the country’s economic, cultural, and administrative heart. With a rich history and a continuously growing population, the city stands out not just for its size, but for its extremely high population density. Although it is not the largest locality in Romania by area, Bucharest holds the national record for the...

The language of the city: slang, hybrid expressions, and how Bucharest reinvents the Romanian language

Bucharest doesn’t just speak Romanian. It speaks Bucharest Romanian — an urban dialect in constant transformation, where words move like trams: they intersect, change, vanish for a while, and then reappear on another route. It’s a living, layered language, where slang, English borrowings, and creative adaptations coexist without asking permission f...

Metro survival guide – the rules you won’t find on any sign

Bucharest doesn’t have an official manual for riding the metro, but it does have an unofficial school of urban survival, with daily lessons, no announcements, and no written exams. Here, diplomas don’t matter — only how quickly you learn the unwritten rules, those reflexes that save you from elbows, sighs, and dagger-like glares. Seasoned commuters...

Bucharest and loneliness – how you can live among millions and still feel alone

Bucharest pulses with life. The streets are crowded, the metro is packed, and the city’s calendar is always full of events. It’s a place where, in theory, you couldn’t possibly feel alone. And yet, paradoxically, right here, in the middle of the crowd, the sense of isolation can be sharper than anywhere else.Sociologists call it “urban loneliness”...

Unirea Shopping Center – a mirror of a changing Bucharest

In the center of the capital, where the city’s grand boulevards converge in Piața Unirii, a massive building has dominated the skyline for almost half a century. Unirea is not just a shopping center. It is a landmark of the city, a silent witness to Bucharest’s transformations – from the architectural ambitions of late communism, to the consumerist...