One of the many things I look forward to when visiting a new place is taking that first stroll, you know, the one where you get your bearings, get acquainted with the city, and find a close by coffee shop. When we arrived in Bucharest, Jer and I were so pleased to find such a fantastic array of architecture sprinkled through the streets. So, let’s take a mini tour, shall we?

You know that old adage about saving the best for last? I’m not really into that. I’m going to show off the absolute best building in Bucharest right off the bat. Feast your eyes on Carturesti Carusel, the most painfully beautiful bookstore that’s ever existed.

Isn’t it magical?! It’s even better in person, bright and charming despite it’s massive size. Hands down a must visit place in Bucharest.

This is my other favorite spot, the meticulously detailed Romanian Athenaeum, a concert hall opened in 1888. There’s a small garden with colorful flowers out front and George Enescu Philharmonic have made it their home.

And take a look at this charming devil, the Art Nouveau style Cantacuzino Palace, which I shamlessly loitered about to take a photo of every morning. Would you just look at that entrance?!

There were flowers in bloom outside the National Museum of Art of Romania, and plenty of shaded benches for a little break from the afternoon sun. It would be the perfect place to sit and read a book (Dracula, perhaps?).

Even office buildings caught our attention. Although honestly, any building with a fancy façade done in all white is fully capable of stopping me dead in my tracks.

How wonderful is The National Bank, with it’s copper roof glistening in the sun? It’s on the same boulevard as Carturesti Carusel so you can hit two lovely spots in the span of about 15 minutes.

In Old Town, an area of the city that’s pretty much all that survives of pre-World War II Bucharest, churches abound. The tiny Biserica Stavropoleos was eye-catching and ornate, and we just loved it.

Ahhh, archways and columns and tiled portraits galore!

I think you’ll agree it’s fairly easy to understand why Bucharest is called the Paris of The East!