A fabulous day in Bucharest

Bucharest is fascinating, the very heart of Romanian cultural and economic life. At the crossroads of religions and history, it features exceptional architectural and human wealth. Through its alleyways and broad avenues, the city plunges you into one surprise after another: improbably oversized structures, broad avenues lined with modern buildings, narrow, shady streets lined with manor houses. A destination you have to see to believe.

Bucharest = Little Moscow?
Participants are divided into groups of three and climb aboard magnificent vintage Dacia automobiles. The tour starts with the city’s Communist history, at the building that was the headquarters of the old Communist Party. The painful history of the revolution will be discussed at University Square. Meet witnesses to this history while enjoying a coffee or other refreshment.

Leave by automobile for the People’s Palace, the world’s largest administrative site after the Pentagon. The Dacias will head down Bucharest’s own version of the Champs-Élysées. Tour the People’s Palace with a quiz on the history of Communism in Romania. *Lunch In the city centre, with grilled specialties – weather permitting. *Afternoon: Bucharest, Little Paris of the East? We pass by the Arc of Triumph, an homage to France. Next is the George Enescu Museum; he was a famous Romanian composer of the early 20th century. Private concert. We continue on to the Hilton Hotel, with stops at the Romanian Athenaeum (concert hall) and the Museum of Art.

*Evening – Gala dinner at the Royal Palace A former royal residence, this Gothic building decorated with a sculpted bell looks out over the Old Town, the historic heart of Bucharest. Recital of opera arias on the second floor and cocktail party in the palace.