Bucharest is the largest city in south-eastern Europe and capital city of Romania. Bucharest’s population is 1.9 million and its metropolitan population is 2.2 million.  Because it had wide boulevards, smart shops, beautiful gardens, and fountains, Bucharest was once nicknamed the Paris of the East. Due to a very destructive earth quake in 1977 and many decades of neglect, its former beauty has faded.

Less than two decades since the city violently ended Nicolae Ceausescu’s stranglehold on the country, life does boom here in Romania’s capital – museums are superb, and people are a lot nicer than some give them credit for.

Bucharest is not only an industrial and commercial centre. It is also the centre of Romania’s administrative and cultural life. The parliament and government have their offices here. The city also contains museums with valuable art collections and many ancient churches.