48 Hours in Bucharest

Bucharest does not charm you on arrival. It is a city that was rebuilt in pieces by people with strong opinions, and the results sit next to each other without apology. Give it a day and it starts to make sense.

The single unavoidable sight is the Palace of the Parliament, built under Ceausescu and among the largest administrative buildings in the world by floor area. Whole neighbourhoods were demolished to make room for it and the boulevard leading to it. Seeing it explains more about the twentieth century here than any museum caption will.

The counterweight is the old centre, Lipscani, a small grid of streets that survived, now dense with bars and restaurants. It is loud at night and much more pleasant in the morning, when you can actually see the buildings.

For the second day, the parks are the answer. Cismigiu is the older and more intimate one, close to the centre. Herastrau, on the lake in the north, is where the city goes at the weekend, and the open air Village Museum on its edge collects real houses moved here from across the country, which is the fastest way to understand the regional differences you would otherwise need a week of driving to see.

Walk Calea Victoriei between the two if you can. It runs from the old centre north past the concert hall, the former royal palace and a good deal of nineteenth century ambition, and it is the one street that holds the whole argument of the city in a single line.