Calea Victoriei

Calea Victoriei is the avenue that set the tone for modern Bucharest. One of the oldest streets in the city, it was laid out to connect the centre with the palaces to the north and took its current name after Romania's War of Independence. It became the city's elegant promenade in the nineteenth century, the place where Bucharest went to see and be seen, and it remains the capital's most aristocratic street, a parade of façades worth craning your neck for.

Coming from the south, you pass CEC Palace with its glass dome and reach the National Museum of Art of Romania, housed in the former Royal Palace. A little further up rises the Romanian Athenaeum, the concert hall with its pediment and columns that became the city's musical emblem and home of the George Enescu Philharmonic. Between them, the Cărturești bookshop, the Revolution Square with its memorial, and a string of hotels and boutiques keep the boulevard spirit alive.

What to see

• The Romanian Athenaeum, the loveliest concert hall in the city
• The National Museum of Art, in the former Royal Palace
• CEC Palace, a masterpiece of eclectic architecture
• Revolution Square, with the monuments of December 1989
• Cărturești, for a break with a book and coffee

The vibe

Calea Victoriei is meant to be walked slowly. It is a street for studying façades, for stepping into a museum and out into a café, for watching the belle époque blend with the present. On some weekends a stretch of it goes car-free under the city's open-streets programme and takes on the feel of an urban festival, with music and stalls. This is not a party district but a place of refinement.

Getting there

The Universitate and Piața Romană metro stations bracket the avenue, so you are close from either end; see the metro. Trams and buses on public transport drop you nearby, and the whole avenue is easy to cover on foot. For the full list of museums and monuments, see the attractions, and for a refined meal the area's restaurants.