Pasajul Macca - Villacrosse

The Macca–Villacrosse Passage is a horseshoe-shaped shopping arcade, roofed with yellowish glass, hidden right beside Calea Victoriei. Built in the late 19th century, around 1891, on the site of the former Campineanca inn, the passage links several central streets — Calea Victoriei, Eugeniu Carada Street and Lipscani — and preserves the melancholy charm of the old Bucharest once nicknamed "Little Paris". Its name comes from two brothers-in-law, the lawyer Mihalache Macca and the Catalan architect Xavier Villacrosse, who developed the two wings of the arcade.

The amber light filtering through the yellow glass gives the whole space a distinctive mood, especially on sunny days, when the paving and the façades take on a warm, almost unreal colour. Under the glass vault run cafés, shisha bars and terraces, and in the evening hours the passage comes to life and turns into one of the liveliest corners of the area. It is one of the most photogenic spots in the central district, with its restored façades, period ornament and curving form that invites you to walk it slowly, without hurrying.

Good to know

• You can enter from Calea Victoriei or from the back streets — look for the yellow glass roof, its unmistakable sign.
• It is a few steps from the National History Museum and the Old Town, perfect to fold into a walk through the centre.
• The closest metro station is Universitate.

It is the kind of place you can walk past without noticing, though it richly rewards the stop — a small urban interior that has outlasted time and concentrates, in just a few steps, all the nostalgia of the old centre.