Not Just an Ugly Face
April 13, 2009 | Francis Nicholls-Wunder
Nuclear plant near hostel
As you pull into the main train station in Bucharest you are hit with row after row of dilapidated apartment blocks. The sight is seriously depressing, especially in the winter months. Even the walk to my hostel generally took me down streets with many stray dogs, rundown buildings and empty lots littered with trash. Only a couple of blocks away was what looked like a gigantic nuclear power plant, chimneys blazing!
Bucharest certainly is not the prettiest of Romania’s cities, if you want some nicer views you should head north to the likes of Brasov and Sibiu.
Outdoor museum in Bucharest
This being said, there is a lovely art museum, an impressive palace (the second biggest building in the world after the pentagon) and a lot of nice parks if you just have a bit of a walk around. The old centre of the city is the best place to see some good examples of how beautiful Bucharest used to be. In fact, the old part of town is by and large the nicer part everywhere in Europe. It is no secret that the average street in Bucharest is no looker, the trick is to try and find its inner beauty by searching through some of the older and greener sides of the city.
