﻿ Visit A Museum in Bucharest


National Art Museum Bucharest

Romania's National Art Museum in Bucharest is in what was once the Royal Palace, which itself was built over ten years (1927-1937) and designed by the Romanian architect N. Nenciulescu. After the fall of the monarchy, the building was designated as the National Art Museum.The museum's permanent exhibitions are spread out over three galleries - the European Art Gallery, the Modern Art Gallery, and the Romanian Medieval Art Gallery. The latter is the pride of the museum, and definitely worth seeing. Alongside examples of medieval textiles and manuscripts, there is a separate section featuring icon paintings and frescoes.

Address Calea Victoriei 49-53, Bucharest

Theodor Aman Museum in Bucharest

Theodor Aman Museum in Bucharest

Theodor Aman Museum in Bucharest

The house of the Romanian painter Theodor Aman (1831-1891) was the first private residence in Bucharest to be transformed into a museum. After studying in Paris, Aman returned to Romania and not only became one of the country's most famous artists, but also founded the School of Fine Arts - the first of its kind in Romania. Aman was the institution's director and a lecturer for 25 years.

A modestly sized house built in the neoclassical style, Aman's place of residence is a real architectural gem - many sculptures cover the façade, depicting scenes from classical mythology, inspired, in part by Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci. The inside of the house on the other hand, features vignettes sourced from Romanian history.  Aman designed all the building's decorative elements were designed by Aman himself, who believed that one of the artist's duties is to educate the people.Aman bequeathed his home to the city, as a vivid tribute to his life and times.

Address 1, Strata C.A. Rosetti, Bucharest

George Enescu Museum in Bucharest

Catacuzino Palace - BucharestThe ornate Cantacuzino Palace which now houses the museum dedicated to the renown Romanian composer and violinist, George Enescu (1881-1955) - is one of the most extravagant buildings in Bucharest. Built from 1898 to 1900, it was commissioned by Romania's prime minister Grigore Cantacuzino. As Cantacuzino was also one of the richest men in the country, he wished to go down in history as having the most elegant residence in Bucharest. The building's architecture is an excellent example of French eclecticism - neoclassical architecture with elements of art nouveau mixed in. Two majestic lions guard the abode's massive, wrought-iron doors. Enecsu's most famous work is his "Romanian Rhapsodies", and in Paris, he received the French National Order of the Legion of Honor.

Address Calea Victoriei 141, Bucharest

Museum of the Romanian Peasant

Housed in a red-brick building built in the Neo-Romanian style in 1912, The Museum of the Romanian Peasant is one of the most beautiful museums in Bucharest. Within you'll find a well-executed recounting of the story of the Romanian peasant, spanning over four centuries in length. Alongside traditional clothing and folk costumes, there are examples of pottery, reconstructions of the inside of a peasant's house, religious icons and hand-painted Easter eggs featuring motifs from Romanian folklore.

Address Sos. Kiseleff 3, Bucharest

Theodor Pallady Museum in Bucharest

Theodor-Pallady-Museum-BucharestThe museum for the Romanian painter, Theodor Pallady (1871-1956), is in the oldest building in Bucharest. A wealthy Armenian merchant built it in 1750. Pallady was one of the most influential Romanian painters of the 20th century, his signature being a mixture of styles that he had adopted throughout his career – from the renaissance to symbolism, from impressionism to cubism. Henri Matisse was in his circle of friends during their student days in Paris, and the two ended up having a life-long friendship. Although the modestly sized museum has only six of Pallady’s paintings, its interior – featuring original veiling paintings and old creaky wooden floors – adds a healthy dose of authentic charm.

Address Str. Spatarului 22, Bucharest

The National Museum of Contemporary Art

national-museum-of-contemporary-art-bucharestThe National Museum of Contemporary Art (MNAC) is in one wing - a glass one- of the grotesque epitome of what was Ceauşescu's over-sized ego, the Palace of the Parliament. The Palace, built in the 1980's, and with its 1,100 rooms varying in size from 100 to 2,600 m2, is the largest building in Europe and the second largest in the world. The museum opened in 2004 and has since managed to attract attention with a string controversial exhibitions. Kalinderu MediaLab, dedicated to experimental art, is also part of the museum.

Address 2-4 Izvor, Wing E-4, Bucharest

Zambaccian Museum

zambaccian_museum_bucharest_rumaniaThe Zambaccian is an art museum in what was once the private residence of the Romanian businessman and art collector Krikor Zambaccian (1889-1962). He left his impressive art collection - containing works by both Romanian and internationally renown European artists - to the city with the condition that the collection would be exhibited in his house and in the way that he had stipulated. The building opened its doors as a museum in 1947, but closed down for several years in 1977, during the Ceausecu regime. The earthquake of 1977 also severely damaged the building, and it opened up for visitors again only in 1992. Along with works by Romanian artists, the museum features pieces by Cezanne, Renoir, Delacroix, Corot, Derain, Matisse, Pissaro, Bonnard and Picasso.

Address Str. Zambaccian 21, Bucharest

Romanian Kitsch Museum

Romanian Kitsch Museum Bucharest

Romanian Kitsch Museum Bucharest

The Romanian Kitsch Museum has opened its doors in Bucharest, conceived to showcase some of the country's quirkier designs.

What does Dracula have in common with glass fish, garish wall carpets and plastic remote control covers ? The answer is that they're all items of Romanian kitsch - at least according to Christian Lica, a former advertising executive who has opened the Romanian Kitsch Museum in Bucharest's historic center. The museum has more than 200 items, from sequined stilettos to clown decorations, split into sections including Dracula kitsch, interior design, modern kitsch and make-your-own kitsch.

The whole thing has a very tangible sense of humor - from the fake testimonials on the website to the museum signs encouraging people to take photo's. The interior design section is like a how-to of questionable taste: from plastic fruit and flowers to ornaments, doilies and aquarium lamps.

Address Strada Covaci 6, Bucharest

National Military Museum Bucharest

National Military Museum Bucharest

National Military Museum Bucharest

The National Military Museum is from 1923 following a decree issued by King Ferdinand (today the museum bears the name of King Ferdinand). It provides a comprehensive insight into the history of the Romanian people from a military perspective, with an impressive collection patrimony which amounts to some 1,300,000 exhibits. A significant part of the first patrimony, occasionally and understandably enriched in time with sundry additions, was damaged and lost in the course of the history of the museum.

However, the present collections, divided according to the themes they cover, feature a range of military uniforms, weapons (including firearms), flags, medals and the like. The collections can be studied either from a chronological perspective or from the point of view of the military domains: infantry, cavalry, air force, marine.

Given the wealth of exhibits impossible to display on the limited surface filled by the museum, the collections are constantly rotated. The Ministry of National Defense of Romania manages the museum.

Address 125-127, Strada Mircea Vulcănescu, Bucharest

Bucharest Museum Map

Weather in Bucharest

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Chance of a Thunderstorm
Chance of a Thunderstorm
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2 thoughts on “9 Museums in Bucharest

  1. Katie says:

    Awesome list! We live in Budapest but haven’t done many museums yet. Will bookmark this for the winter!

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