Our first night’s hotel was right in the heart of Old Town. We had hoped to join a walking tour, but with steady rain we shifted plans and explored at our own pace.
Just steps from the hotel stood Biserica Curtea Veche (Old Court Church), the oldest surviving church in Bucharest. Built around 1545–1554 by Mircea Ciobanul, it was once the princely chapel of Curtea Veche, the medieval residence of Wallachian rulers—including Vlad the Impaler himself.
Only a short walk away was the Stavropoleos Convent, a peaceful spiritual and cultural hub. Beyond its active monastery life, the convent preserves thousands of historical manuscripts, Byzantine music, icons, and restored liturgical garments. Its courtyard, filled with rescued church fragments, feels like a miniature open-air museum of Romanian religious art.
When the rain grew heavier, we ducked into the National Museum of Romanian History, housed in the elegant former Postal Services Palace. The vast museum includes treasures of gold, silver, coins, and royal jewelry, as well as the Romanian Crown Jewels. Among its most memorable sights is the life-size plaster copy of Trajan’s Column, stretching through a hall like a timeline carved in stone.
We wrapped up our Old Town visit with lunch at the Van Gogh Café, then hopped in an Uber to change hotels and get ready for the next stage of our journey.Read more
RomaniaBucharest44°25’48” N 26°6’7” E
RomaniaBucharest44°25’48” N 26°6’7” E