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Palace of Parliament (Palatul Poporului)

Bulevardul Natiunili Unite, Bucharest, Romania
01 311 36
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Ranked #12 of 58 attractions in Bucharest
Type: Architectural Buildings, Government Buildings
Description: The world's second largest building was built as a palace for Nicolae Ceauşescu, who was overthrown and executed before it was completed.
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359 reviews from our community

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Date Rating
Ascot, Berkshire
Top Contributor
90 reviews 90 reviews
7 attraction reviews
Reviews in 58 cities Reviews in 58 cities
81 helpful votes 81 helpful votes
4 of 5 stars Reviewed May 21, 2013 NEW

Once you get past the fact that you have to stand in line for your tour, surrender your passport for the duration of the visit, clear security and go around the palace in tight-knit groups, the palace is a wonderful example of how out of touch the Ceaucescu regime was with the people of Romania, some of whom were subjected... More

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See 4 more reviews by Ascottowers for Bucharest
Frankfurt, Germany
Top Contributor
89 reviews 89 reviews
27 attraction reviews
Reviews in 26 cities Reviews in 26 cities
26 helpful votes 26 helpful votes
4 of 5 stars Reviewed May 19, 2013 NEW

To understand the history of this place and also, if you give any credence to the rumours surrounding its construction, this is a scary, scary place. It's ugly, it's huge and in dominates everything around it, probably somewhat like the regime that caused it to be.

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See 7 more reviews by James H for Bucharest
Huntly, United Kingdom
Top Contributor
62 reviews 62 reviews
27 attraction reviews
Reviews in 26 cities Reviews in 26 cities
16 helpful votes 16 helpful votes
5 of 5 stars Reviewed May 18, 2013 NEW

Intriguing and hideous but this has to be seen to be appreciated.. Not a souvenir stand to be seen or shop selling so much as a postcard..where else could you find that in Europe ..very tricky to get in ..tried several times with no success.

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See 3 more reviews by Geordie2666 for Bucharest
London, United Kingdom
Senior Contributor
27 reviews 27 reviews
5 attraction reviews
Reviews in 14 cities Reviews in 14 cities
10 helpful votes 10 helpful votes
4 of 5 stars Reviewed May 13, 2013

The scale and styling of this building are utterly mind-blowing. It's like no other building in the world and, while most people today recognise its construction as an abomination, it still needs to be seen. We took the full tour, which was worth the fee and good value for money. Our tourguide was knowledgable and honest about her feelings and... More

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See 7 more reviews by LondonMuseo for Bucharest
Tripoli, Libya
Contributor
13 reviews 13 reviews
Reviews in 8 cities Reviews in 8 cities
7 helpful votes 7 helpful votes
4 of 5 stars Reviewed May 12, 2013

Huge building (second largest building in the world after Pentagon), make sure you get the 1.5 hour tour as it gives you the opportunity to check the Palace balcony looking over Buchrest 's(Champs-Élysées), unfortunately the revolution didn't give Ceaușescu's enough time to enjoy his morning coffee from the Balcony! It is worth taking a tour around the city before visiting... More

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Belgrade, Serbia
Contributor
12 reviews 12 reviews
3 attraction reviews
Reviews in 10 cities Reviews in 10 cities
14 helpful votes 14 helpful votes
5 of 5 stars Reviewed May 6, 2013

I didn't have chance to see it from inside since it was closed but from outside it looked very grandiose - it is second building in the world by volume, right after Pentagon.

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Sheffield
Senior Contributor
26 reviews 26 reviews
10 attraction reviews
Reviews in 12 cities Reviews in 12 cities
21 helpful votes 21 helpful votes
4 of 5 stars Reviewed May 5, 2013

The outside of this building is austere and very much a Soviet Union type building, but inside is lavish and decadent. It was completed after the revolution and the cost fell on the Rumanians which we thought strange as they probably needed the money to try and rebuild their country, but obviously the building had gone too far to stop.... More

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See 2 more reviews by battersby33 for Bucharest
Santa Fe, NM
Senior Contributor
35 reviews 35 reviews
Reviews in 21 cities Reviews in 21 cities
15 helpful votes 15 helpful votes
4 of 5 stars Reviewed May 5, 2013

Impressive for size and opulence. Seems like autocratic rulers have to engage in excess before they fall: The czars and the Winter Palace, the Bourbons and Versailles, Ceausescu and the Parliament. A tour of just a tiny portion of the building takes an hour.

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See 2 more reviews by WeirdHarold for Bucharest
Germany
Senior Contributor
36 reviews 36 reviews
11 attraction reviews
Reviews in 21 cities Reviews in 21 cities
36 helpful votes 36 helpful votes
3 of 5 stars Reviewed May 2, 2013

Our tour guide was mediocre at best. We heard about carpets, curtains and chandeliers, but nothing about the history of this building or the circumstances under which it was built. We learned nothing of the building's current function, except that every room we saw could be used for receptions or concerts. The building gave an eery sense that its past... More

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See 3 more reviews by pineGermany for Bucharest
Enfield
Senior Reviewer
7 reviews 7 reviews
4 attraction reviews
Reviews in 3 cities Reviews in 3 cities
2 helpful votes 2 helpful votes
4 of 5 stars Reviewed April 29, 2013

No trip to Bucharest would be complete without visiting here, if only to marvel at the sheer scale of it. We took the short tour, one and a half hours, and during that time we saw only 5% of it! don't forget to take your passport for security purposes.

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See 4 more reviews by dorothyjk1 for Bucharest

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