Palace of Parliament

Palace of Parliament

Palace of Parliament
4
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Monday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Tuesday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Wednesday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Thursday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Friday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Saturday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Sunday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
About
The world's second largest building was built as a palace for Nicolae Ceauşescu, who was overthrown and executed before it was completed.
Duration: 1-2 hours
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$26.63
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The area

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How to get there
  • Izvor (Spring) • 8 min walk
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See what travelers are saying

  • Tty G
    Galati, Romania20 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Palace of Parliament, a impressive very interesting place, museum of a Romanian Era!!
    A magnificent Construction, the second one in the world, after Pentagon, built during Ceaușescu regim!. An impressive architecture, interior and exterior, seven underground floors, non visitable, wery large conference halls, marble stairs and columns,Cristal chandlers, sculpture doors, divers decorated floors, interesting climatronic system, arcades and very nice architecture style and not only Romanian representative painting pictures!!. Also,huge carpets and others artefact in Romanian style everywhere!!
    Visited August 2023
    Traveled with family
    Written March 2, 2024
  • stephens473
    Nottingham, United Kingdom529 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Wow !
    Wow what an incredible building. So vast its difficult to imagine unless you actually go and visit. The second largest administrative building in the world !! Simply a mind blowing experience , easy to walk to from the Old Town and not far from restaurants , shops etc .
    Visited March 2024
    Traveled with friends
    Written March 6, 2024
  • auditor_g-s
    Paris, France292 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    Historically interesting visit
    Historically interesting visit to understand Ceaucescu's thought and his influence on the country. Visit a little complicated to prepare, with reservation by telephone. Once there, we visit the state rooms which are impressive, unfortunately without access to the parliament rooms, very professional guides who answer questions and share their experience. I recommend
    Visited March 2024
    Traveled solo
    Written March 8, 2024
  • Olga
    World4 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Just impressive
    I bought tickets online in advance but was late as I didn't find the correct entrance at once. So I just thought that they will not allow me to join the excursion inside. But the staff was very kind and nice and they proposed two variants: to join the ongoing excursion or to join excursion in the next time slot. We decided to chose the second variant and just walked around the Palace before the start. The building itself is huge and the interior is very impressive. Our guide was a very interesting woman who in entertaining way told us about the rooms. This place definitely worth visiting as you will not see anything like this in any other country.
    Visited March 2024
    Traveled with family
    Written March 11, 2024
  • BARRY K
    Melbourne, Australia27 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    Highly recommended
    Hard to grasp the magnitude of this immense building. Tour guide was very informative. Would recommend to pre book tickets for the 1+ hour guided tour as visiting is not permitted without a guide. Passport identification is required for entry. Those with walking difficulty are warned there are lots of stairs but tour through the various grand rooms is not rushed so this is manageable.
    Visited April 2024
    Traveled as a couple
    Written April 2, 2024
  • Tom&NikkiTravel
    London, United Kingdom1,902 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    A Must do Whilst in Bucharest
    We took a short walk from the old town where we were staying we walked past the water fountain Unirii then along straight path that leads you right to the palace. This place is huge and on the this of things to do whilst on your trip to Bucharest. We didn't go inside the palace as we were only in Bucharest for a very short trip. Although seeing the photos it looks as impressive inside as it does outside. Some people parked in front of the palace and this was very frustrating and doesn't lend itself to decent photo opportunities there is a car park directly in front of the building just across the street so this doesn't really seem necessary.
    Visited April 2024
    Traveled as a couple
    Written April 16, 2024
  • RoamingJeff
    Royal Tunbridge Wells, United Kingdom381 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Your visit will be better if you know these things:
    It's worth seeing and your visit will be better if you know these things: 1. Tickets are simple, but do have to be booked by phone the day before. The number is on the internet. It takes 60 seconds and they speak good English, or your hotel can easily phone for you. Your name is noted and when you arrive, you collect a slip at the ticket office and buy the ticket at the nearby gift shop. Currently 60 Lei - approx £11. 2. You MUST take your passport for the airport style security. Driving Licence will not suffice. 3. There are lots of tours each day and each lasts about an hour. Tours do not involve the hundreds of steps some alarmists refer to online, but naturally there are some! You can only visit on a guided tour and it was actually pretty informative. 4. You see a good selection of the most interesting parts of the Palace. You would not want to see everything! Especially not the less interesting office space on the higher floors. Hope that makes your trip easier.
    Visited April 2024
    Traveled as a couple
    Written April 27, 2024
  • Wayfaring Libertarian
    Belfast, United Kingdom1,111 contributions
    3.0 of 5 bubbles
    The building’s exterior is more exciting than the interior
    My experience getting to tour the inside might have been an exception of some kind, but my friend and I had no problem walking up and getting tickets. Without booking in advance or even calling in advance, my friend and I took a chance of just going to the Palace of Parliament and seeing if we could purchase tickets for a tour. Our request was accommodated without issue. The tour of the inside of the building was a bit underwhelming though. We were only able to see a small section of the building. The building is a fully operational administrative building and it also felt that way. I’m glad I was able to see the inside, but I feel like the views from the outside were way more spectacular — and free!
    Visited April 2024
    Traveled with friends
    Written May 1, 2024
  • Marek_ZG
    Zielona Gora, Poland2,002 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Massive, grand and perhaps unnecessary!
    By all means the Palace of Parliament lives up to Ceaucescu's megalomania and wish for opulence and splendour. With everything inside and outside made in Romania, it is the second-largest office building in the world. However, its construction cost a high price in terms of the toll of lives and the loss of the cultural and architectural heritage of that part of Bucharest where the Palace of Parliament was erected!
    Visited May 2024
    Traveled on business
    Written May 2, 2024
  • Andy F
    Devizes, United Kingdom1,391 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Impressive
    This building is quite a confection to look at, and inside it's vast. We did a (compulsory) guided tour which was good and informative, but we still only saw a tiny fraction of the whole building. What we saw was impressive though.
    Visited May 2024
    Traveled with friends
    Written May 12, 2024
These reviews are the subjective opinion of Tripadvisor members and not of TripAdvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.

Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.

Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.

Popular mentions

4.0
4.0 of 5 bubbles8,076 reviews
Excellent
3,607
Very good
2,867
Average
1,158
Poor
286
Terrible
158

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Antonis K
Pachi, Greece35 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Sep 2024 • Solo
Visiting the Palace of Parliament in Bucharest was an unforgettable experience! Just a heads-up, you need to call 24 hours in advance (+40 733 558 102) to book a ticket for the tour (12€/person 60ron), but it’s absolutely worth the effort. Call at 9 a.m. and keep calling till someone answers (don't worry they will serve you in English). The sheer scale and grandeur of the building are breathtaking, and it’s fascinating to learn about its history and significance.

Our official palace tour guide was incredibly knowledgeable and had a great sense of humor, which made the tour both informative and entertaining. They shared intriguing facts and stories about the palace, keeping everyone engaged throughout. The blend of historical insights and light-hearted anecdotes made the visit truly enjoyable.

If you’re in Bucharest, I highly recommend taking this tour. It’s a unique opportunity to explore one of the most impressive buildings in the world with a guide who brings the history to life in such an engaging way.
Written September 29, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

MarkLivorno
Livorno, Italy864 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Aug 2023 • Couples
Let's clarify one thing: the Parliament Building has around 1,000 rooms and therefore a total visit is unthinkable. The guided tour, to be booked by telephone on the dedicated Parliament number 24 hours in advance, includes the area of the Chamber of Deputies and lasts about an hour. The cost is interesting, 60 Lei per person. What you see is simply gorgeous and very luxurious. Definitely an unmissable destination in Bucharest.
Google
Written August 1, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Steviefull
Kidderminster, UK2,097 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Dec 2023 • Couples
We booked to visit here on our last day with the fast track tickets and guide tour at 11.00am. We had a guide take us to the building and check us in (make sure you have a passport with you) and go through security before one of the buildings guides took over.

From the outside its clear the place is massive but once inside the sheer scale of individual rooms is ridiculous and the quantity of these rooms as well, Im pretty sure our guide put it in perspective by saying if you spent one minute in each room in the Palace it would take you 18 hours to see them all.

The tour itself was around an hour and our guide Francisc (apologies if Ive massacred your name) was excellent showing us the highlight and giving us facts and figures about the site.

A fascinating place to visit and cost about £40 for the two of us, which by Romanias standard is quite expensive but well worth it.
Written October 2, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Lois_Lane_Berlin
Berlin, Germany21 contributions
3.0 of 5 bubbles
Oct 2024 • Couples
The building is already really impressive, and since numbers are thrown around on the tour, I know that we saw 5% of the premises on our shortened 45-minute tour (the shortening will only be announced beforehand). But that's enough. The size of the rooms is already impressive, but it would be nice if you could linger a little instead of being moved on immediately.
Please note that you can only book the day before for the next one.
If you are standing in front of the Hautportal, you can see on a small visitor information which dates are completely booked up soon because of group tours - can also help with planning.
Important to know: the tour is not barrier-free, it goes up and down 3 floors by stairs.
Automatically translated
Written October 6, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

ksufan88
Wichita, KS7,033 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Jun 2024 • Couples
We had driven by this huge building earlier in the day and were curious what it was like inside. Tours can be purchased for 60 lei, and are in English or Romanian depending on the time of the day. Be sure to bring your passport since you will not be admitted through the security screening without it. The tour includes 8-10 large rooms that mostly have no furniture, but were still interesting because of the architecture and stories about the building.
Written June 25, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

mrstraveller1
York, UK2,256 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Oct 2021
You can’t miss this behemoth when in Bucharest, & you can get up pretty close to it for good exterior photos. But a tour of the inside is really worth while. It is only possible to enter via a tour & for groups less than 10 it is necessary to ring & book 24 hours beforehand. Alternatively, you can pre-plan & book through a tour agency, I used Tiqets.com, ticket price was around £12 for the hour long tour. You are requested to meet 30 minutes prior & this is both necessary & expected as the security clearance can take this long. A passport or ID card is needed, your driving licence won’t do. On the Tiqet tour, we were met just outside of the Palace & accompanied to security, & then handed over to another guide, who I presumed to be an internal staff member, who conducted the tour. Several people waiting combined at this point, around 40 of us in total. A big group, but it’s a big place, so this wasn’t an issue. The guide was very clear, knowledgeable & enthusiastic, with excellent spoken English (this was an English tour). The visit encompasses only about 5% of this gargantuan monstrosity & includes it’s more opulent aspects, of which there are many… including marble & chandelier clad ballrooms, grand salons, conference halls. The excess is mind boggling & quite hideous, particularly given the population was half starved at the time, around 10,000 people died during its construction, several thousand were uprooted from their homes to make way for it & a fifth of central Bucharest, including multiple churches, were razed to the ground. Not sure if our guide was over egging it but he claims it would cost $3 billion to build in today’s money! It is the heaviest building in the world, & the biggest administrative building by surface area barring the Pentagon. And apparently it is sinking, & will likely topple within 25 years! Construction began in 1983/4 & it was Ceausescu’s intention that the Palace would house the Governmental functions of the socialist state, in addition to serving as a lavish home for him & the shoe loving Mrs C. This grand idea allegedly occurred to him following a visit to Kim II-Sung in North Korea! The 1989 revolution put paid to that, though the new Government did move in & remains. Another current tenant is the National Museum of Art, but much of the building is unoccupied, & remains unfinished.
It’s a monstrous & maniacal but fascinating story, & a must visit when in Bucharest.
Written October 29, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Adrian Serange
Magdeburg, Germany10 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jul 2024 • Family
We booked our tour through "get your guide" for a multiple of the actual ticket price because we weren't sure if there were spontaneous tickets at the box office. The official homepage is just as much behind as the non-existent booking system. Despite peak travel time, it would not have been a problem to get tickets spontaneously. Contrary to the statement of "get your guide", the professional camera can also be taken with ease! Be sure to look at it when you are in Bucharest and just try it spontaneously. It's worth it!
Automatically translated
Written July 6, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Mary Y
Colorado Springs, CO64 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Sep 2023 • Solo
Stunning (can't believe it) example of communist architecture built to reflect prosperity which was of course ironic. Anyway, the billions used to construct this behemoth is well-represented in the art, the architecture, the chandeliers, the huge rooms, well, just everything. You will want to take pictures of everything. There are certain areas of course the public is not allowed but what you see is quite enough to realize how priceless this building is. It is now the seat of the Romanian parliament. TIP: You have quite a few stairs to climb and will have to go thru security so make sure you have your passport or driver's license. The tour is guided and you are watched closely so no wandering off or touching untouchables!
Written September 22, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Fabio footsteps
Padua, Italy994 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Sep 2024 • Friends
The Romanian parliament is a building that immediately impresses with its grandeur. Reservation for the guided tour can be made the day before by phone (I was even answered in Italian), however if you have time you can at the reservations office (two counters inside the parliament) and book in the morning for the first available tour (the tour in Italian is at 14:30). The tour in total is about 45 minutes and unfortunately you only see three floors of the more than twelve floors of the building (including the basement floors). The halls are wonderful, especially the theater. Recommended.
Automatically translated
Written October 3, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

niki b
1 contribution
1.0 of 5 bubbles
Jun 2024 • Family
The market the complete tour as an hour long… 25 min spent in security check. You go thru 2 hallways and 2 rooms. Not worth your time and the guide tells you the most basic information about the rooms- the type of marble on the floor and how pretty the chandeliers look. WASTE OF TIME. They profit off a 30 min walk where 10 minutes of it was actual information.
Written June 11, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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Palace of Parliament, Bucharest

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