The former Royal Palace stands on Calea Victoriei, facing Revolution Square in central Bucharest. It was the seat of Romania's kings until the monarchy was abolished in 1947, and today it houses the National Museum of Art of Romania. Most of what you see dates from the late 1920s and 1930s, when the palace was rebuilt after a fire.
The Royal Palace at a glance
- Where: Calea Victoriei, on Revolution Square (Piața Revoluției), with the Romanian Athenaeum and the Central University Library across the square.
- Built: an 1880s royal palace, largely rebuilt and enlarged from the late 1920s to 1937 after a fire in December 1926.
- By: Paul Gottereau (the 1880s palace) and Nicolae Nenciulescu (the rebuilding after the fire).
- What it is today: the National Museum of Art of Romania, with galleries of Romanian medieval art, Romanian modern art and European art.
- Time needed: 15 minutes for the outside and the square; two to three hours if you visit the museum.
From a boyar's house to the kings' palace
The site began as a private house: the boyar Dinicu Golescu built a residence here between 1812 and 1815. The state bought it in the 1830s and it became the residence of Wallachia's ruling princes. Carol of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen moved in when he became Romania's prince in 1866, and after Romania was proclaimed a kingdom in 1881 he had the French architect Paul Gottereau enlarge it, with a Throne Hall and reception rooms ready by 1885. During the First World War Queen Marie turned part of the palace into a military hospital.
On the night of 6–7 December 1926 a fire gutted the central wing. Under King Carol II the palace was rebuilt, raised and extended in a plainer neoclassical style, with modern central heating and even a cinema. After the abolition of the monarchy on 30 December 1947 the communist state turned the building into the national art museum. In December 1989 the fighting around Revolution Square damaged the palace and its collections, and the galleries reopened in stages; the European Art Gallery opened in 2000.
What to look for
- The long, sober neoclassical façade along Calea Victoriei, the result of the rebuilding after 1926.
- The equestrian statue of King Carol I in front of the Central University Library, made by Florin Codre in 2010. It replaces the original by Ivan Meštrović, which the communists melted down in 1948.
- The Rebirth Memorial, the white marble spike in the middle of the square, unveiled in 2005 for the victims of the 1989 revolution.
- Inside the museum: the Romanian medieval gallery with icons, embroideries and church treasures, the modern Romanian gallery with painters such as Nicolae Grigorescu, and the European gallery built around King Carol I's collection, including works by El Greco.
- The Voivodes' Staircase, which survived the 1926 fire. Its ceiling painting by Arthur Verona is framed by 15 historical figures, with Michael the Brave in the centre. The former royal rooms are not always open, so ask at the museum.
23 August 1944: a coup inside the palace
The palace's most dramatic day came during the Second World War. On 23 August 1944 the young King Michael I summoned the dictator Marshal Ion Antonescu to the palace, had him arrested there and announced on the radio that Romania was leaving its alliance with Nazi Germany and joining the Allies. Three years later the same king was forced to abdicate, and he lived most of his life in exile.
Tips for your visit
- Stand in the middle of Revolution Square for the best view of the whole façade; morning light suits photos of the palace front.
- If you only have time for one gallery, choose the Romanian medieval art: it is the museum's strongest collection and hard to see anywhere else.
- Read the square as a history lesson: the palace, the library that burned in 1989 and the former Communist Party headquarters all face each other.
- Walk south along Calea Victoriei afterwards to reach the Old Town and the Stavropoleos Monastery.
Nearby
- Romanian Athenaeum: the domed concert hall from 1888, home of the George Enescu Philharmonic, just across the square.
- Central University Library: Paul Gottereau's 1890s library, burned in December 1989 with hundreds of thousands of books and rebuilt afterwards.
- Former Central Committee building: the balcony where Nicolae Ceaușescu gave his last speech on 21 December 1989 faces the palace.
- Kretzulescu Church: a small red-brick Orthodox church from the 1720s, a couple of minutes' walk away.
See Bucharest with World City Trail
Our Bucharest scavenger hunt turns the old town into a game you play on your phone. The route links 10 stops and takes around 3 hours, with about 44 minutes of walking. It includes the Stavropoleos Monastery Church, the National Museum of Romanian History and the Cărturești Carusel bookshop. You can play in English, German, French, Italian and Romanian.
If you prefer a different format, there is also a self-guided walking tour and an outdoor escape game in Bucharest.
Play the Bucharest scavenger hunt →
Take the self-guided walking tour of Bucharest →
Play the outdoor escape game in Bucharest →
Facts checked in October 2026.