Lonely Planet Experiences: Bucharest Communist History Tour

From
USD
Per Person
Book this tour with
Created with Fabric.js 5.2.4

Tour Information

Key Details

  • Mobile Voucher Accepted
  • Free Cancellation
  • Duration: 4 Hrs
  • Language:
    English
  • Departure Time :
    10:00 AM
  • Departure Details :
    Equestrian Statue of Carol I, Sector 1, Bucharest 030167, Romania
  • Return Details :
    Piața Unirii, București, Romania
  • Cancellation Policy :
    For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours in advance of the start date of the experience. Tours booked using discount coupon codes will be non refundable.

Overview

this unique guided tour will allow you to discover some of the stories of life in Bucharest under communism, as well as significant places of interest related to the communist period. Until the late 1980s, Romania was a communist state and Bucharest was a troubled place. That era left its marks on Bucharest, a city once known as 'Little Paris', and you will get a glimpse of that era with this Bucharest History Tour. 

Know More about this tour

Bucharest today is a nice city to live in but until the late 1980s, Romania was a communist state and Bucharest was a troubled place. Anything related to the west was forbidden to the extent that even talking to a westerner on the street could mean a trip to a police station for an interview with a Securitate (secret police) officer. That era left its marks on Bucharest that you can see with this tour. 

Your tour starts at Revolution square, the place where the fight for liberation started. Then, you will continue your trip towards the Archives, a building that still bears the bullet marks of its bloody history.

From there you will head to Constitution square and to the top of the Palace of the Parliament. The second largest building in the world after the Pentagon. Nicolae Ceauescu, the General Secretary of the Communist Party, who's regime it was built under, called it 'the People's Palace'.

Next, the tour will move towards a neighborhood in the north of Bucharest, where you can see examples of the true socialist architecture, and some of the bedroom quarters. You will also get to see one of the famous 'Hunger Circles' - an ex-canteen from the communist era, so called because of the severe food shortages at the time.

On your way, you will stop at the Romanian Television HQ (TVR), the Romanian public television station. Due to the "energy-saving program", the TVR schedule was severely limited to only about two hours per day during the communist era, between 20:00 and 22:00, most of which was dedicated to the cult of personalities of Nicolae Ceausescu and his wife Elena. 

You will then go to the Primaverii neighborhood, one of the most expensive neighborhoods in the city and home to many politicians and local celebrities, where you will see Ceausescu's house. Nicolae Ceausescu actually occupied a whole block of villas, including one for his security guards and one for domestic servants, and so, this place has remained an exclusive district since then.

Your tour ends at Victory Square, where you will see Victoria Palace, headquarters of the Prime Minister of Romania and his cabinet.

Inclusions

Driver/guide

Street Snack

Transport by private vehicle

1 refreshment (summer) OR 1 hot drink (winter)

Entry/Admission - Palace of Parliament

Exclusions

Gratuities

Hotel pick-up and drop-off

Food and drinks, unless specified

Alcoholic drinks (available to purchase)

Additional Info

Maximum group size 4 persons

A minimum of 2 people per booking is required

Confirmation will be received at the time of booking

Operates in all weather conditions, please dress appropriately

Traveler Reviews

See all reviews
  • 24-Oct-2017

    This was an excellent tour which I would thoroughly recommend. Our guide was Constantin who was incredibly knowledgable and who provided an excellent insight into the history and culture of Bucharest as well as explaining in detail the rise and fall of communism in Romania.
    The tour lasted over 3 hours and took us across the city to explore the different stories that make up the history of communism.
    I would highly recommend this tour for anyone either new to Bucharest and who wants to get a wider perspective or if you have a particular interest in communism. Either way dont miss this opportunity...

  • 26-Sep-2017

    I would recommend this tour to anyone visiting Bucharest for the first time. The tour guide explained what everything was and encouraged us to ask questions. At the end of the tour he gave us Romanian biscuits which were the same biscuits that he had had as a child which was a really nice touch,.

  • 01-Aug-2017

    Best guided tour I ever attended. Like driving around town with a highly skilled and competent friend.

  • 09-Jul-2017

    This was one of the real highlights of our time in Bucharest - a truly fascinating day. Our guide was very knowledgeable about places and history, and also spoke from personal experience. It was a very hot day but his car was a cool and comfortable refuge and the tour well-balanced between travelling and being at the key places. The tour was a real eye-opener, a great way to start to understand the things that have happened in Romania in the past 40 years, and how it is now. Taking our guide's suggestion, we followed the tour with a visit to the Ceausescu Palace museum Palatul Primaverii which rounded the day off perfectly. The tour was both thought-provoking and enjoyable - I thoroughly recommend it.

  • 12-Jun-2017

    The guide did a great job in tells us what life was like under the communist. His stories were based on his personnel up-bring which gave a reality to the words. The problem was that there was no meat to the tour. Most of the time we drove around the city and the guide pointed things out. He talked about what the apartments were like, it was to bad there was not one to show us.

  • 21-Feb-2017

    Our tour began with some background historical information on the exact land where events unfolded- it was a fantastic opening to a complex world for my teen. Our guides were wonderful- the dialogue and reflections between them as they shared their stories were poignant and breathed life into growing up under a different regime. The contrast of old/new, art, beauty, and concrete was astounding in this epically vast city. The tour enabled us to see a lot packed into a couple hours. A must!

  • 07-Jul-2016

    This tour was amazing!

  • 07-Jul-2016

    Very interesting tour

  • 15-May-2016

    Very interesting!!

  • 30-Nov-2015

    Very informative, whilst at the same time entertaining.

    A very personal rendition of the Communist era that was so thoughtfully prepared. Would highly recommend it to visitors to Bucharest.

See all reviews