Trajans Markets

Posted on December 20, 2011 by Admin
Trajans Markets

Trajans Markets

Bucharest was once described as the Paris of the East, due to its prosperity and rather decadent but at the same time bohemian culture, in the early twentieth century. This once beautiful city, capital of, at the time, the relatively young and freshly united independent country of Romania, has fallen into neglect due to nearly a hundred years of economic hard times, communist, eccentric planning decisions, war and revolution.

Slowly but surely, as Romanian prosperity recovers, this much neglected city is being discovered by a new generation of travellers, and is one of the last major cities in Europe yet to be fully appreciated by the modern tourist. Around every street corner in the central areas, often hidden down side roads between modern concrete blocks and decaying buildings, are many cultural gems.

Development of the Modern City of Bucharest

To visit Bucharest, please remember that the main modern phase of planning of the city went on in the 1970s and 1980s when mass usage of motorcars and mass tourism were not envisaged. Within the city there are very few parking spaces. In very hot days it is necessary to tramp up and down streets, bring some water or juice (or buy from the numerous mini-markets), and remember that in some places there are not many benches to sit down on. You may have to cross through grandiose but somewhat impracticable, squares, negotiating many sets of traffic lights, to reach what on the map appears to be a nearby monument or shop. But the most convenient form of transport is the metro, and if you are there for more than a day, very cheap, if you buy a ten trip ticket, the trains are frequent and cover most places in the central areas. Orientate yourself to metro stations, many of which are large with lots of exits.