Bucharest Guided Tours

Cișmigiu Park Bucharest.

Cișmigiu Garden or Cișmigiu Park is the oldest public garden in Bucharest that exists today with an area of about 16 hectares, situated in the city centre of Bucharest on Regina Elisabeta Boulevard, 46 across from the City Hall of Bucharest.
The name Cișmigiu comes from the Turkish word – çeşme, which translates in the Romanian language as cișmea – which means – public fountain.

The original fountain was built in 1779 at the west side of the park. The head of works over the city’s fountains was then called then “cișmegiu” meaning in the Romanian language “fântânar” or in English – water fountain builder.

Later in 1847 the authorities decided to transform the surrounding area into a public garden. It was made after the design of the Viennese landscape architect Carl Wilhelm Meyer (former director of the Imperial Gardens in Vienna) and helped by the gardener Franz Harer.
The works were complete in 1854 when the Cișmigiu Garden was officially inaugurated.

The alleys lead the visitors through the trees, flowers, birds, famous statues, playgrounds, chess zone, kiosk where the military band plays on different occasions, and features five arched bridges that cross the water ways and features a restaurant with a nice terrace toward the lake named Monte Carlo Restaurant.

The lake has little boats for hire in the summer where one can have a relaxing journey and in the winter, has an ice rink where people of all ages can skate.

Monte Carlo restaurant

In the centre of Cișmigiu park stands proudly the Monte Carlo Restaurant built, on the water with a beautiful terrace towards the lake. This restaurant was built in1964 on the site of the original restaurant which was constructed in 1926 and was destroyed later by the earthquake of 1940.

The statue of Sissi Stefanidi Fountain

The statue of Sissi Stefanidi fountain, installed in 1927 in Cișmigiu Park in Bucharest, is a sculpture made by Ion Dimitriu-Bârlad.
The statue depicts a mother grieving the death of her daughter, pouring water from a jug. The monument, carved in stone was donated by the Stefanidi family to the city hall in the memory of their daughter, Sissi Stefanidi, who died at the age of 21.

The Monument of the French Heroes

The monument of the French Heroes was inaugurated on October 25, 1922 and created by the Romanian sculptor Ion Jalea , dedicated to the French soldiers who fell on the battlefield, on Romanian soil, during the Great War (1916-1919).

The statue made of Carrara marble depicts a female nurse, holding in his arms a young wounded soldier and kisses him on the forehead.

On the pedestal there is an inscription as a tribute dedicated to the French soldiers. It is written in French and in Romanian language, means in English: TO THE FRENCH SOLDIERS FALLEN ON THE FIELD OF HONOR ON ROMANIAN LAND DURING THE GREAT WAR 1916-1919.
Years later, in 1968, when General De Gaulle visited Romania, Ion Jalea would receive the French Legion of Honor at the rank of Officer.

La Cetate – At the fortress

Another nice feature in the park is La Cetate – At the Fortress, which is the ruined part of a former monastery built in 1756.

Chrissoveloni Bank and Chrissoveloni House, Bucharest.

Chrissoveloni Bank

Chrissoveloni Bank was founded and run by the Nikolaos Chrissoveloni family originally from Chios, Greece.

The Palace of Chrissoveloni bank, located at 16 Lipscani Street, Sector 3, Bucharest (in the old town) and was built in the Italian Renaissance – Florentine style between 1925 and 1928, according to the plans of architect George Matei Cantacuzino and architect August Schmiedigen.

The building was designed with two entrances, the one on Lipscani Street being used for the bank's clients, and the other one on Stravopoleos Street, for the employees.

The bank's vaults were located in the basement, on the ground floor were the public relations counters and the clerks' offices, on the first floor were the offices of lower-ranking directors, and on the second floor were Chrissoveloni's office and other meeting rooms.

The beautiful building has inside: stained glass windows, stone floors, murals, fireplaces and lighting fixtures, Carrara marble interior elements, Renaissance-style painted ceiling and other decorations.

Since 1948 the bank has been a branch of the National Bank of Romania.

Cărturești-Carusel Building

The Cărturești-Carusel building is a bookstore on Lipscani Street, number 55, in the Old Center of Bucharest.
It was built initially in 1860 and later in 1904 it was purchased by the Nikolaos Chrissoveloni banking family who opened a Galeries Lafayette-style department store on Lipscani commissioned the engineer and architect Nicolae Cuțarida to build a commercial building at Lipscani.

Nicolas Chrissoveloni used the building in the first decades of its existence as headquarters of the Chrissoveloni Bank and later he repurposed it to become a "Popular Bazaar".

From 1950 until 1990 it became a general store called – “The Family” – “Familia”.
In 2007 the building was claimed in inheritance of Chrissoveloni family – Jean Chrissoveloni.

After five years of rehabilitation, consolidation and conversion, completed in 2015, the beautiful building became a cultural center that houses a bookstore, DVDs with music, a venue for various exhibitions, book launches and on the upper floor (the third floor) there is a bistro overlooking the bookstore which belongs to the Romanian bookstore chain called Cărturești.

Chrissoveloni House

The beautiful villa situated at number 1B Negustori Street, Sector 2 Bucharest, was the former residence of the Chrissoveloni family, Romania's banking family, which today is the “Grand Boutique” Hotel.

The building was constructed in 1893 by the civil engineer Constantin Colibășeanu (a relation of the Chrissoveloni family), in the French eclectic style of academic design.

Being in a central location, personalities of those times, from members of the royal family through Queen Marie herself, to senators, bankers, ambassadors and internationally famous artists were the guests of the house.

During the Communist era the building served as headquarters for state institutions.

After renovations the former Chrissoveloni House opened as a hotel, named The Grand Boutique Hotel.

The Cathedral of the Salvation of the Nation- Catedrala Mântuirii Neamului. Bucharest.

Introduction

The newly completed Orthodox Cathedral, Catedrala Mântuirii Neamului, is situated on Calea 13 Septembrie, no. 4-60, Sector 5, Bucharest, behind the Palace of Parliament.
The main entrance to the Cathedral is made trough the west side, via a porch with arches.

The main patron of the Cathedral is saint "Ascension of the Lord" and the secondary patron saint is "St. Apostle Andrew".

Catedrala Mântuirii NeamuluiIs is the largest and tallest Orthodox Church Romania in terms of volume and surface area in the world.

The west to east orientation of the site allows the Cathedral to be located with the altar facing east according to Orthodox traditional liturgical requirements.

There are also in the area important institutions such as: the Romanian Parliament, the Ministry of National Defense and the Romanian Academy (Research Institutes).

On November 29, 2007, on the eve of the feast of Saint Andrew the Apostle (the protector of Romania and Romanians), the service of laying the cornerstone and consecrating the site intended for the construction of the Cathedral took place in the presence of patriarch Daniel and the members of the Holy Synod, the construction of the cathedral commence in 2010, carried out at the initiative of Patriarch Daniel of Romania, which lasted 15 years.

The construction measures a length of 126 meters, a width of 67.7 meters and a height from ground level of 120 meters until the base of the cross, the main cupola has an interior height of 106.3 meters from the floor and on a built area of over 13.600 square meters, the land having 110.000 square meters. The constructions total cost was 270 million Euros.

The church is built in Byzantine style with Romanian elements.

The main interior space (narthex and nave) allows access for approximately 5.000 standing people or the placement of 3.400 chairs for service participants.

The total area of the mosaic iconography (brought from Venice) in the main liturgical space is approximately 25.000 square meters, in over 2.500 shades in byzantine style realized between 2019 and 2025.
The whole construction costs until now is 270 million Euros.

After years of dedicated work, the cathedral was sainted on Sunday 26 October 2025 by the Patriarch Daniel of Romania together with his guest –Holiness Bartholomew, Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople and also hierarchs, priests and bishops from all over Romania.
They chose the year because the Romanian Orthodox Church celebrates 100 years since it was elevated to the degree of Patriarchate.

Exterior

The cathedral reaches proudly for the sky with eight gilded domes, each with a spiritual significance. The main dome (Pantocrator) symbolizes Jesus Christ and his monumental mosaic is located inside.

The church has 8 Domes in Total.
The main dome is surrounded by four small domes (which represents the four Evangelists). Situated above the knave of the church – the central space of the church.
At the western end is the bell dome which stands 86.8 meters tall above the narthex, containing the world's largest free-swinging church bell. The bell dome is flanked by another two small domes.
The cross on the main tower measures 7 meters tall and weigh 7000 kg being installed with a huge 600-ton crane.

Interior

The monumental chandeliers are made of solid brass and steel elements, decorated with angels carrying three lamps each, symbolizing the Church illuminated by the grace of the Holy Trinity.

The Jesus Pantocrator is in the main central dome, the Pantocrator cupola covers about 450 square meters, the Pantocrator mosaic accounts for 150 square meters, with the remaining surface dedicated to the mosaic of the nine heavenly powers. The Pantocrator mosaic, with a diameter of 12 meters and a facial span of 4 meters, was created between 2024 and 2025 and required 2.4 tons of tesserae (small mosaic colourful pieces).

Inside the altar there are one million mosaic tesserae (mosaic pieces) used to create the Mother of Jesus – Platytera, with nine different shades of red dedicated to the Mother of God's mantle, measuring 16 meters high and covering 150 square meters, including the throne.

Dominating the narthex dome (above the entrance) at about 50 meters high we see the Virgin Mary – Oranta mosaic, depicted within a glory surrounded by sixteen archangels.

Iconostasis

The iconostasis of the Cathedral is the largest Orthodox iconostasis in the world (which has entered the Guinness Book of Records) measuring 23.8 meters long and 17.1 meters high, with 45 mosaic icons, gold leaf disposed in four registers, composed of over 4 million tesserae (mosaic small pieces) weighing 8 tons, and with adhesive 10 tons. Specialists worked for ten months to create the cathedral's iconostasis in Byzantine style.

Bells

In total, the Cathedral has six bells (a big one and five smaller) weighing a total of 33 tones, they are mounted in the bell tower dome on the west facade above the entrance at a height of 60 meters.
They were designed and created in the Grassmayr workshop in Innsbruck, Austria.

The largest bell (with a weight of 25.2 tones and diameter of 3 metres) is the biggest and heaviest free-swinging church bell in Europe, surpassing the Saint Peter's bell (Petersglocke) in the Cathedral of Cologne in Germany. It is made of 78% copper and 22% tin and has a very low beat of 130.8 Hz, its sound being heard from 15 to 20 kilometres away, only on important orthodox religious celebrations, while the small ones will be heard during services.

Each of the six bells is inscribed with: the coat of arms of the Romanian Patriarchate, the effigy of Patriarch Daniel and Patriarchal Cross as well as the inscription: "Blessing of Patriarch Daniel of Romania for the National Cathedral - Centenary 1918 - 2018" – in Romanian language – „Binecuvântarea Patriarhului Daniel al României pentru Catedrala Naţională - Centenar 1918-2018“.

The Cathedral of the Salvation of the Nation in Bucharest is open to visitors during the following hours: Monday to Friday between 10:00 and 17:00, Saturday between 10:00 and 18:00, and Sunday between 12:00 and 18:00. The schedule may change on religious holidays or in the event of special events.