If you are a museum enthusiast, then you’ll be happy to know there are over 60 museums and memorial houses you can visit in Bucharest. They are spread throughout the city and cover a wide range of topics, from history and art to natural sciences.
There’s even an open-air ethnographic museum which attracts more than 500,000 visitors every year.
Read on to get more details about the best museums in Romania’s capital.
Dimitrie Gusti National Village Museum
Located in the heart of the capital, the open-air ethnographic museum stretches through the luscious Herastrau Park over a surface of over 100,000 m² and offers a picturesque look into traditional Romanian village life.
The museum is an embodiment of the history of Romania’s rural architecture and craftsmanship, featuring:
- Religious buildings, particularly old wooden churches. One of the highlights is the imposing belfry of the wooden Maramures church.
- Over 300 authentic peasant farms, rural households, and annexes. Most of the houses here date from the mid-19th-century, but there are some dating from as early as 1775.
- Folk equipment installations (such as windmills and watermills, installations used for trampling grapes, and tools for ore processing)
- A one-of-a-kind restaurant set in an original 19th-century inn. Here, you can enjoy some delicious traditional Romanian dishes made from fresh, bio ingredients.
- Authentic embellishing objects such as traditional carpets, ceramics, colorful quilts, and furniture used to decorate the inside of the houses.
To make the most out of your trip, combine your visit to the National Village Museum with other must-see attractions in Bucharest. The most convenient way to do so is to book one of our tours, such as:
National Museum of Art of Romania
Set in the former Royal Palace in central Bucharest, the National Museum of Art of Romania (MNaR for short) is a great place to learn more about Romania’s art history and those who helped shape it.
The museum is home to an extensive collection of:
- Medieval Romanian art. The gallery comprises hundreds of icons, mural paintings, embroideries, manuscripts, books, jewelry, ceramics, woodcarving, and sculptures from the 14th – to the early 19th century.
- Modern Romanian art. You’ll be delighted to discover sculptures by the famous Constantin Brancusi (a pioneer of modernism) among the highlights of the exhibition.
To top things off, MNaR also features a wide-ranging display of international art which was collected by various members of the Romanian royal family.
Bucharest Municipal Museum
Housed in the stunningly elegant 1833 Neo-Gothic Sutu Palace, the Bucharest Municipal Museum offers a view of Bucharest through the ages.
The museum hosts a permanent collection exhibiting historical artifacts, as well as temporary exhibitions showing new items.
You’ll get to take a close look at works of fine art, decorative items, jewelry, and a splendid collection of arms. Plus, you’ll see photographs, old maps, and archeological findings which show how much the city has changed in the last 100 years alone.
More Museums You Can Visit in Bucharest
We hope the recommendations we’ve included in this article have inspired you to add at least one museum to your Bucharest trip itinerary.
For more suggestions, make sure to read our article on the best museums which are close to Bucharest’s Old Town, as well.
Check our Bucharest Tours!
And if you have any questions you’d like to ask about the wide array of tours we provide in Romania’s always-surprising capital, feel free to contact us.