Queen Marie's apartments
Rooms an artist-queen designed to her own taste.
Presidency of Bulgaria — CC BY 2.5 bg · Rakoon — CC0 · Rakoon — CC0 · Rakoon — CC0
The President's palace and Queen Marie's museum in one: Cotroceni began as a seventeenth-century monastery, was rebuilt by Carol I as a seat for his heir Ferdinand, and became the home and self-portrait of his wife Queen Marie — Victoria's granddaughter and Romania's most famous queen: Byzantine, Celtic and Norman-style rooms she designed herself, and the Hall of Honour where today's heads of state are received. The guided tour walks the Queen's apartments, the rebuilt monastery church, the collections of Romania's nobility and the royal kitchen — and the great park, one of the capital's oldest gardens. Advance booking is compulsory because it is a working presidential seat: ID is presented and an entry hour fixed, and the visit rewards anyone drawn to Queen Marie and her age.
Rooms an artist-queen designed to her own taste.
Rebuilt after its demolition in 1984.
Among Bucharest's oldest and quietest gardens.
Bulevardul Geniului 1, Bucharest
The Botanical GardenThe Dimitrie Brândză Botanical Garden lies west of the centre near Cotroceni Pal6 minutes walk4.3
The National Military MuseumThe King Ferdinand I National Military Museum occupies former army buildings wes18 minutes walk4.6
The Romanian Railway MuseumThe Romanian Railway Museum stands near the Gara de Nord, and is an old-fashione23 minutes walk4.3
The People's Salvation CathedralThe People's Salvation Cathedral stands directly behind the Palace of the Parlia23 minutes walk3.9Queen Victoria's granddaughter and Ferdinand I's wife; she lobbied at the 1919 Paris conference for Greater Romania and was loved for her wartime courage. Her heart is buried at Bran Castle.