I will never forget the odor when I entered the Palace of the Parliament in Bucharest. To this day, I can’t decide if it was just bad air or if somebody failed to boil cabbage properly. Somehow, this smell inside the Palace of the Parliament can still trigger a set of impressions from my visit. It was actually this building that made me want to visit Bucharest. Therefore, taking a tour through the Palace was a high priority when I visited Romania’s capital.
The so-called Casa Poporului, or The People’s House, is an impressive building lots of records are associated with it. In this article, I’m going to present to you my impressions of the tour, lots of facts, photos, plus a video. If you’d like to book a tour, make sure to check the section at the bottom of this post, where I link to the best tours to the Palace of the Parliament.
So, let’s start.
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An introduction to the Palace of the Parliament in Bucharest
The Palace of the Parliament is the heaviest building in the world. It actually weighs 4,098,500,000 kilos, and it is supposedly sinking a few millimeters per year. It is located in Bucharest, Romania’s capital, and its construction lasted 13 years: it started in 1984 and finished in 1997. The idea of constructing such a massive building belonged to Nicolae Ceausescu, the Romanian Communist Party’s general secretary. Ceausescu was executed in December 1989 during the Romanian Revolution, which was an era of political turmoil for the country. That said, Ceausescu never saw the building he envisioned.
The architect that supervised the construction of the Parliamentary Palace was Anca Petrescu. She wasn’t, of course, alone in this task. She actually had 700 architects with her. The number of workers is equally impressive: more than 21,000 people worked on the project. Nicolae Ceausescu wanted to prove that he could build it using Romanian materials and local workers exclusively. It was a house for the people, after all. Those 21,000 workers worked in three shifts, 24 hours per day. That said, for these 13 years, people were working on the project non-stop.
Today, the building houses the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies, the two sections of the Parliament of Romania. In addition, several museums are hosted in the building, among them the Museum for Contemporary Art of Romania. But of course, these things occupy just a tiny percentage of its use. The Palace of the Parliament has more than 1,000 rooms. There are also offices operating in the building, and its number is calculated to be 440. The Palace itself occupies an area of 365,000 square meters.
Known also as the House of the Republic, Ceaușescu’s dream building is also the world’s largest civilian building with an administrative function. It’s also the second biggest administrative building in the world after the Pentagon. In the early ’90s, Rupert Merdoch tried to buy it for 3 billion dollars. However, the Romanian State didn’t accept his offer. To this day, the Palace of the Parliament is also the most expensive administrative building in the world.
Taking a tour of the Palace of the Parliament
Everyone can visit the Palace of the Parliament in Bucharest. However, walking through its interior is only possible with a guide. You can either sign up for a tour in the Palace directly from the website of the Parliamentary Palace or find a tour online. The day I visited the Palace, I was lucky enough to arrive on time for an English guided tour. However, as I figured out, not every tour is in English. Therefore, cross-check if the tour you’re about to take is in English.
As an alternative, you can pre-book an English-speaking tour online. There are actually a few certified guides offering them. You can book a tour here and also here. Make sure to arrive fifteen minutes in advance: it’s obligatory to go through a security check. Bring also your passport with you; otherwise, you won’t be allowed to enter.
It honestly feels like being in an airport. And the truth is that maybe you are: you’re about to land in a different era.
What you’ll see in the Parliamentary Palace tour
As I wrote earlier, this is the biggest administrative building in the world. You will probably need days to tour all around it. Even the people working there haven’t seen the whole building. The visitors taking the Parliamentary Palace tour will only have access to 5% of the building. You will walk approximately 1,5 kilometers, and you will visit a couple of rooms. If you add the so-called Underground option to your tour, you’ll also see some rooms in the basement. For the latter addition, make sure you are fit enough to take the stairs. You should calculate approximately 300 stairs in total -but not in one strike, of course.
According to online information, the tour lasts about two hours. This is probably an exaggeration, though: the tour I took lasted one hour and fifteen minutes. I think that the two-hour timeframe considers things like unforeseen delays or a group that might ask lots of questions.
How much does the tour of the Palace of the Parliament cost?
As of 2021, the tour costs 45 lei. That’s approximately 9-10 euros/dollars. If you book one of the various tours that you can find online, expect a few extra euros since you’re also paying for the guide. By booking online, though, you reserve a place, so you’re sure that you won’t miss it. I’ll add the two best tours at the bottom of this post.
There is no extra charge for shooting photos. I double-checked that because I wanted to shoot both photos and videos. I had my Ricoh with me as well as the DJI Osmo Pocket. During the tour, I also saw people carrying large DSLRs. That said, you don’t have to worry about your bulky DSLR. Have it with you because the Palace of the Parliament in Bucharest is a great attraction and you want to remember everything about it.
What to expect from the tour to Parliamentary Palace
The guides are very knowledgeable and friendly. They will always ask you if you have any questions, and they are happy to answer them. They will also provide lots of information, but it’ll be hard to remember every detail unless you write everything down or record it. The only downside of the tour for me was that it felt pretty short. In one hour and fifteen minutes, it’s hard to digest what you see. Plus, if you (like me) would like to shoot photos and videos, you’ll have to sacrifice some of the info for finding and composing your images.
The day I took the tour, I counted approximately 35 people in the group. In some of the rooms, you won’t walk inside; therefore, everybody will stand in front of the door. That said, if you’d like to take some decent photos, you’ll have to wait until the group moves on to the next room. Of course, you’ll then lose some info.
Overall, I’m happy that I had the Parliamentary Palace tour. It offers a memorable experience because, in this building, modern history was written. Apart from that, the scale of the building itself is breathtaking. If you are into history or simply interested in such things, this is one of the must things to do in Bucharest.
20 quick facts about the Palace of the Parliament in Bucharest
Before presenting even more photos (and a video) from the tour, I’d like to add some quick facts about the building. Plus, I got some info from our tour guide that might not be available anywhere else online.
- You can access the Palace of the Parliament only from the side of Izvor Park. Since the building is enormous, don’t lose time searching for the entrance. Walk straight to Izvor Park and cross the street.
- The English-speaking tours usually start early in the afternoon. Mine began at 14:00, some of the online ones start at 15:00.
- The tour will last approximately one hour and fifteen minutes. I think that the two hours that you’ll see online is probably an exaggeration.
- You can take photos everywhere in the interior but not at the security check. So keep your cameras and smartphones down.
- Before starting the tour, you will be given a badge. You’ll have to return it when exiting, so if you are into such memorabilia, make sure to take a photo.
- Don’t forget your passport! Without it, you can’t enter the Palace of the Parliament. Remember that this is an administrative building and people want to know who’s attending.
- One of the paintings that you will see presents the back of a woman. This is supposedly Ceausescu’s wife, Elena. Her back is naked, and rumor says the painter didn’t want to use her as a model because he found her ugly. Some other stories say that Elena was, in fact, running the State, not Nicolae.
- When you are accessing the first floor, you will see huge curtains hanging in front of the windows. They are dark red in color, sixteen meters high, and they weigh 200 kilos each.
- Sabin Balasa was one of the most famous artists in Romania. One of his most known paintings is in the Palace of the Parliament. Its name is “Apotheosis,” and it’s from 1984.
- Along the long corridors of the Palace, you’ll also see traditional Romanian costumes. Some of them are more than 100 years old.
- The Palace of the Parliament is not far away from the city center. You can easily access it on foot.
- There are days that international conferences and other events take place in the Palace. However, even on the busiest days, only 65% of the building is in use.
- Nicolae Ceausescu dreamed of having a theater in the building. And indeed, there is one, but it was never used as such. The reason? Well, there was not enough reason for backstage. By the way, the chandelier in that room weighs 3,000 kilos.
- Since Romania has major earthquakes from time to time, there are visible damages on some walls.
- The Palace also has eight underground levels, and the very last one is a nuclear bunker. The walls are 1,5 meters thick, and radiation cannot penetrate them.
- According to the official website, in the standard tour, you’ll visit the following rooms: The Press Gallery, The Gallery of Honour, The “Nicolae Iorga” Hall, The “Nicolae Bălcescu” Hall, The “Nicolae Titulescu” Hall, The “Drepturilor Omului” Hall, The C4 Hall, The “I.I.C. Brătianu” Hall, The “Take Ionescu” Hall, The “Unirii” Hall, The “Al. I. Cuza” Hall, The Gallery of Honour, The Press Gallery, The “C. A. Rosetti” Hall. Taking the extended tour will grant you access to some underground areas as well.
- The tour is, unfortunately, not accessible to people with mobility disabilities.
- Most of the materials were produced in Romania. Among them: 1,000,000 cubic meters of marble and 550,000 tons of cement.
- The palace’s location was not an empty space before: 20 churches were destroyed, 8 were moved, and 10,000 homes had to be demolished. The State evicted more than 57,000 families.
- Before the Revolution of 1989, the Parliamentary Palace was a symbol of Socialism. After 1989 it became a symbol of Democracy because it hosts several public institutes.
A short video from the Palace of the Parliament in Bucharest
So, here you can see a 6-minute video from the Palace. I tried to include as much footage as possible. Moreover, I preferred not to add any music and let you hear what the tour guide had to say.
Opening times of the Palace of the Parliament
The Palace is open daily from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
More photos from the Palace of the Parliament in Bucharest
So, in this section, you can see some extra pictures from the tour.
Book your tour for the Palace of the Parliament
Here you can find four selected tours for the Parliamentary Palace. All of them will book tickets for you; therefore, you won’t have to queue. There’s, of course, a guide to help you navigate through the building, and they will provide lots of info. The tours are in English. You have the following options:
- Palace of the Parliament skip-the-line tour. This one is exactly what its name says: you’ll skip the line and take the tour without waiting in the queue. You can book this tour here.
- Parliamentary palace tour with Pickup. This option offers a plus: the tour guides will pick you up from your hotel in Bucharest. The Palace’s ticket is included in the price. Check this tour here.
- Private Bucharest full-day tour with entrance fees. That’s probably the most comprehensive Bucharest tour you’ll find online. The guides will pick you up from your accommodation, and you’ll have a full day tour in the city. A visit to the Parliamentary Palace is, of course, part of the price. Book the full-day tour here.
- Communist tour. As its name betrays, this is a tour dealing with the communist past of the city. It’s a private full-day tour around Bucharest, including, of course, the Palace of the Parliament. If you have a thing for modern history, then this one is for you. Book the Communist tour here.
So, that was it with my article about the Palace of the Parliament in Bucharest. Please let me know if you have already visited the Palace and your thoughts about it.
More about Bucharest: My travelogue from the capital of Romania & Bucharest travel guide
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Last Updated on November 23, 2021 by George Pavlopoulos