Bucharest

Bucharest - darkometer rating : 5 - The capital city of Romania is at nearly 2 million inhabitants by far its largest conurbation in the country. As a tourist destination, Bucharest often gets a rough deal, described as ugly, harsh, unfriendly and in other negative terms. However, the city does have its charms – and particularly so from a dark tourism perspective. > What there is to see > Location > Access and costs > Time required > Combinations with other dark destinations > Combinations with non-dark destinations > Photos What there is to see: more than you would think at first. Much of the dark side of Bucharest is related to Romania's 1989 revolution and to the communist period under Ceausescu that preceded it. But there's also an endearing little Jewish History Museum, and those looking for Romania 's connection with the Dracula myth , can find a few things too. These sites in Bucharest are given separate entries:: Palace of Parliament Jewish History Museum Piata Revolutiei the Ceausescus' graves Bucharest's premier sight is without a shadow of doubt the Palace of Parliament – the most drastic exemplification of Ceausescu's architectural megalomania. It thus deserves its own separate entry here. The Palace is however not the only example of the city's characteristic socialist era architecture. In fact, Bucharest was probably changed more than any other old European city by the impact of its communist regime's architectural ambitions. Dictator Nicolae Ceausescu undertook a demolition and rebuilding programme in the 1980s that is sometimes sarcastically referred to as "Ceaushima" (a blend of his name and Hiroshima ).