Situated halfway between the Black Sea and the Carpathian Mountains in south-eastern Romania, Bucharest is the country’s capital city and its most significant industrial and economic centre. Previously dubbed ‘Paris of the Balkans’, the city is home to a fascinating mix of architecturally interesting structures from neo-classical buildings, Byzantine churches and traditional Wallachian buildings to the ultra-Communist buildings of the Ceaucescu era.

The city is perhaps most famous for once being the home of the bloodthirsty Vlad the Impaler, the historical character on which Bram Stoker’s infamous Count Dracula was based. Local tour operators exploit the connections between fact and fiction with excursions that take in many of the sites mentioned in this most famous of literary works. Whether or not horror stories are your thing, it’s hard to ignore the relationship between the city and a novel that has inspired so many contemporary cultural references.

Bucharest’s attractions and list of sightseeing locations are distinctly historically and architecturally flavoured with the palaces of Cantacuzino and Cotronceni combining aspects of both and making it high up on the list of must-sees. Museums also constitute a significant part of the places most popular with tourists, with venues such as the Village Museum, National Museum of Romanian History, Jewish History Museum and the Museum of Romanian Peasants among the highlights.

Daytrips and short excursions from the city take visitors to places such as the Snagov Lake and Snagov Monastery, the Mogosoaia Castle, the Bran Castle, the Peles Castle and the Monastery Curtea de Arges. Visitors preferring to stay closer to the city centre can take day trips around the major sights of Bucharest with guided commentary from local tour operators.

A good public transportation infrastructure, which includes a metro system and combined bus, tram and trolley services, makes getting around easy. A solid tourist infrastructure meanwhile offers a variety of accommodation options among which are big names such as Novotel, Radisson, Best Western, Sofitel, Hilton and Marriott.

Bucharest can be reached easily via the Henri Coanda International Airport which is the main gateway for the majority of international passengers. Alternative travel options include the train or hire car.

Despite the obvious presence of these international names, many of whom arrived in the Nineties, there is still a curious run down appearance to the Romanian capital that is a legacy of the Communist era. You won’t notice it in the four star hotels, with many of them occupying grand old palatial buildings, but the lower end hotels might be lacking in maintenance and comfort. In general there is mostly a selection of three star hotels in the central district of Bucharest, a curious mix of new, neo-classic, international, old Soviet style and small but charming places.

Archaeological evidence points to the existence of prehistoric settlements in the region we now know as Bucharest up to 150,000 years ago. The first significant mention of the city however is not noted until the 15th century and is attributed to the infamous Wallachian prince, Vlad the Impaler, who in 1459 referred to it as ‘the Citadel of Bucureşti’ after building a fortress there to deter attacks from the restless Turks.

In the 16th century, the city saw rapid development on an economic level, becoming Wallachia’s chief trading centre and subsequently its capital. At the start of the 17th century, the Turks could no longer be repelled and attacks by the Ottomans resulted in Bucharest being burned to the ground and discarded as an area of any importance. This was to be a short-lived period however for the city was subsequently returned to its former glory and allowed to enjoy an ensuing period of development and prosperity.

By the end of the century, the city’s status had elevated to the level that it was considered important enough to become the permanent seat for the Wallachian court and this honour was bestowed upon it at the beginning of the reign of Constantin Brâncoveanu.

The next two centuries saw traumatic times for the city of Bucharest as plague and natural disasters took their toll on both the people and structural developments. Ottoman control of the city was shaken and replaced by that of the Hapsburg Dynasty then later by Imperial Russia. Russian Administration ruled from 1828 until the Crimean War after which a brief period of Austrian control occurred. Disaster struck once again in 1847, when on 23 March, a fire devastated about one-third of the city, razing some 2,000 buildings to the ground.

In 1861, the regions of Moldavia and Wallachia came together to form the unified Principality of Romania. The city of Bucharest was instated as the capital of the newly-formed nation. Over the next two decades, it continued to prosper and by 1881 had been declared the political seat of the Kingdom of Romania. This elevation in the city’s status saw an influx of new residents during the latter part of the 19th century, swelling the city’s population and marking the beginning of an era of urban development.

Occupation by German forces during WWI lasted for two years after which the city was instated as the capital of Greater Romania. In WWII, Allied forces targeted the city for bombing campaigns due to Romania being declared an Axis power and heavy damage and casualties were suffered. A royal coup swayed the country’s allegiances and their anti-German position brought a brief wave of air raids from Nazi bombers.

From 1965-1989, Nicolae Ceauşescu ruled the country and under his leadership, many of Bucharest’s historical buildings were demolished in favour of structures with a more Communist flavour. An earthquake in 1977 also destroyed many old buildings as well as claiming the lives of 1,500 citizens.

The 1989 Romanian Revolution was kick-started by large scale anti-Ceauşescu demonstrations in the city of Timişoara and later in Bucharest. Protests eventually led to the overthrow of the Communist regime. Bucharest has since seen a period of urban renewal on account of the country’s economic boom. Modern new housing developments are springing up everywhere while an extensive restoration of the city’s historic area has been undertaken.

Bucharest’s climate is largely continental in nature implying that it is subject to summers that are predominantly hot and dry and winters that are very cold. The main summer months are July and August, during which time it’s not uncommon for temperatures to hit highs of 28°C and see minimum temperatures of around 15°C. June and September can also be warm with the former seeing highs of 27°C and the latter around 24°C. Rainfall is heaviest in the month of June with averages of 3.4 inches.

The winter kicks in as early as November when temperatures drop close to freezing and by December they are already well below, with minimums of -3°C not uncommon. By January, things get even colder with minimums of -6°C.

Visitors are best planning holidays for the summer months, any time from June to September guarantees warm weather and although the chances of rain are greater, it tends to come in short storms that are not overly disruptive to holiday activities.