Bucharest – a city once called the Little Paris, a city that could have been much more than that.

You will easily see this for yourself during a tour marked by emotional visual contrasts, with 2 areas perfectly depicting the opposition of 2 eras: the massive Communist Civic Center, an empty shell admired mostly by foreign tourists and the beautifully restored Old City with its Belle Époque perfume.

Walking around the Old City, you’ll be charmed by the gorgeous architecture of old palaces, by Byzantine churches, bohemian cafes or 19th century houses. However, all of these historical treasures had to be rebuilt or restored. Why? To hide the marks of bullets, to hide scars that have not yet healed even though almost 3 decades have passed since the fall of the regime and the bloody revolution.

The tour is more than a visual experience – it’s a story that takes you through 45 years of communism, allowing you to see beyond Bucharest’s colorful present: Stalin and his monstrous enslavement, the genocide of KGB’s Secret Police, the Siberian deportation of farmers who refused to “donate” their lands to the state, the eradication of culture, private property and free press etc. To top it off, we’ll bring along old photos: see how the streets used to look, how people dressed-up, worked or lived.

Behind Stalin’s Iron Curtain? There was no good or evil, no black & white. Not even grey. Just red.

Main attractions – highlights

Palace of Parliament

Revolution Square

University Square

Old City 

Other important landmarks: Former HQ of Secret Police, Memorial of Rebirth, former HQ of Communist Bank, State Archives (still covered by marks of bullets), Antim Monastery (one of the many mutilated churches), the boulevard of “Socialist Victory” and many other.

The Ashes of Communism – a journey of visual contrasts. A story that reveals unhealed scars.
Go back in time and look behind the Iron Curtain!