Because I grew up in Bucharest I absolutely hate
this big ugly Soviet-style building which represents the peak of Ceausescu's megalomania. Even though I was
young at the time I remember a little about how this part of the city used to look before they tore it down
for the civic center. Many old beautiful buildings were demolished to make way for this monstrosity. I remember
a joke that was going around at the time: the boulevard that ends with the Parliament Palace (which used to be
called The House of the People) was to be called "The Victory of Socialism" and the joke was that in fact its
name is "The Victory of Socialism against Bucharest". But I know that this building is a big tourist attraction
in Bucharest (the second largest building in the world in terms of surface, competing with the Pentagon in size).
That's why I decided to include it in this guide. I visited the building once, when they opened it for public in
1990 and the rooms are the biggest I've seen in my life. The building is now used as the parliament house as well
as for conferences and exhibitions and can be visited by guided tours. Address: Blvd Unirii
