Buildings with a history...

This enormous building, visible from kilometers away, from the other end of Str. Stirbei Voda, was designed by Duiliu Marcu (also responsible for the Palatul Victoriei) and carries his trademark linearity. The Academy was one of the few places in Bucharest that saw live action during the relatively peaceful handover of power from Marshall Antonescu to King Mihai in August 1944. A small plaque in the courtyard commemorates the soldiers killed while successfully attacking the building, which played host to German military 'advisers' during World War II and which served as a last bastion of Nazism in Romania.

Possibly the finest building in the city, the Romanian Atheneum, with its sublime baroque cupola, stands proudly at the flux of the city's busiest public square, competing with the Athenee Palace Hilton hotel, the Royal Palace and the old national library for attention. The work of French architect Albert Galleron, who also designed the National Bank of Romania, the building was inaugarated on Febrary 26, 1888, and was built almost entirely with money donated by ordinary citizens of the capital, when a campaign called 'Give a penny for the Atheneum' rescued the project from folly after the original patrons ran out of funds. Today the seat of the Romanian Philarmonic George Enescu, the auditorium can seat 1,000 spectators comfortably, and is renowned worldwide for its outstanding acoustics.

The National Bank of Romania (BNR) stands on the site of one of the most famous buildings in Romania: the Hanul Serban Voda, which from 1678 until 1883 was the home of various things, from a pub to an inn to a girl's dormitory! After two fires gutted the buidling, however, the land was levelled and in 1883 work began on the BNR, completed to the designs of French architects Cassien Bernard and Albert Galleron in 1885. Built in a French, neo-classical style, the building boasts a facade with Corintian columns, and an enormous central banking hall. The passing of time has seen the building become rather hemmed in, but it remains a classic worthy of admiration.

This beautiful banking hall was built between 1913 and 1925, and is one the most beautiful buildings in the ocuntry. A remarkable work of architecture (designed by Petre Antonescu) it was originally the home of the Marmorosch-Blank bank (one of the country's oldest) before nationalisation in 1948 saw it become the Banca de Investitii. Today the main Bucharest branch of the Banca Romana pentru Dezvoltare-Societe General, it retains 30 of its original counters beneath a stunning, stained-glass domed ceiling. Note the art deco lamps on the marble plated staircase. No photographs please: this is a functioning bank.

Standing guard, imposingly, at the head of B-dul Kogalniceanu, the Casa Centrala a Armatei, known to all as Cercul Militar, was built in 1912 on the site of the former Sarindar Monastery (the name of which is preserved in the name of the fountain directly in front of the building). This neo-classic masterpiece, designed by Romanian architect Dimitrie Maimaroiu, was built to host the social, cultural and educational needs of the Romanian army. Banquets and regimental balls are still hosted in the main function rooms, while upstairs are the army's library, offices and classrooms for officer instruction. The main part of the building is out of bounds to civilians, but the lovely terrace is open to all.

An impressive edifice standing somewhat menacingly at the entrance to the capital, Casa Scanteii (as it is still universally known) was designed by architect Horia Maicu and completed in 1956, one year after the strikingly similar Palace of Science and Culture in Warsaw, Poland. Originally housing almost all of the capital's printing presses and newsrooms, it today carries out much the same function, with the addition of the Bucharest Stock Exchange in the southern wing.

The home of the National Savings Bank is one of the most fabulous facades in the city: the enormous arch that houses the entrance, with its Corinthian columns, is a highlight of any architectural tour of the city. Built during the last decade of the nineteenth century, to the designs of French architect Paul Gottereanu, the building is alas less impressive on the inside. Admire from afar and move on.

An enormous, permanent big-top with seating for more than 3,500 spectators, Bucharest's circus continues to host excellent performances, put on by both local and touring circuses. Built in 1960, the circus is the centrepiece of a small but lovely park.

Today the home of the Romanian government, this linear construction, with its marble facade, was built in 1937 to the designs of Duiliu Marcu, originally to house the Foreign Ministry (now elsewhere). Entrance is granted only to those on government business, and to various groups of protesters, who gather here almost daily to argue their case.

Romania's supreme court is housed in a monumental but rather run down building on the banks of the Dambovita. Dating from 1890, the Palace of Justice was designed by Romanian architect Adrian Ballu in the style of the French renaissance. The once impressive facade is almost 100 metres long. After years of neglect (though it remains in constant use), many of the building's windows are broken, and what shoud be one of the architectural highlights of the city is in fact something of an eyesore, and will remain so until much needed repairs are carried out.

The rather startling Sala Palatului, with its concaved roof, was designed by Tiberiu Ricci (also responsible for the TVR building) and built in 15 months from January 1959 to April 1960. The massive auditorium, which seats 3,000, was originally used to host the five-yearly communist party congress. It today plays host to exhibitions and concerts, including, last year, a visit from the Chippendales, performing on the very stage that Nicolae Ceausescu onced used to deliver his vision of a multi-laterally developed socialist society. The poor man must be turning in his grave.

The oldest hospital in Bucharest, dating from 1704, Coltea was built on land belonging to the Vacaresti family, who at the time owned great swathes of the capital. The original building was destroyed by an earthquake in 1802, and the neo-classic building we see today in fact dates from 1888. The church that dominates the right hand side of the hospital is the original 1701 construction, and is currently undergoing much needed renovation. The hospital remains a functioning municipal health centre, and you may enter only if you have official business. The church, however, renovations or not, is open to all, and the saintly silhouettes on the ceiling are admirable.

A building in two parts, the original National Theatre was built between 1967 and 1970, to the design of three Romanian architects, Horia Maicu, Romeo Belea and Nicolae Cucu. Originally styled to honour the architecture of Moldova's famous monasteries, it was unfortunately ruined in 1984-5 when the concrete casing that now stands gloomily in the shadow of the Inter Continental was placed over the earlier structure.

What was formerly the main building of the University of Bucharest was built over a twelve year period from 1857 to 1869 at the behest of Alexandru Ion Cuza, at the time Prince of Romania.