You can get to know a culture and its people in many ways. Apart from direct contact with the people, places, and present events, meetings with the country museum exhibits are moments when you get closer to the soul, heart and intimate structure of that people.
Museums are part of the past that you cannot find during a walk or wandering the shops. They are a transposed space, a time suggestion. They are collections and rare things that together make up a profile of a nation’s spirit. History, art and ethnographic museums, a museum of gold, another of wood … all are cultural legacies that the traveller interested in a better understanding of the Romanians and Romania must not miss.

Romanian Peasant Museum – Bucharest. Perhaps the best and most interesting museum in Bucharest, with more than 100.000 objects gathered throughout the years from villages all over Romania, the Museum of the Romanian Peasant present the simple but ingenious world of the Romanian peasant.

Since 1990, under the management of Horia Bernea, noteworthy representative of the Romanian Fine Arts, the museum has become an authentic space that depicts the rural universe, recreating at the same time contexts and life experiences. Ceramics dishes, interior fabrics, glass icons, triptychs, furniture items and traditional costumes from all Romanian provinces seem to come to life on a display surface of more than 8000 m². Interestingly, the museum shows but also hides.

“Dimitrie Gusti” Village Museum – Bucharest. One of the most beautiful areas in Bucharest, situated near the graceful silhouette of The Triumph Arch, is the “Dimitrie Gusti” National Village Museum. A favourite of those who desire a quiet stroll among the well-preserved old trees, the National Village Museum hides a fascinating world completely independent of the city life of the capital.

A real oasis of tranquillity and relaxation, the splendid scenery provided by the immediate presence of The Herăstrău Lake there is one of the first open air museums in the world.

338 monuments of traditional Romanian architecture stand alongside shadowy alleys in an excellent reproduction of the geographic vicinity criterion of Romania. It makes up a 70.000 m² perimeter of the museum. The monuments are totally original and date between the 17th and early 20th centuries.

Romania’s National Art museum – Bucharest A modern and elegant museum in a marvellous classic edifice, it is all that the art and beauty lover can wish to experience. A place to learn something new and rejoice sight and soul in the perfect harmony of art, the massive and impressive silhouette of the Royal Palace today houses the National Art Museum was raised in several stages between 1927-1937, obeying the sobriety of its official function with channelled columns, engaged pilasters, Corinthian capitals, and stone-plated façades. Ever since 1948, huge rooms with splendid decorations have changed their destination, housing art treasures of the national artistic patrimony. Divided into several departments, the museum is organized in 3 main galleries: The Gallery of Old Romanian Art, The Gallery of Modern Romanian Art, and The Gallery of European Art.

Displayed in the generous space of the 7 rooms on the 1st floor, the 9,500 pieces of old Romanian art represent the most valuable and complete collection of this type in the country. Apart from the frescos and icons, embroideries, miniature manuscripts, sculptures and even whole intact altars, the 2 rooms house lay and cult objects made of precious metals and inestimable value.

The Gallery of Modern Romanian Art delights visitors with 700 paintings and sculptures displayed on the 2nd floor. The exhibits follow the evolution of the Romanian fine arts movement from the first decades of the 19th century until the second half of the 20th century. “The Blue Room” on the 2nd floor of the museum is dedicated to the creation of Constantin Brâncuşi, worldwide famous Romanian sculptor, considered the founder of modern sculpture. The art pieces date mainly since the first creation period of the artist: “Child Head”, “Suffering”, “Prayer”, and “Miss Pogany” are just a few of the pieces that can be admired here.

”George Enescu” Museum – Bucharest This museum, dedicated to the most famous Romanian composer, is housed by Cantacuzino Palace, one of the most elegant buildings in Bucharest. The palace once belonged to Grigore Cantacuzino – prime minister of Romania at the end of the 19th century, considered the wealthiest man in Romania in 1899 and nicknamed “The Nabob” – who hired the Romanian architect I. D. Berindei to design the smartest residence in the Bucharest of those years.

Also known under the name of “The House with Lions”, the palace built in neo-classic style combined with Art Nouveau elements has an impressive entrance guarded by 2 majestic stone lions. In the sumptuous interior, visitors can admire paintings of some great Romanian artists: G. D. Mirea, Nicolae Vermont, Costin Petrescu.

The museum exhibits numerous documents and personal objects of the musician: the violin that Enescu received as gift at the age of 4, the scores of his famous works, and his diplomas and medals, including that of Honor of the French Legion. Enescu’s portrait, made by the artist Corneliu Baba, is truly special!

Romania’s History National Museum – Bucharest Palaeolithic cultures, the Geto-Dacian culture and civilization, the Roman wars, the medieval rulers, the two world wars, the communist dictatorship. Numerous exhibits, arranged in more than 60 rooms of the National History Museum, are evidence of the events that mark Romania’s history, from the oldest times until today.

Among exceptional exhibits housed in this museum, there are replicas of the bas-relief's depicted on “Traian’s Column”, the original being in the centre of Rome, and being dedicated to the commemoration of emperor Traian’s victory in the campaign to conquer Dacia – the state which, in antiquity was to be found on these lands. Another valuable exhibit is the Treasure from Pietroasa, also known as “The Hatching Hen with the Golden Chickens.” It now contains 12 pieces made of gold, weighing 19 kg, which definitely attract attention and stir the imagination.

”Grigore Antipa” Natural History National Museum – Bucharest The rooms of the museum, built 100 years ago for these collections, carry visitors to the center of the earth, among rocks and minerals, towards planets and meteorites. It is a journey through time, from the oldest ages of life on earth, among the dinosaurs and mammoths, through to today. It also features weird animals and prehistoric people; the biggest and most impressive butterflies collection in the world; the most valuable exhibit of the museum - an almost 5m tall skeleton, found on Romanian territory, of a Deinotherium Gigantissimum; and huge herbivorous mammal that lived about 6 million years ago.

A visit here is a fascinating voyage through time and space, a walk on the entire globe, from one continent to another, from jungle to desert, from the caves in the depths of the earth to the frozen wide spaces of the polar lands, from mountain lakes to the oceans’ abyss.

”Hanul Domnesc” (The Princely Inn) Ethnographic Museum – Suceava Together with the churches and residences, the Middle Ages have also left other monuments, which carry the marks of glorious tomes, as heritage to its descendants. The Hanul Domnesc (The Princely Inn) in Suceava is one of the best examples of these residence. It houses the Ethnographical Museum.
When it was first built, The Princely Inn housed remarkable guests who belonged to the princely court: foreign high-ranking magistrates and high-clerical magistrates. Entering the old building you suddenly feel yourself carried into another epoch. At any moment, you expect to be greeted and welcome by a robust and talkative innkeeper, or to reach a saloon where vital plans for the country are being discussed by the boyards in mantles and fur caps, over a red and perfumed wine carafe. The steps will carry you towards the museum rooms arranged in an original and surprising way: to the private room, to the living room full of game trophies, to the former kitchen, to the inn hall and the bedroom.

In The Princely Inn you will discover the traditional lifestyle of the inhabitants of Bucovina and the things they needed for their everyday life. You will find and put together wonderful ethnographical items from all around the area: folk costumes from Radauti and the region of the Dornas, items forged in the skilful hands of the craftsmen, and all sorts of pots and domestic clay items, furniture and decorative pieces made of wood.

“Romulus Vuia ” Ethnographic Park – Cluj For the last seventy-five years, the Ethnographic Museum of Transylvania has been one of the biggest such museums in Romania. During these years, numerous researchers have worked with the various museum collections, gathering several thousands ethnographic objects organized in the following Sections: Occupations, Dwelling, Ceramics, Textiles, Costume, Customs, The Open Air Section, and The International Section. Here there can be found numerous peasant plumbing, households, workshop-houses and churches specific to the regions of Transylvania.

Bruckenthal Museum – Sibiu Opened in 1817 to display an impressive painting collection belonging to the Baron Samuel von Brukental, Governor of Transylvania and a great art lover, Brukental Museum houses works from Dutch, Belgian, German and French masters, as well as rare books and an impressive general museum collections. The palace that houses the museum is among a few such edifices where decorative details are preserved in their initial shape, a treasure of the Baroque art of Central Europe.

ASTRA Traditional Folk Civilization Museum ASTRA – Sibiu In the intense, pastoral shadow of Dumbrava forest, near Sibiu, the Museum of Traditional Folk Civilization ASTRA unfolds across 96 hectares. A traditional Romanian village, it features hundreds of original buildings; houses from different parts of Romania; ancient rural equipment; traditional means of transportation; mills, joiner’s shops, smithies, ovens; and, many other time-honoured features that make this place unique. A visit to the ASTRA Museum is for sure a unique experience for all travellers. You shall never forget the carriage drives along the shadowed allies, or the horse-driven sleighs amongst the small houses covered by winter snow. A traditional village visit is not the only special experience offered by the museum. A row in a long fishing boat on the crystal clear lake, tasting the traditional dishes and ales brought here from all over the country, and lodging in special spaces are just some of the surprises by which this museum amazes its visitors. Quite romantic are the wind and water mills, with their wheels still powered by the force of the wind and water. At night, small lights bring to life every corner of the park.

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