Today, Bucharest - the capital and largest city of Romania - is experiencing renewed vigor. Many 18th and 19th Century palaces and mansions now house elegant beaux-arts casinos, where guests can play blackjack, poker, craps, roulette, baccarat and other games of chance, dine on sumptuous buffets and dance all night to live music. Now renamed the Palace of Parliament, this magnificent building of 1,000 rooms reflects the work of the country's best architects and artisans.Bucharest is one of the few cities in east-central Europe with gambling.

Only Romanian materials and products were used - local marble, cherry and walnut paneling, crystal chandeliers, specially commissioned hand-woven tapestries, carpets and draperies - to build what supposed to be the headquarters of Romania's last communist leader. Many years after the overthrown of the communist regime, the 'House of the People' - the world's second largest building after the US Pentagon - reminds Romanians of the communist years. Remodeled, in the late 19th century, by French and French-trained architects Bucharest even features a Triumphal Arch on the elegant Soseaua Kiseleff, a boulevard longer that Paris' famed Champs-Elysees.Communist rule interrupted Bucharest's cosmopolitan days. His flute playing reportedly dazzled the locals and his hearty wine from nearby vineyards endeared him to the local traders, who gave his name to the place.

The glorious Belle Epoque buildings outside the old city core survived to help continue the capital's reputation as 'Little Paris.'Romanian legend has it that the city of Bucharest was founded by a shepherd named 'Bucur', whose name means 'joy'. Bucharest remains one of Eastern Europe's most attractive capitals, as the Communist Architecture begins to mingle with the old -aided by the leafy tree- lined boulevards, and Western purchase of ex-Communist palaces, some of which have become reasonably attractive hotels and trade centers.

Atlassib brasov