The city of Bucharest maybe behind the times compared to the west but this is what makes Bucharest magical. In Romanian, the word "bucurie" means "joy" and the city has had this name since 1459 after Prince Vlad Tepes changed it from its original name Citadel of Dambovita. Bucharest was officially named the capital of Romania in 1872 gradually becoming the economic and industrial centre.
Bucharest greets its visitors with many beautiful areas both modern and historical, from churches decorated with yellow stone angels to peaceful lakes surrounded by parkland.
I have comprised a list of my favorite places to visit to help you plan your perfect day out in the city:-

The Palace of Parliament (Palatul Parlamentului) is a gigantic building in the middle of the city, probably the most famous in Romania. It was built buy the former leader Nicolae Ceausescu during the communist regime to house the institutions of the communist state. Today it plays host to the Romanian Parliament and is the largest office building in Europe. Seeing is believing, when I first visited here my breath was taken away by the sheer size of the building surrounded in landscaped gardens and water fountains. This is a must see, admission is 20 Romanian Lei, plus an extra 30 Lei if you wish to use your camera. Also there is a recently opened contemporary art museum within the palace, admission is 5 Lei.

If art is you passion then the place for you is the Nation Art Museum (Muzeul National de Arta). Founded in 1948, it houses the former royal collection providing a comprehensive insight into Romanian art from early middle ages to the present day. Some of the best pieces on show are "Portrait of a lady" (a painting by Peter Paul Rubens), "By the Sea" (a painting by Nicolae Grigorescu), "The Lamentation" a Moldavian piece made in 1506 from silver gilt and silk thread on silk fabric and "Wisdom of the Earth" made from waxed limestone ( by Constantin Brancusi).

You can take a great walking tour along Calea Victoriei which is great for shopping with many high-class shops and cultural places of interest. The best place on the walk is the Romanian Athenaeum (Ateneul Roman), which was built by French architect Albert Galleron in 1888 with money donated by ordinary people during a fund raising event called "Give a penny for the Athenaeum"

Another famous structure in the city is the Arch of Triumph (Arcul de Triumf) similar to the one in France. It was first built from wood in 1922 to commemorate Romania's Great War dead, but in 1935 it was replaced with a stronger concrete structure. Standing 25 meters high it offers you a fantastic view from the top terrace, between 10am-4pm visitors can climb to the top, its well worth it.

If you want to learn about Romanian people outside of the city, how they live, their icons and clothing, traditions and their past, then there are two places you must visit. The first place is the Nation Village Museum; a life sized museum containing over 50 cottages, churches, workshops, water mills, farmsteads and roadside crosses from all over Romania. This museum is large covering some 15 hectares along the banks of Lake Herastrau. Admission for adults is 4 Lei and children 1.50 Lei. The second place is the Romanian Peasant Museum; it was voted European Museum of the year in 1996. This place also houses a collection of communist-era newspapers and painting from the former dictator Nicolae Ceausescu. Admission here is a bit cheaper, adults 2 Lei and children 0.50 Lei.

The best place to relax is Herastrau Park, surrounded by the finest residential district in Bucharest, where many famous Romanians live. Situated in the north of the city it extends for 187 hectares near to the Triumph Arch and the Village Museum. Within this peaceful setting you can find several restaurants and terraces, playgrounds for the children, a go-kart track, greenhouse and a jetty on the north side of lake for sailing boats which you can hire. In the summer this is the best place to go, it's beautiful.

Finally the money in Romania is going through a big reform, the denomination process of removing four zeros out of the old money.(It can be very confusing ) Example; 100.000 old Lei will be worth 10 new Lei (about 2 English pounds) and 1.000.000 old Lei will be equal to 100 new Lei (about 20 English pounds). There is a very large difference in value between the old and new Leu, so be careful when changing your money. (Only exchange your money at the bank) If you are using dollars or euros, 1$ is worth about 2.9 RON (new money) or 29.000 ROL (old money) and 1 euro is worth about 3.5 RON / 35.000 ROL. To make things a bit simpler, the new banknotes are not different in design terms than the old banknotes. Only the size dimensions are different, having the same dimensions as the euro. Form more in-depth information on Romania's new money go to (www.bnr.ro).