Traveling Huntleys

Inspiring travel stories, tips, and guides from a couple exploring the world one destination at a time.

Bucharest

Snagov Palace and Monastery, Bucharest, Romania

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Last Updated: May 2026

The day before we had toured the Palace of the Parliament in Bucharest — a building designed to project absolute power at enormous human cost. On our second day from Giurgiu, we drove north of the city toward Snagov Lake for something entirely different: an elegant royal lakeside palace, a medieval island monastery, and one of the most persistent legends in Romanian history. Sandy and I had barely recovered from Ceaușescu’s colossus when the pine trees opened up and there was the lake, calm and silver in the morning light, with a small white church visible on an island in the middle.

Sandy Huntley on the garden path leading toward Snagov Lake, Snagov Palace, Romania
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Palace of the Parliament, Bucharest, Romania

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Last Updated: May 2026

The River Duchess docked at Giurgiu, a port town on the Romanian bank of the Danube, and we boarded motorcoaches for the 65-kilometer drive north into Bucharest. The approach to the city is unremarkable until suddenly it isn’t — the Boulevard Unirii opens up wide and at its far end, filling the entire horizon, sits the Palace of the Parliament. Sandy said nothing for a moment. Then: “That’s one building?” One building. The Palace of the Parliament in Bucharest, Romania is one of the world’s most awe-inspiring and controversial architectural achievements, a colossal structure that dominates the cityscape and serves as a dramatic symbol of the country’s complex modern history.

Sandy Huntley on the grand marble staircase inside the Palace of the Parliament, Bucharest, Romania
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