Arcul de Triumf

Romania's triumphal arch on Șoseaua Kiseleff

Address Piața Arcului de Triumf, Bucharest

A 27-metre granite triumphal arch on Șoseaua Kiseleff, the leafy boulevard that runs north from the centre to Herăstrău Park. The current arch was built in 1936 by Petre Antonescu to commemorate Romanian unification after the First World War, replacing two earlier temporary versions. The reliefs on the four faces depict scenes from the war and the founding of Greater Romania.

The arch is climbable on a few open days each year (typically around 1 December, Romania's national day) and the rooftop view of the Kiseleff plane trees is excellent. The rest of the year it is a traffic island, best admired from Berăria H on the north side or while walking down the boulevard from the Village Museum.

things to do sight
A story
The original wooden arch was thrown up in 1878 in just three weeks to welcome Romanian troops returning from the War of Independence. The current stone version, completed in 1936, deliberately echoes its Parisian namesake — Bucharest's old nickname was 'Little Paris' and the architects were determined to live up to it.