The Cazinoul din Constanța is the city's emblem — a Belle Époque palace of curving glass, scallop shells and wrought iron set on the very edge of the seafront promenade, with the Black Sea breaking against the rocks below. From most angles it looks like something that has wandered out of Brighton or Ostend and got lost in the wrong climate.
Closed and decaying for decades, the building was extensively restored from 2020 to 2023 and is once again open for guided tours. The interior, with its ornate ceiling, glass roof and ceremonial staircase, is at least as remarkable as the exterior; the seaward verandah is the best sunset spot in the city. The casino itself no longer operates — the building is a cultural and event venue — but the rebirth of the structure has done more than anything else to lift the energy of central Constanța.