National Museum of the Romanian Peasant

About National Museum of the Romanian Peasant

At a glance: Museums and memorial houses in București. Opening hours: Monday–Tuesday closed, Wednesday–Sunday 10:00 – 18:00. Ticket: 20 lei. The visit takes 1½ – 2 hours. Information verified on 9 October 2026.

The red-brick building on Victory Square was designed by the architect Nicolae Ghica-Budești in the Neo-Romanian style, inspired by Brâncoveanu-period architecture and laid out like a monastery around its courtyards. Work began in 1912 and was only completed in 1941, and the central tower with its lookout recalls the bell towers of old monasteries. The institution itself is older: it was founded by royal decree on 13 July 1906, around the collections gathered by Alexandru Tzigara-Samurcaș. After 1953 the building housed the communist Lenin and Stalin Museum and then the Museum of Party History, and the peasant museum only returned in 1990, under the painter Horia Bernea.

The exhibition conceived by Bernea, made more as a meditation on the peasant world than as a row of objects, won the museum the title of European Museum of the Year in May 1996. The collections run to over 100,000 pieces: ceramics, folk costume, textiles, rugs, icons, furniture and objects of wood and iron.

Good to know before you go

Getting there

By car: the museum is in the north of Bucharest, at Victory Square, on Kiseleff Road. From Henri Coandă Airport (Otopeni) it is ~16 km, ~30–40 minutes depending on traffic. From Ploiești you arrive in ~1 hour, and from Brașov (~170 km) in ~2–3 hours, depending on the DN1 and traffic.

Public transport: the nearest metro station is Piața Victoriei (lines M1 and M2), a few minutes' walk; Piața Romană, also on M2, is ~10 minutes' walk. From Gara de Nord railway station (~3 km) you can come by metro or bus.

Where to park

The museum has no car park of its own for visitors. In the area there is paid on-street parking (a high-rate zone in Sector 1), so check the signs and the rate on the spot. On days with fairs or events spaces fill quickly; the metro to Piața Victoriei is the safer option.

Fees & discounts

Adult ticket 20 lei, valid for a whole day at all exhibitions; pensioners 10 lei; pupils and students with an "Euro 26" card, under 30, and adults with a moderate or mild disability pay 5 lei. Entry is free for pre-schoolers and primary school pupils, children up to 18 during school holidays, employees of the museum network and members of ICOM and ICOMOS, accredited guides, people with a severe or marked disability and their companions, veterans and former political prisoners, pensioners on 1 October, and "Euro 26" card holders on the 26th of the month. Tickets can be bought online. Guided tour on request, booked at least 48 hours ahead: 50 lei per visitor in Romanian and 100 lei in foreign languages, or 200 / 400 lei per group of 4–20 people. Creativity workshops: 35 lei per person. Photography and filming with professional equipment cost 400 lei per hour.

Rules

Access to the permanent exhibition is only in a group, entering at fixed times, and a museum attendant accompanies the group for the whole route. The ticket is valid only on the day of issue. In the exhibition halls nothing may be touched, smoking is not allowed and food and drink may not be brought in; large bags and heavy coats are usually left in the cloakroom. Photography with professional equipment is charged.

Facilities

Peasant Art Gallery (museum shop) · the Peasant's Club (restaurant, on Monetăriei Street) · Peasant Museum Cinema · online tickets · guided tours on request · workshops for children and adults · virtual tours on the website