# Palace of the Parliament

[Romania](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/attractions) › [Muntenia](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/region/muntenia) › [București](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/city/bucuresti)

> The heaviest building in the world, raised by Ceaușescu in the 1980s on Spirii Hill; the guided tour passes through marble-clad state rooms hung with crystal chandeliers weighing several tonnes.

[Top 20 in Romania](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/top-20)

**At a glance:** Castles and palaces in București. Opening hours: daily 09:00 – 17:00. Ticket: 85 lei. The visit takes 1 – 1½ hours. Information verified on 27 September 2026.

## Key facts

- **Opening hours:** daily 09:00 – 17:00 — Entry is by guided tour only, booked by phone at least 24 hours in advance (the booking line runs 09:00–16:00). Arrive 15 minutes before your booked time. Tours run subject to availability; on days with sittings or events some halls may be closed.
- **Ticket:** 85 lei — students 55 lei, children 40 lei
- **Visit duration:** 1 – 1½ hours — standard guided tour
- **With kids:** Yes — hundreds of steps, no lift
- **Parking:** Yes, paid — on-street, few spaces
- **Best season:** All year round — quieter on weekdays
- **Address:** Strada Izvor 2-4, București
- **Coordinates:** 44.4302, 26.0887
- **Phone:** +40 733 558 102
- **Website:** https://cic.cdep.ro/vizitare
- **Wikipedia:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palace_of_the_Parliament
- **Wikidata:** https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q164150
- **Categories:** [Castles and palaces](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/castele-si-palate)

## About Palace of the Parliament

The Palace of the Parliament, long known as the House of the People, is the heaviest building in the world and one of the largest administrative buildings anywhere: 270 m long, 245 m wide, 84 m tall and roughly 365,000 m² of floor space. Nicolae Ceaușescu conceived it after the 1977 earthquake as a single seat for the whole state apparatus and began building it on Spirii Hill in 1984, after an entire district of old Bucharest, with churches, hospitals and thousands of houses, had been demolished.

The project was led by architect Anca Petrescu, who was only 28 when she won the competition, at the head of a team of several hundred architects; in all, more than 100,000 people worked on the site, in three shifts. At the time of the 1989 Revolution the building was about 60% complete. Since 1994 it has housed the Chamber of Deputies and, since 2004, the Senate as well, alongside the Constitutional Court, an international conference centre and the National Museum of Contemporary Art, in the west wing.

Almost everything you see is made of Romanian materials: a million cubic metres of marble, solid wood, carpets woven to order and thousands of crystal chandeliers. The style is an eclectic blend of monumental neoclassicism, with a declared debt to Versailles and Buckingham Palace, which the architects of the day nicknamed "little Pyongyang".

### What you can see

Visits are guided only and cover a small part of the building, through the state rooms on the lower levels: the C.A. Rosetti Hall, a concert hall with a five-tonne chandelier, the Nicolae Bălcescu Hall, the Human Rights Hall, the Union Hall, a vast banqueting hall, and the Alexandru Ioan Cuza Hall, with its ceiling almost 20 m up. The Gallery of Honour and monumental marble staircases link them, and the tour usually ends on the balcony above Constitution Square, with the vista down Bulevardul Unirii in front of you.

### Good to know

Visits are strictly in guided groups, booked by phone in advance, with an original ID document and a security check at the entrance. The lifts are not available to visitors: the route involves several hundred steps. The extended tours, of the panoramic terrace and the basement, were unavailable at the time of checking.

## Don't miss

- The Alexandru Ioan Cuza Hall, the palace's largest room, with its ceiling almost 20 m up and huge crystal chandeliers.
- The five-tonne chandelier in the C.A. Rosetti Hall, the palace's concert and performance hall.
- The Union Hall, the banqueting hall with a carpet of over 1,000 m² woven specially for it.
- The Gallery of Honour and the monumental marble staircases between the state rooms.
- The balcony facing Constitution Square, with Bulevardul Unirii stretching ahead like a Bucharest Champs-Élysées.

## Good to know before you go

### Getting there

**By car:** the palace is in central Bucharest, on Spirii Hill, between Constitution Square and Izvor Park. The visitor entrance is not the main front on Constitution Square but on Strada Izvor, on the north side, from Izvor Park. From Piața Unirii it is a ~10-minute walk along Bulevardul Unirii; from Gara de Nord about 20 minutes by car.

**Public transport:** metro to Izvor station (M1, M3), then a 5–10-minute walk through Izvor Park to the visitor entrance; alternatively, Piața Unirii station and a ~15-minute walk along Bulevardul Unirii. Bus 385 stops close to the visitor entrance on Strada Izvor.

### Where to park

There is no dedicated visitor car park. Spaces on the surrounding streets (Strada Izvor, Calea 13 Septembrie, Bulevardul Națiunile Unite) are few and paid, through the city's parking scheme. The easiest option is to leave the car in the car parks along Bulevardul Unirii or around Piața Unirii and walk; on weekdays the area fills up quickly.

### Fees & discounts

Standard tour: adults 85 lei, students (aged 19–26, with a valid student card) 55 lei, children aged 7–18 40 lei. Free for accompanied children aged 0–6, people with disabilities and their companion, one guide or interpreter for organised groups of at least 15 adults and one accompanying teacher for school groups. Private standard tour (up to 35 people): 3,000 lei. Photography for personal use is allowed; professional photography costs 500 euro/hour and professional filming 5,000 euro/hour. The terrace, basement and combined terrace + basement tours are charged separately but were unavailable at the time of checking. Tickets are sold on site only, at the desk in the Constantin Brâncuși Hall; there are no online tickets.

### Rules

Visits are by guided tour only, in Romanian or English, subject to availability. Booking is compulsory: by phone, at least 24 hours ahead, for 1–9 people; by e-mail (cic.vizite@cdep.ro), at least 3 days ahead, for groups of 10 or more. Check in 15 minutes early at the information desk with your original ID card or passport — driving licences are not accepted. Security screening of people and bags is compulsory; liquids, weapons, alcohol, flags and protest items are not allowed in. Decent dress is required, smoking is banned and touching objects in the building is forbidden; leaving the group or the route is an offence. The lifts are not used: the route is covered on stairs, with several hundred steps, so it is hard to manage in a wheelchair or with a pushchair. School groups are booked separately, through the Chamber of Deputies' Educational Centre.

### Facilities

information desk and ticket office in the Constantin Brâncuși Hall · guiding in Romanian and English · no cloakroom · no online tickets · difficult access for wheelchairs and pushchairs (stairs only) · National Museum of Contemporary Art in the west wing, with a separate entrance and ticket

## Details

- **Construction period:** 1984–1997
- **Architectural style:** monumental neoclassicism
- **Founder:** Nicolae Ceaușescu

## Frequently asked questions about Palace of the Parliament

**How much is a ticket to Palace of the Parliament?**

A ticket to Palace of the Parliament costs 85 lei (students 55 lei, children 40 lei). Standard tour: adults 85 lei, students (aged 19–26, with a valid student card) 55 lei, children aged 7–18 40 lei. Free for accompanied children aged 0–6, people with disabilities and their companion, one guide or interpreter for organised groups of at least 15 adults and one accompanying teacher for school groups. Private standard tour (up to 35 people): 3,000 lei. Photography for personal use is allowed; professional photography costs 500 euro/hour and professional filming 5,000 euro/hour. The terrace, basement and combined terrace + basement tours are charged separately but were unavailable at the time of checking. Tickets are sold on site only, at the desk in the Constantin Brâncuși Hall; there are no online tickets.

**What are the opening hours of Palace of the Parliament?**

Opening hours at Palace of the Parliament: daily 09:00 – 17:00. Entry is by guided tour only, booked by phone at least 24 hours in advance (the booking line runs 09:00–16:00). Arrive 15 minutes before your booked time. Tours run subject to availability; on days with sittings or events some halls may be closed.

**How long does a visit to Palace of the Parliament take?**

A visit to Palace of the Parliament takes about 1 – 1½ hours (standard guided tour).

**Can you visit Palace of the Parliament with kids?**

Yes, Palace of the Parliament is suitable for children (hundreds of steps, no lift).

**Where can I park at Palace of the Parliament?**

There is paid parking at Palace of the Parliament (on-street, few spaces). There is no dedicated visitor car park. Spaces on the surrounding streets (Strada Izvor, Calea 13 Septembrie, Bulevardul Națiunile Unite) are few and paid, through the city's parking scheme. The easiest option is to leave the car in the car parks along Bulevardul Unirii or around Piața Unirii and walk; on weekdays the area fills up quickly.

**How do I get to Palace of the Parliament?**

Palace of the Parliament is located at Strada Izvor 2-4, București. By car: the palace is in central Bucharest, on Spirii Hill, between Constitution Square and Izvor Park. The visitor entrance is not the main front on Constitution Square but on Strada Izvor, on the north side, from Izvor Park. From Piața Unirii it is a ~10-minute walk along Bulevardul Unirii; from Gara de Nord about 20 minutes by car. Public transport: metro to Izvor station (M1, M3), then a 5–10-minute walk through Izvor Park to the visitor entrance; alternatively, Piața Unirii station and a ~15-minute walk along Bulevardul Unirii. Bus 385 stops close to the visitor entrance on Strada Izvor.

**When is the best time to visit Palace of the Parliament?**

The best season for Palace of the Parliament: All year round (quieter on weekdays).

## Nearby attractions

- [People's Salvation Cathedral](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/catedrala-mantuirii-neamului) — Monasteries and churches · București · Free · ½ – 1 hours · 1 km
  Romania's National Cathedral, on Arsenal Hill next to the Palace of the Parliament: a 127 m Neo-Byzantine church with its altar consecrated in 2018 and its painting consecrated in 2025, open to visitors only in announced periods.
- [Cișmigiu Gardens](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/parcul-cismigiu) — Parks and gardens · București · Free · 1 – 1½ hours · 1 km
  Bucharest's oldest public park, laid out from 1847 in the landscape style around a lake, with shady avenues, the Writers' Rotunda and romantic stone corners, right in the city centre.
- [Stavropoleos Monastery](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/manastirea-stavropoleos) — Monasteries and churches · București · Free · 30 min · 1 km
  A small convent in the Old Town with a Brâncoveanu-style church from 1724, façades painted with saints in medallions, an arcaded courtyard and a lapidary of stones from vanished Bucharest churches.
- [Manuc's Inn](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/hanul-lui-manuc) — Monuments and historic sites · București · Free · 45 min · 1 km
  An inn from 1808, built by the merchant and diplomat Manuc Bei beside the Old Court: a listed building with an inner courtyard and wooden balconies, where the 1812 Russo-Turkish peace talks took place.
- [Royal Palace](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/palatul-regal) — Castles and palaces · București · 32 lei · 2½ – 3 hours · Top 100 · 2 km
  The former residence of Romania's kings on Revolution Square, now the National Museum of Art of Romania: the Throne Hall, the Voivodes' Staircase and the country's largest collection of Romanian and European art.
- [Romanian Athenaeum](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/ateneul-roman) — Monuments and historic sites · București · 15 lei · 45 min · 2 km
  The concert hall in the heart of Bucharest, built in 1886–1888 and paid for largely by public subscription: Ionic columns outside, a fresco over 70 m long telling the story of the Romanians inside.

---

Full page: https://peplaiuri.ro/en/palatul-parlamentului
Other languages: Română: https://peplaiuri.ro/palatul-parlamentului.md · Deutsch: https://peplaiuri.ro/de/palatul-parlamentului.md · Italiano: https://peplaiuri.ro/it/palatul-parlamentului.md
Last updated: 27 September 2026
Source: Pe Plaiuri (https://peplaiuri.ro/en) — Guide to tourist attractions in Romania