Bucharest is one of the few cities in east-central Europe with gambling. Many 18th and 19th Century palaces and mansions now house elegant beaux-arts casinos, where guests can play roulette, baccarat and other games of chance, dine on sumptuous buffets and dance all night to live music.
Today, Bucharest reflects an interesting heritage of mixed cultures influenced by: the old Romanian aristocracy educated in France, the German King Carol I, and the communist society. Known for its wide, elegant boulevards, beautiful Belle Époque buildings and a reputation for the high life, Romania's capital was once known as the "Little Paris.
Bucharest has 37 museums, 22 theaters, opera house and concert halls, 18 art galleries, lots of libraries and bookstores.
In the XIV the century, after the political unity of the feudal states and the creation of Valachia, the small village on the shore of Dambovita river developed fast and becom a flourishing little town. Bucharest`s first documentary mentioning, dated September 20, 1459 was signed by the famous ruller Vlad the Impeller. Later on, in 1659, it effectively became the capital of Valachia, with a spectacular turn into a commercial,economic and cultural center.
In 1862, there years later after, Alexandru Ioan Cuza became the ruller of United Principalities ( Moldova and Romanian Country ), Bucharest became the capital of Romania
Remodeled, in the late 19 th centuries, by French architects, Bucharest even features a Triumphal Arch on the elegant Kiseleff Avenue, a boulevard longer that Paris' famed Champs-Elysees.
Communist rule interrupted Bucharest's cosmopolitan days. Many years after the overthrown of the communist regime, the "House of the People" - the world's second largest building after the US Pentagon - reminds Romanians of the communist years.