CEC Palace

A Belle Époque landmark on Calea Victoriei, the CEC Palace is the ornate former headquarters of Romania's oldest savings bank and one of the defining monuments of Bucharest's grand nineteenth-century boulevard. Its great glass-and-steel dome and colonnaded facade capture the confidence of a capital that once styled itself the Paris of the East.

Completed in 1900, it was designed by the French architect Paul Gottereau in an eclectic Beaux-Arts style, all the fashion in the Romanian capital of the era. The central entrance is framed by an arched portico topped with sculpture and crowned by a monumental glazed cupola, while smaller domes mark the corners. The building went up on Calea Victoriei opposite the former princely court, deliberately projecting the solidity and modernity of the national savings institution known as CEC.

Inside, the banking hall matches the exterior, with a soaring domed space, decorative ironwork and period detailing that recall the great commercial palaces of Western Europe. For more than a century it functioned as a working bank, and its image has become shorthand for the historic centre, appearing on postcards and in countless photographs of the boulevard.

For visitors the palace is chiefly an architectural set piece. It stands directly across from the National History Museum and within a short walk of the old princely court and the Lipscani quarter, so it is an easy addition to a stroll through the centre. Public access to the interior is limited because it remains an operating financial building, so most travellers admire it from the street, where the facade and dome are the main draw. It is especially striking in evening light, and combines naturally with the surrounding museums, churches and cafes of the old town.