Once known as the "Little Paris", Bucharest, Romania's capital, is known for its wide, tree-lined boulevards, and glorious Belle Époque buildings. There is even an Arc de Triomphe on a boulevard longer than the Champs Elysees, with a range of trees that flower beautifully in the spring. You will be intrigued by the city's eclectic mixture of architecture, from old monasteries to Orthodox Churches, Second Empire mansions, the stolid Stalinist architecture of the communist years and the colossal Parliament House, the second largest building in the world after the Pentagon.