Unirii Boulevard and Unirii Square

Look west: the boulevard runs dead straight, with fountains down the middle and blocks with identical façades on either side, until it hits the Palace of the Parliament. Nothing here is accidental. This is the axis of the Centrul Civic, the Civic Centre with which Ceaușescu wanted to turn Bucharest into the capital of a new socialist man.

1Victory of Socialism

In the original plan it was called Victoria Socialismului Boulevard, Victory of Socialism. Work was launched on 25 June 1984, the same day as the palace. Ceaușescu is said to have demanded that it be slightly longer and wider than the Champs-Élysées in Paris; the figures vary from source to source, but it is roughly three kilometres long.

2What disappeared

Much of historic Bucharest lies under the tarmac. The Brâncovenesc Hospital, founded by the family of Prince Brâncoveanu, the Mina Minovici forensic institute, the Cahal Cicu synagogue and the churches of Sfânta Vineri and Albă-Postăvari were all demolished. Other buildings, such as Mihai Vodă Church and the Synod Palace, were saved by being moved on rails.

For centuries the square you are standing in was a market beside the Dâmbovița river. Today the river runs in a channel beneath it, out of sight. In 1989 the boulevard's blocks were still half-built; after the Revolution they were finished and the boulevard got its current name, Unirii, «of the Union».

A boulevard designed for parades, not for strolling.

3What to look for

• The fountains lined up along the middle of the boulevard.
• The uniform façades, with repeated balconies and rooflines.
• The Palace of the Parliament, closing the vista.