Diversity of landscapes, multitude of historical sites and arts monuments, originality of the folklore and local art: Discover Romania, crossroads between Western and Byzantine influences, and Bucharest, its Capital, which literally means ‘City of Joy’!

Romania is a country in Southeastern Europe. It shares a border with Hungary and Serbia to the west, Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova to the northeast, and Bulgaria to the south. Romania has a stretch of sea coast along the Black Sea.

Owing to its distance from the open sea and position on the southeastern portion of the European continent, Romania has a climate that is transitional between temerate and continental with an average annual temperature around 11°C in the south and 8°C in the north.

Romania is a semi-presidential unitary state. As a nation-state, the country was formed by the merging of Moldavia and Wallachia in 1859 and it gained recognition of its independence in 1878. Later, in 1918, they were joined by Transylvania, Bukovina and Bessarabia. At the end of World War II, parts of its territories (roughly the present day Moldova) were occupied by USSR and Romania became a member of Warsaw Pact. With the fall of the Iron Curtain in 1989, the country started a series of political and economic reforms that allowed Romania to join the European Union on January 1, 2007. Romania has its unique culture, which is the product of its geography and of its distinct historical evolution. Modern Romanian culture emerged and developed over roughly the last 250 years under a strong influence from Western culture, particularly French and German culture.

Bucharest is the capital city and industrial and commercial centre of Romania. It is located in the southeast of the country, and lies on the banks of the Dâmbovita River. It was originally known as Dâmbovita citadel.By European standards, Bucharest is not an old city, its existence first being referred to by scholars as late as 1459. Since then it has gone through a variety of changes, becoming the state capital of Romania in 1862 and steadily consolidating its position as the centre of the Romanian mass media, culture and arts. Its eclectic architecture is a mix of historical, interbellum, Communist-era and modern. In the period between the two World Wars, the city's elegant architecture and the sophistication of its elite earned Bucharest the nickname of the "Paris of the East" or "Little Paris". Although many buildings and districts in the historic centre were damaged or destroyed by war, earthquakes and Nicolae Ceausescu's program of systematization, many survived. In recent years, the city has been experiencing an economic and cultural boom. Economically, the city is the most prosperous in Romania and is one of the main industrial centres and transportation hubs of Eastern Europe. As the most developed city in Romania, Bucharest also has a broad range of educational facilities.