Relics of Communism: 3-uur durende wandeltocht (kleine groepen)

Excellent tour, recommended

Great stories of a bygone time

My husband and I were in Bucharest for the first time. Had we just walked through the city , we would have missed the significance of many of the statues and buildings Mara had taken us to. Mara answered all our questions about life in the time of Communism with great detail. She is very personable and knowledgeable and wonderful tour guide.

Mara was absolutely a wonderful guide. She was extremely knowledgeable and very nice and friendly. Would recommend her to any and everyone.

Elena provided a very interesting behind the scenes perspective of life during and downfall of Communism. Was also able to provide tour of areas that you can only reach on foot and are not part of normal bus tours. We were a small group of only three people, which added a very personal side of tour.

Elena was a great guide. Friendly and knowledgeable, she was able to put what we saw into context and answer all of my questions. I feel I know so much more about Bucharest/Romania’s communist history because of this tour.

Romania and Bucharest is one of the last European countries I had left to visit, and for a recent trip that took in Odesa and Chisianu, my last stop before flying home was Bucharest. I had a basic understand of Romanian history, but I like to get deeper into a street level feel for the places I visit, and this tour was right up my street. Booked through tripadvisor, and was shocked a week beforehand when I got a whatsapp message from Elena asking if I would not mind joining a larger tour and getting a further hour at no extra cost. Being someone who likes to get the most out of new cities I visit, I had no issue with this. Met at the new spot, and Elena showed up right on time. A LOT of ground was covered in 4 hours, and to be honest, maybe the last 30 minutes seemed to drag on a little bit as people started to get tired and minds turned to other things, but Elena kept the tour really interesting and I really enjoyed it. You walk right around the centre of Bucharest, and no matter what direction we walked, we seemed to find ourselves within stones throw of the Parliament building. Fantastic insight into what life was like during Communist times under Nicolae Ceaușescu, with details on where people lived, what conditions were like, how the city grew and ultimately what lead to Ceaușescu downfall. The first part of the tour you wind your way down to the Nation's Heroes Memorial, with great views of the city, and after that you start to make your way to the Palace of Parliament. Once this bit is over with you finally make your way up the Ministry of Internal Affairs, where Ceaușescu made his final speech in power of Romania. As said, maybe the last 20 minutes got a little bit boring, but for 4 hours it truly was a excellent tour and thanks to Elena, came away knowing a lot more on Bucharest and the history of Romania than I did before.

I can not say enough positive things about our tour of Bucharest. Elena was willing to work with us to create an itinerary which encompassed everything we wanted to see in relation to communist Bucharest. She even found us a great authentic lunch place, and arranged for the purchase of tickets at the Parliament! Thank you so much Elena, and we look forward to seeing you the next time we are in Romania.

Our guide Elena went through the trouble of contacting me a few days before the tour to remind me as I booked it quite a few months ago. A good professional touch. We met Elena and she was a fantastic guide who was most knowledgeable and had an answer for every question we asked. She give good concise history of Bucharest, the rise and era of Ceausescu and his ultimate downfall. Visited some interesting spots including a walk up Unirii Boulevard to the Palace of Parliament, and the former Commmunist Party HQ where Ceausescu gave his last speech. She also showed us adjacent buildings with bullet holes from the Revolution violence. Elena gave us awesome recommendation for lunch (in the Old Town) - true to her word, there was no waitstaff out front hassling is to come in. Waking tour lasted 3hrs. Brilliant tour, worth doing.

We just finished our tour with Elena and have to say it was fantastic! She is super knowledgeable - about Romania, history, culture and in particular the communist period. We covered a lot of the city in our walking tour and had some great conversations. Plenty of breaks too and a little subway trip too. One of the best city tours ever. Thank you!