The House of Ceaușescu — Attraction in Bucharest

Visiting this house is different, and to take the most out of it, one needs to be prepared with knowing why most Romanians are very sensitive when talking about Ceausescu. My 5 stars are NOT praising that.

Even today, 35 years after he is gone, the tour guides themselves are sensitive to the memories linked to this place and not in a good way. [My wording had to navigate Google posting policies, so some use of my words may not explicitly state what I originally stated]. Tour guides dislike every piece of history associated with this place and connect its value to zero. That is incorrect and I will explain why.

The value of history cannot be zero and cannot be negative. History is history and it teaches us something no matter how it was. So, have that in mind when visiting this place because you will see traces of people one rarely comes across [names also removed because they seem to be restricted by Google policy]. We are all reluctant to accept them, but this does not remove them from history! Tour guides should be instructed how to properly present them in the historical context. It is a huge opportunity to understand why these historical facts happened.

Last and most important is how many comments one will hear over and over again about Ceausescu "taste" in design. [again, words adapted to comply with Google policy]. Personally, I heard too much of it during my tour and that was part of what determined me to share these thoughts. All historical figures put a fingerprint on their places. Some of them were [not nice] people, but what they left behind has equivalent historical value with those who proved their finest taste for art and design. The value of the artistic craft remains exquisite regardless of the piece being placed in the [unfitting] environment, combination, or vicinity. If a piece of art was ordered to be crafted [policy-driven word choice] in an unfortunate color mis-match, the artist flawless craft is still a master piece because was made by the best hands in the country. These hands were rarely allowed to craft anything else for public view and that is important to learn. Looking at many art or furniture pieces in this house, I saw Romanian master-hands that perfected artistic techniques not shown anywhere else in the world ever. The lack of pride for their work is not fair. Camouflaging the true value of these artistic works behind the [Google policy issue again] for those who commissioned them proves a particular type of misguided approach. Don't fall for that. Look beyond the color and style. The value here is neither color nor style. The value here is mastery demonstrated by artists you never heard of. Their life mission was to ONLY create what you see here. Whatever [policy issue] idea the [policy issue] had. These hands were not allowed to argue the color and style, but they created flawlessly in techniques you will not see anywhere else. This is not insignificant. This needs to be talked about.

I hope the right people read this and make proper adjustments in how they present this place. Please search the archives and find the names, the skills, the context, and tell the true story of these artists. This has true value! This house is not only about its past owner. Behind it were masters and craftsmanship that are still awaiting to be recognized. They perfected their techniques while locked in and isolated from others like them. Bringing them to the light of the day today is a long due duty. Talk about their abilities because you have every reason to...

The guide was absolutely horrible and incompetent! And I have a big understanding for tour guides since i am one myself and also work at a historic palace. She didnt know anything, in each room we had 2 sentences which said whether it was a bathroom/bedroom/living room - no sh sherlock! She didnt say anything about ceausescu‘s life/family/daily routine and didnt event mention the 1989 romanian revolution. Very shady. The palace was presented as an example of splendid and grandeous architecture - sometimes the guide added some occasional details (which i could read on the descriptive stands in each room). When i asked her even a simple question like - did the romanian public know about this villa? She said she doesnt know. Later on in the tour she looked at some random picture of ceausescu‘s in the garden/park and added - „you know maybe they knew about it since there are pictures“ like if it couldnt be some random park outside. I know critical thinking isnt a part of job requirement but wow. Fyi i googled it later on and the public didnt know. She mentioned some things like „this chess was given to ceausescu by gorbachov“ - okay - why? What was the occasion? She gave info without a context and sorry when i see that a room contains a toilet i can deduce that it is a bathroom. The detail that „its not made from gold just plated with gold“ ? What? Everything was always plated with gold, gold is a soft material. When i asked her some other question she just shrugged her shoulders and looked away. When i then asked her who administered the museum she didnt know as well. Then i asked someone in the building - since the guide was incompetent and gave me false information - what was the reception of the romanian public when the villa first opened to visitors and the person (clearly working in the building) brushed the question off with saying „i dont know i dont work here“.

Furthermore - where does the money from these tours go? Asking 75 lei for an entry? And you dont even see the whole villa (bunker or other rooms are not included) Hadnt the dictator taken enough money from the people? At least to romanians (i an not romanian and dont mind paying) it should be free.

The film also sounded like a clear piece of propaganda. Overall very shady business (actually the villa was opened only 8 years ago). When you paint Ceausescu as a „lover of arts and architecture“ with such a decorative house and present him as someone who was given gifts by other political leaders what is the message? Sound like as if they were laughing into the faces of the romanian public.

Oh yeah and you cant take pictures inside. Maybe because if i showed them to some romanian shepherd in the south of romania he would start another revolution.

So summa summarum Incompetent guide + overpriced + no photos + weird historical interpretation presented to outsiders. buy...

This review is more about the guide we had than the Ceausescu House itself.

When we started, the guide said in a sarcastic manner we all had to walk single filed and that anyone who didn't follow the rules could be kicked out, since he was the supervisor, and these were the rules. This would end up being a recurrent theme, as he was very complacent about himself and the role he had.

Throughout the guided tour, he would quickly give a 10 second explanation about the room we were entering, without giving further details about what exactly we were seeing, or any facts or interesting things about the Ceausescu family. We were generally told this is the office, there is a bedroom and bathroom. There is a lot of gold. So mo things we couldn't see for ourselves. In some other rooms he would say, here is some venetian crystal or transylvanian crystal/carpets without saying which ones they were exactly as there were often multiple options. In not a single moment did he give extra explanation about a painting, rug, ceramic or other object.

Furthermore, when entering another room, only the first five people would hear whose room it was, or what function it had, since he never waited for even half the group to follow. He never looked interested or gave the impression you could ask questions. If there would've even been time for that since he was constantly rushing everyone.

This guide ruined what could've been a very interesting tour. If tours are with a mandatory guide, they should at least be good.

What the tours themselves are concerned, slightly less people would be better, to feel less crammed into some rooms, and see everything better. Some extra time would also be useful since it could be used for actual explanations. Then what the wardrobe of Elena Ceausescu is concerned, it is a shame that when the guide, who finally gave a little bit of information, says there are more than 700 pieces of clothing present from Elena, we can only see about 20, of which only 2 were displayed on a mannequin. Even though in those areas, up to 10 mannequins could've been placed and the other closets could've been opened, to see she actually had that many outfits.

Currently, the visit is...