Universitate

The Universitate area has direct access to the CBD and Centru office zones, where more than 75,000 people work.

District 3 covers the eastern and south-eastern part of Bucharest. With 475,633 residents, it is the most populous of the six administrative sectors, accounting for 22.6% of Bucharest's population of 2,108,049. Spread over 34 km², it also holds the largest housing stock in the city, at 204,821 dwellings, or 18.9% of the capital's total of 1,082,392.

About the area

The area, at a glance

Universitate is kilometre zero of urban life: theatres, universities, metro and the Old Town within walking distance. Living here attracts a young public and investors focused on short- and medium-term rentals. Well-maintained heritage buildings make the difference.

History

Piața Universității got its current name in 1857, shaped after the Haussmannian model of the Parisian “Grande Croisée”. The University of Bucharest was founded in 1864, and its building dominates the square alongside Suțu Palace, built between 1833 and 1835 by Viennese architects in neo-Gothic style. The equestrian statue of Mihai Viteazul, the work of Carrier-Belleuse, was unveiled in 1874, Bucharest's first equestrian monument, followed by the statues of Heliade-Rădulescu (1880), Gheorghe Lazăr (1886) and Spiru Haret (1935). Next door, Lipscani developed from the 18th century as a commercial artery under Constantin Brâncoveanu, with inns such as Hanul Gabroveni (1739). The nationalisation of 1948 and the allocation of homes to marginalised communities in the 1980s accelerated the physical decay of the area; only in the early 2010s did restoration works on Lipscani uncover the ruins of a medieval caravanserai beneath the street.

Amenities and access

The area concentrates a tight institutional and cultural core: the University of Bucharest building, the “I.L. Caragiale” National Theatre, Suțu Palace (today the Bucharest Municipality Museum) and the InterContinental hotel. Four statues, of Mihai Viteazul, Ion Heliade-Rădulescu, Gheorghe Lazăr and Spiru Haret, mark the square.

Universitate metro station, on line M2, right in the square, with Pasajul Universității for crossing underground on foot
The junction of Bd. Regina Elisabeta, Bd. I.C. Brătianu, Bd. Nicolae Bălcescu and Calea Victoriei
Direct pedestrian link to Lipscani and the Old Town (Sectors 3 and 5), a dense area of restaurants and bars, with restored historic inns such as Hanul Gabroveni (1739) and Hanul cu Tei (1833)
A short walk to Piața Unirii