Bucharest

Bucharest is Romania's largest city and capital, known for its wide, tree-lined boulevards, glorious Belle Époque buildings and a reputation for the high life (which in the 1900s earned its nickname of "Little Paris"). Today the city is a bustling metropolis, with over 1.88 million inhabitants, accounting for 9 percent of Romania’s population and now ranks as the 6th largest city in European Union. 

As the main cultural and educational centre of Romania, with over 220,000 students, Bucharest hosts 16 public universitiest. Overall, there are 159 faculties in 34 universities. The University of Bucharest was also included in the 2012 QS World University Rankings Top 200.

All younger educated inhabitants of Bucharest speak English reasonably well and are proficient in one or more second languages, such as French, Spanish or Italian. Beyond that, as in any major city, other languages spoken include Chinese, Arabic, Turkish, and Hungarian.

Bucharest is the centre of the Romanian economy and industry, accounting for around one-third of the country's GDP and about one-quarter of its industrial production. Nearly all large Romanian companies, especially from the Financial Services sector, are headquartered in Bucharest, which also hosts an active stock exchange. Bucharest is also the largest IT centre in Romania with a community of over 60,000 professionals and over 5,000 IT graduates are added up every year. 

Bucharest has the largest transport network in Romania, and one of the largest in Europe (two international airports, metro and surface transportation networks).