Night of the Museums in Bucharest is one of the most anticipated events for those who love to immerse themselves in the city’s cultural vibe. Organised all over Europe, Night of the Museums allows visitors to glimpse what museums in Bucharest offer throughout the year.
Unfortunately for Bucharest, this year’s edition of the Night of Museums is not coordinated by the National Network of Museums in Romania, which lets the individual museums decide whether to organise the event. This led to an unprecedentedly low number of institutions offering the general public a free-entry experience during the European event.
Night of the Museums in Bucharest 2025
This year’s Night of the Museums edition takes place on Saturday, May 17. Here is our selection of the best locations to visit during the Night of the Museums in Bucharest 2025.
A Night at the Museum of the Romanian Peasant
The National Museum of the Romanian Peasant, On European Museum Night, Saturday, May 17, 2025, you can visit the ground floor of the museum with the exhibition „Christian Law.” Each room talks about the order of beliefs and the beauty of peasant art. In addition, six temporary exhibitions and the Fair of Saints Constantine and Helen will be open.
The visiting schedule on Museum Night is between 6:00 PM and 8:00 PM (the last visitor’s entry time). Admission is free.
A night at the Museum of Natural History – Grigore Antipa
The National Museum of Natural History „Grigore Antipa” has prepared a special program for the European Museum Night. The program will begin on Saturday, May 17, 2025, at 5:00 PM and end at 11:00 PM (the announced closing time representing the last visitor’s entry time).
Public access to the Museum’s permanent exhibition will be free during this event.
This evening, visitors are invited to admire the temporary exhibition “#2 Albania, files from nature!”, recently opened at the Antipa Museum. It brings to the public’s attention a collection of spectacular photographs, which capture the natural essence of one of the Balkan Peninsula’s most authentic and picturesque countries. The exhibition is part of the “Files from nature” cycle – an artistic endeavour that explores the world’s natural diversity through the camera’s lens.
Between 17:00 and 19:00, you can enjoy artistic moments offered by two choirs of the Marin Preda Theoretical High School: the Altfel choir and the Juniorii High School choir. The young people will delight the audience with performances designed to bring emotion, joy, and harmony to the museum space.
Between 17:00 and 23:00, in front of the museum, the astROmania team offers you the opportunity to observe the Sun and the night stars through the telescopes provided and to learn fascinating things about meteorites. During the day, you can explore the diversity and origin of these cosmic fragments. As the evening falls, you can participate in astronomical observations dedicated to double stars and discussions about what it would have been like if our planet had been in a system with two or more stars. The astROmania team members are enthusiastic and ready to answer all your questions about the Universe!
Starting at 9:30 PM and ending at 10:30 PM, Antipa Museum invites you to the courtyard to participate in the entomological collection of nocturnal insects using light sources, under the coordination of museum specialists. On this occasion, you will be able to discover the importance of the activity of collecting biological material, which provides a more accurate picture of the exceptional diversity of nocturnal butterflies, more than 90% of the total lepidopteran fauna being represented by nocturnal species.
Also, this evening, organisers invite you to learn more information and curiosities about bats from the Museum researchers, discover how the small creatures we encounter at night communicate, and interact with them with the help of special equipment in a series of activities held in the Museum courtyard between 9:30 PM and 10:30 PM.
A night at the National Museum of Geology
The National Geological Museum, located in the heart of the Capital, will open its doors to the general public on Saturday, May 17, 2025, as part of the most beloved cultural event—#MuseumNight.
Starting at 10:00 in the morning and until 21:00 (the last admission time), visitors are invited to explore a captivating museum experience for free. This experience combines #science, #education, #culture, #art, and natural history in an emblematic space of #Romanian #research.
The slogan „Learn from the past! Enjoy the future!” , the event is part of the national project „May brings people closer in a May Night”, bringing together temporary and permanent exhibitions and special activities dedicated to the public of all ages.
What can you visit?
Temporary exhibition: „The natural and cultural heritage of Dobrogea” – an excursion into the region’s geological history and unique biodiversity.
Exhibition with sale of crystals, jewellery, semi-precious stones: „JAD – «Yù»: Feng shui, resonance, balance” – dedicated to mineral harmony and beauty.
Permanent exhibition – over 85,000 exhibits presenting the evolution of the Earth, fossils, rocks, crystals and meteorites, all in a historic monument building, with a special atmosphere.
Why choose the National Geological Museum?
It is the only museum in Romania that presents the geological history of the national territory in an accessible and fascinating way. From dinosaurs and fossilised corals, to spectacular mineral treasures, the museum is an ideal place for the whole family, where science comes to life!
A night at the National Museum of Romanian Art
Visiting hours during the Night of the Bucharest Museums: 19.00-22.00, May 17.
For the 2025 edition of the Night of Museums program, the National Museum of Art offers the public free access to permanent and temporary exhibitions at the headquarters in the 19.00 – 22.00 program (last access at 21.00)
Opened to the general public in 1950, the Museum of Art currently includes the National Gallery (with the Old Romanian Art Gallery and the Modern Romanian Art Gallery), the European Art Gallery, and the historical spaces of the former royal palace (the Throne Hall, the Royal Dining Room, and the Voivods’ Staircase).
The National Art Museum of Romania brings together three other museums in Bucharest, which house unique collections of Romanian and international art, from the Impressionist and post-impressionist periods. These museums are the Museum of Art Collections, Museum K.H. Zambaccian, and the Theodor Pallady Museum, the latter of which is located in one of the oldest houses in Bucharest.
Artmark Galleries (Cesianu Racovita Palace)
Artmark, one of the most prestigious Bucharest Art Galleries, presents “All Stars” of the Night of Museums – an exhibition with over 160 collectables featuring only celebrities! Hagi, Pelé, Schumacher, “The Greatest Boxer in the World”, or Sylvester Stallone, on the same “stage” with the Top 100 Great Masters of Romanian Art!
In addition to the fascinating exhibitions of painting and sculpture, with works by the most important Romanian artists, or of decorative art, sacred art, historical art, jewelry and elegance – Artmark Galleries presents, for the 21st edition of the “European Night of Museums”, also collectibles with the autographs of the great stars, local and international, from sports, music or cinema.
Boxing gloves, football shirts or boots, balls, tennis rackets, Formula 1 helmets, guitars, bicycles, and much more, all with the autographs of great stars from the sports or artistic world – actual “trophies” of performance, both Romanian and universal!
Wanna visit Artmark during Night of the Museums? Go to Palace Cesianu Racovita and enjoy the exhibition!
A Night at the Romanian Athenaeum in Bucharest
On the evening of May 17, between 10:00 PM and 12:00 AM, the Romanian Athenaeum will open its doors to visitors for free, offering a guided tour and a recital by the Athenaeum Resonance Ensemble.
While here, you can listen to two sonatas by Gioachino Rossini, performed by an ensemble of musicians.
Access is based on online reservation, but starting at 11:00 PM, entry will be free, subject to availability, with the last entry at 11:30 PM.
A Night at the Bucharest City Hall
The building, open from 6:00 PM to 12:00 AM, hosts guided tours, exhibitions and live concerts.
The public is invited to explore the building’s stories, from its interwar headquarters to the German Command to the current City Hall.
Three essential exhibitions complete the experience. A Byron concert and DJ sets entertain the audience. Visitors can also contribute to the participatory installation “Bucharest NOW” by writing or drawing their wishes and ideas for the city.
If you want to visit the best of Bucharest’s attractions during the day, please check out our Bucharest travel guide. It is one of Bucharest’s most extensive travel guides, with many tourist attractions listed and many attractions to visit during the day or night.
