Bucharest University of Economic Studies, Bucharest, Visitor Guide & Things to Do Nearby

The Bucharest University of Economic Studies, known in Romania as ASE, is one of the country's leading universities for economics, business and related fields. Its main building stands on Piața Romană in central Bucharest, and the institution traces its roots to 1913. It is a good stop for anyone who wants to understand how the city's academic and commercial life took shape.

The story behind it

The university began in 1913 as the Academy of Higher Commercial and Industrial Studies, created to train people for trade, finance and industry in a Romania that was modernizing fast. Over the following decades it changed names and structure several times, following the turns of Romanian history, and it eventually became the Bucharest University of Economic Studies.

Today ASE is a large, busy campus presence in the city, with thousands of students passing through the area around Piața Romană every day. That student energy is part of why this corner of Bucharest feels lively, even though the square itself is also a major traffic junction.

What to look for

• The façade of the main building facing Piața Romană, which gives a sense of the weight and ambition of an institution founded to train the country's economists.
• The steady flow of students on the steps and pavements, which shows the university is a living part of the neighbourhood rather than a monument.
• The contrast between the university's formal architecture and the busy square in front of it, with its traffic, shops and metro entrances.
• The wider streets around Piața Romană, where older villas and apartment blocks sit beside modern offices, a good snapshot of Bucharest's layered history.

Tips for your visit

• Plan 10 to 15 minutes to look at the building from outside and take photos, longer if you combine it with the surrounding streets.
• This is a working university, so access inside is limited. Treat it as an exterior visit and check current rules if you hope to enter.
• Piața Romană has a metro station, so it is easy to reach and easy to link with other central sights on foot.
• Visit on a weekday morning if you want to see the area at its most animated, or in the late afternoon for softer light and calmer pavements.

See it on a quest

Bucuresti: The Stand-up Comedy Game passes this university as one stop on a longer walk through the area. You reach the place on foot, the app tells you about it as you arrive, and you solve a puzzle based on what is in front of you. The comedy theme gives the route a lighter tone than a standard sightseeing tour. You start whenever you like, with no guide and no group to join, and one ticket covers the whole group.