Cărturești Carusel

White columns, curving balconies and a sweeping staircase inside Cărturești Carusel at 55 Lipscani Street in Bucharest's old town, photographed in 2020. The Chrissoveloni banking family acquired the property in 1903, and after a long restoration the building opened as a bookstore in 2015. The six floors rise around one bright atrium, and the top floor holds a bistro and tea room that looks down over the whole thing, which is the best seat in the house.