North Bucharest: Lakes, Airfields and the Metro Along the Herăstrău–Pipera Axis

North Bucharest is an area, not an administrative unit. This guide describes it through the neighborhoods in the north of Sectors 1 and 2, together with Pipera, which belongs to Voluntari, in Ilfov County. What they share is the Colentina River, the airfields and the link to the metro.

Which neighborhoods it covers

In the west of the area are Băneasa, with the airport and the forest, and Herăstrău, with its 187-hectare park. Toward the center are Primăverii, the villa neighborhood, and Floreasca, on the shore of the lake of the same name. In the east are Tei and Colentina, in Sector 2, and in the northeast Pipera and Voluntari. Between them are Barbu Văcărescu, the boulevard of the office district, and the Fabrica de Glucoză area.

The chain of lakes

The first axis of the north is water. The chain of lakes on the Colentina stretches from Buftea to Cernica. Work at Floreasca began in 1936, as part of the developments of the 1930s. A decision in 1938 authorized the regulation of the river and the draining of Lakes Floreasca and Tei. By 1940, seven of the 15 lakes had been completed, and the chain reached its current form in 1970. Going north from the capital, the lakes follow one after another: Băneasa, Herăstrău, Floreasca, Tei, Plumbuița and Colentina, according to Wikipedia.

Aviation

The second axis is aviation. At Băneasa, flights took place on the hippodrome in 1909, and three years later the Romanian Aerial League (Liga Aeriană Română) set up a school there. The airport here, today Aurel Vlaicu, is still in operation. At Pipera there was an airfield, between 1915 and 1958, on whose site part of the Pipera industrial zone stands today, and the aviation museum has operated in its hangars since 2006.

The metro and the office district

Pipera station, the northern terminus of line M2, opened in October 1987. Around Calea Floreasca and Bulevardul Barbu Văcărescu an office district took shape, described by the press as early as 2011 as a business center in the making.

Frequently asked questions

What does “North Bucharest” mean?

An area with no official boundaries: the north of Sectors 1 and 2, and Pipera, which is in Ilfov County.

Which lakes are in the north of the capital?

Băneasa, Herăstrău, Floreasca, Tei, Plumbuița and Colentina, all on the Colentina River.

Which neighborhoods belong to Sector 1 and which to Sector 2?

Băneasa and Primăverii are in Sector 1. Tei and Colentina are in Sector 2, and Floreasca belongs to both.