I would like to recommend a very fitting description of Bucharest at about 1905 in the Catholic Encyclopaedia, written by someone obviously skilled in snapping the essence of a place in just a few sentences, who probably was a first time visitor to the city and thus had the advantage of a fresh eye observer:
The city is situated in a swampy plain on both sides of the Dimbobitza which is here crossed by about a dozen bridges. It is noted for many stately edifices, and the semi-Oriental appearance of its older quarters is heightened by the numerous gardens and the bright domes of its Greek churches.
Source: The Catholic Encyclopedia http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/03045a.htm
Valentin Mandache, architectural historian 