• A wetland inside a dam: the concrete walls of a reservoir project abandoned after 1989 ring the whole park
• Spring and fall migration brings rare migrating birds through, the best seasons for birdwatching
• Wild ground, not landscaped: it grew back on its own for decades before being declared a protected nature park in 2014

Văcărești Nature Park is a 190-hectare wetland of reeds, ponds and open water, set inside the concrete dam of a reservoir that was never finished. Left alone after 1989, it filled with wildlife: a 2013 study counted 96 bird species, among them herons, egrets, cormorants and swans, and otters and foxes live here too. Kids can scan the water for birds while apartment blocks rise on every side.