Coronavirus restrictions and closed boundaries make travelers pay attention to those cities and countries where they did not even plan to rest before. Nevertheless, many of these locations really deserve a visit – and not a fleeting, but a full vacation. We tell you what Moldova can be interesting and what to do there if you have at your disposal as many as seven days.
Day First: Explore Chisinau
How to get To Chisinau
Air Communication with Moldova is resumed. Travel time from Moscow to Chisinau-from two to three hours, for the air ticket you will have to give from 11,000 rubles* per person by one.
You can get to the city from the airport on a trolleybus No. 30 (should be to Banulescu-Bodoni Street), by explosion bus “A” (to Dmitry Kantemir Square) and on a minibus No. 165 (to Tsuma). The fare is 3 lei (one lei – a little more than four rubles*). You can also use taxi services.
Where to stop
- Nobil Luxury Boutique Hotel – from 10,900 rubles per night per person. This is a luxurious five-star hotel with its spa, beauty salon and a panoramic restaurant on the top floor. Located 10 minutes from the Cathedral of the Nativity of Christ and the National Memorial Museum.
- Bernardazzi Grand Hotel & Spa – From 7400 rubles per night per person. A beautiful hotel located in the city center next to the town hall and national philharmonic.
- Hostel City Center – From 660 rubles per night per person. Inexpensive, but stylish hostel next to the cathedral park and the triumphal arch.
Where and what to try
- RAF HoneyBee (coffee drink with buckwheat honey and pollen) and pumpkin pyrog Pamping in the Tucano Coffee Moldova coffee shop.
- The lamb with mamalyga and tsuyka (plum moonshine) in the restaurant of national cuisine Popasul Dacilor.
- CHORBU soup with lamb ribs and other Gagauz dishes-the Turkic people from the south of Moldova-in the national restaurant GOK -GUZ.
- Plachints (cakes with filling) and mititis (sausages) in the network of Moldavian dining rooms La Placinte.
- Twisted lamb, Plachints with cherries and a Brynza and homemade wine in the La Taifas restaurant.
What to see In Chisinau
Once there were many architectural delights in Chisinau: the French style and features of Gothic, Byzantine and Romanesque architecture were mixed here. However, 90% of the buildings did not survive wars, and today the city center mainly consists of “Stalin” houses. To get an exhaustive idea of the appearance of Chisinau, take a walk from the Moldotetelecom building to the monument to Stefan III Great Boulevard named after Stefan Mara, and then reach the parliament building. Nearby there is a location that has long been chosen by photographers – a circus building, built in the style of constructivism.
There are many picturesque parks in Chisinau, who will like fans of leisurely walks. Among them are the park named after Stefan III the Great (in Soviet times, he was named after A. S. Pushkin, and until today the alley of classics with 27 busts of Moldavian and Russian writers has been preserved here), Valya-Morilor (“Dolina Mills”) with an artificial lake, beach and amusement park, “Valya-Trandaphyrilor” (“Valina Rose”) a cascade of ponds and pink plantations and a dendrarium, known for its collection of aquatic plants.
There are museums in the city, which should be acquainted closer: for example, the National Museum of the History of the Republic of Moldova, the National Museum of Ethnography and Natural History, the Museum of the History of the City in the premises of the 19th century water tower and the Pushkin House-Museum.
To explore Moldova better, take the car to rent and go on small one -day travels, because the main attractions of the country are scattered around its territory. Renting a car in Chisinau on OneTwotrip will cost 3100 rubles per day.
Day Second: Palace Manuk Bey and Yalovins
In the small town of Khinchest, there is an amazing beauty estate-a palace built for the Turkish diplomat and Russian intelligence man Manuk-Bey Mirzoyan Italo-Swiss architect Bernardazzi. The business card of this building-bizarre underground passages, where, according to local legend, the treasures of Manuk Bey were hidden (though he himself died before the construction of the palace was completed and did not manage to enjoy the luxury of his chambers).
On the way back, do not pass by the city of Yalovena, known as the winery capital of Moldova (in honor of it, the local sherry – Ialoveni is even named after him). The most interesting farm is called Mileștii Mici: it is listed in the Guinness Book of Records thanks to the largest wines collection in the world. According to modest calculations, 1.5 million bottles are stored here, and the cellars are stretched for 200 kilometers. It is worth attending a tasting and excursion to the vineyards (the noble varieties “Merlo”, “Sovignon Blanc”, “Traminer” and “Chardonet” are grown here).
Day Three: “The Gypsy Capital” Soroki
Soroki is an extraordinary city in its architecture, standing on the border of Moldova and Ukraine and among the people of the “gypsy capital of the world.” In the area called “Ringing Mountain”, mostly gypsies live, leading a restless lifestyle, and they own the most luxurious mansions. Locals willingly come to contact with tourists, talk about their lives and “gild the pen” do not refuse. In another part of the city, there is a medieval Sorok fortress, built in the 15th century. Tourists are also attracted by Bekirovsky Yar (a rock from gypsum and sandstone) and a monk cave located in it.
Along the way, you can call into the Museum of Honey in the Trichnaya Selo of Rachul – it was opened by a hereditary beekeeper, equipping a room for tasting. There is also the female Rchulsky Virgin Monastery. Also along the way you will meet the Kurka monastery, a monument of architecture of the 18th century, standing on picturesque green hills.
Four day: “Museum of the village”, Mimi Castle and Bender Fortress
The fourth day we advise to devote to three key attractions of Moldova – since they are on the same highway. In the morning, go to the “Museum of the village” – it is located on the road from Chisinau, immediately after the “City Gate”. This is an open -air ethnographic reserve: several reconstructed houses and the Assumption Church of the 17th century, which is considered the largest wooden church in the country. Its interior makes the structure similar to the churches of Bukovins; Inside you can also see old icons.
Then go to Bender to inspect the XVI century citadel, one of the oldest structures preserved in the country. Bender fortress stands on the banks of the Dniester River: most recently, it was thoroughly reconstructed. On excursions, you will be told about the connection of the country with Italy, Poland and Turkey during different periods of its own history.
By the way, it is good to have lunch in Benders in the Old Bastion designer restaurant: be sure to order a rabbit in creamy-gribly sauce and fried cheese boards.
But we offer to finish the day in the castle of Mimi – a successful attempt to create a wineca in Moldovan. This place was built in the 19th century as a residence for the last governor of Bessarabia Konstantin Mimi, but in Soviet times it stood abandoned and dilapidated. Not so long ago, the structure was bought by Moldovan winemakers, smashed a landscape park with fountains around and equipped a tasting room and wine cellars. Visitors especially celebrate local white wine with a thin aroma of tomatoes.
Day Five: Old Orhei and Monastery in Sugar
Old Orhei belongs to the same textbook Moldavian locations, which can not be missed. This is a large-scale historical and archaeological complex from which an impressive view of the Dniester River opens. It consists of the Butyen Rock Monastery, the ruins of the Goto-Dak fortress (dated VI-I centuries BC. You can come here both for examining the sights and for hiking in the surrounding picturesque hills.
If after visiting the old Orchei you will have time left, look at the Sugarnyansky Trinity Monastery: it is interesting in that many of its premises are carved into the rock. This is the main pilgrimage object in the country: the relics of St. Macarius are stored here, and on the top of one of the nearest rocks, according to legend, the Mother of God herself left her mark.
Day six: Codra Reserve
Leave the sixth day for relaxed hiking and contemplation of nature: go to the Codra Reserve through which the Kogogilnik and Bull river basins pass. This is a unique natural reservoir where deciduous forests are adjacent to vineyards, apple orchards and floodplains – floodplain territories flooded in spring.
Seventh day: shopping in Chisinau
Before leaving, do not forget to buy souvenirs, including edible ones. In the Rogob sausage stores, buy a pastorm – a local delicacy of pickled and smoked meat. In the city market, grab fresh or canned gogoshar pepper and a jar of local vegetable stew – Givech. Moldavian sweets (sweets, waffles, iris, pies) are better to buy in the branded stores of the Bucuria factory, the “drunk” grapes in chocolate are especially good.
Lovers of decorative cosmetics have long known that in Chisinau, Viorica Cosmetic branded stores, famous for high quality and low prices for products, deserve special attention. The city has a Moonglow Korean cosmetics store, the prices there are much lower than in similar Moscow ones. And in the Herb store you can find all kinds of goods with iherb: it turns out a little more than when ordering from the site, but you will not have to wait a few weeks.
Well, in the Chisinau market, buy perfumed oils, linen textiles with traditional embroidery, glazed ceramics and woolen things connected by Moldavian grandmothers.
*Prices are valid at the time of publication
