48 hours in Chisinau, Moldova - what to do and what to see
Moldova is, perhaps, one of the most less well known destinations in Europe.
Wedged between Romania and Ukraine, Moldova has faced its fair share of challenges since becoming independent in 1991, following the dissolution of the Soviet Union.
In addition to a fragile economy, the war in neighbouring Ukraine has added to Moldova’s already complicated geopolitical situation. A slice of Moldovan territory has, for the last three decades, been controlled not by the country’s internationally recognized government, but by a separatist entity backed by Russia, resulting in a chronified source of tension.
Nevertheless at the time of writing these lines, and despite these lingering problems, Moldova is looking at the future with some renewed optimism after having received EU candidate status. Enhanced air connectivity, currently provided both by local airlines like Flyone and pan-European low cost carrier Wizz Air and with perspectives to keep growing, as participants in the 2024 Aviation-Event can attest, is also helping develop the tourism industry in Moldova, still small but with plenty of potential.
The fact is that all these geopolitical issues fade in the background when visiting Chisinau, particularly if the weather is nice, like it was the case during this trip!
Arriving to Chisinau
Before jumping onto the Moldovan capital’s main attractions, a couple of visual treats for aviation enthusiasts!
Btw, Chisinau airport is rather pleasant and built at a rather human scale. It appears to have been refurbished at some point in the last few years, since its rather functional and modern inside.
It is also quite close to the city center (a 15-20min drive).
What to see in central Chisinau
Let’s start by saying that there isn’t one major, iconic landmark in Chisinau.
Don’t expect to find a Tour Eiffel or Big Ben here. Rather than seeking to take a picture with one iconic sight, I’d say the most interesting thing to do is to walk and look around. Chisinau is not big and you can easily walk pretty much around the whole of the city center, which has an interesting mix of neoclassic, local and Soviet-style architecture.
The streets and urban space in general and kept tidy and clean throughout and, what’s more, the urban layout, with orthogonal and rather broad avenues dotted with some green areas dotted with multiple fountains makes for quite a pleasant walk when the weather is nice.
Most of the sights are located within 500m of the central square, Cathedral Square (“Parcul Catedralei”): the triumphal arch and the statue to Stephan the Great, a 15th C. Moldovan king, which, btw, appears on the country’s bank notes (get some if you have the chance, they make for an interesting souvenir because they look rather unique!) and, the Orthodox Cathedral, of course.
It is also in this area where you find the major business and government business as well as many shops and restaurants.
Btw, there is no metro in Chisinau, so most public transportation relies on buses and trolleybuses, but you won’t need any of these if you just stay in this area of the center, since it is very walkable.
One curiosity that caught my eye: on Cathedral Square there are some displays that show…the newspapers of the day (both in Romanian and Russian)! I ignore what is the origin of this and whether it still makes sense in the internet ear, but it is rather interesting to see it, like a relic of another time!
Another remarkable things: there are lots of figurative bronze statues around Chisinau, many of them with casual, everyday scenes. I have tried to collect them in this post. In my opinion, they fit really well in a urban decor that includes also other more Soviet styles.
Not to be missed: best viewpoint in Chisinau
A singular building that I’d recommend visiting is the Chisinau City History Museum, which is located in a tower on a gentle hillside about 10min walk from the central square. Even if it is not that tall in absolute terms, the museum is relatively higher than most of its surroundings, so the tower provides one of the best viewpoints over mostly low-lying Chisinau. There is a panoramic, 360-degree, terrace at the top.
Bonus point: on the day of my visit entrance was free (although I think the fee is quite low anyways!)
The museum itself is rather small (the structure of the building means that the exhibition rooms are spread over several floors) and exhibits are laid out in a rather old fashioned way. Signage is in Romanian, so hard to read much (although speakers of Latin-based languages may be able to roughly understand some of it), but it gives you a feel of the history of the place and the different eras it went through over the last few centuries, when Moldova was at the crossroads of three large empires: Russia, Ottoman and Austro-Hungarian.
Below is the view: as mentioned earlier, there are no major landmark or iconic sights, but you get a feel of the place and the dimensions of the city.
Park and Lake Vale Morilor
Continuing the walking route, right across the road from the museum is Chisinau’s largest park, the “Parcul Valea Morilor”, which has a large pond (with the same name as the park) at its center.
This whole section of Chisinau is full of educational institutions and university faculties built in a style that would be instantly recognizable to anyone that has traveled in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet space.
As mentioned above Lake Valea Morilor is at the center of the adjacent park, although located at a slightly lower level than the surrounding hills, so this provided urban planners with the opportunity to build some monumental flights of stairs connecting the lake to the city.
Among these are the “Cascade Stairs”, which consist of a series of stepped mounumental neoclassical fountains that would not be out of place at any of Europe’s royal palaces.
Lake Valea Morilor is, actually, an artificial reservoir. A number of trails make for good jogging or walking along its shores. There were also a number of people fishing and quite a few aquatic birds around. The lake itself is not huge, but in relation to the size of the city it is quite a landmark!
Again, the street statue thing. This one is possibly quite recent. It sets the vibe.
Original architecture in Chisinau
Another singular building found on the way between the Vale KMorilor Park and Cathedral Square is the National Museum of Ethnography and Natural History of Moldova, built in a sort of “Oriental” style in the late 19th C. It is the oldest museum in Moldova and, throughout its history it has changed its name and the focus of its exhibits several times, in tune with the political changes that have taken place in the country.
And to close the architectural chapter of this post, with a couple of other buildings that caught my eye because of the original shape or decor. One of them is the Chisinau circus, an obvious example of Communist-era architecture showing its age, the other, a mural in the city center (if you look with attention, you will find the former within the latter!).
Visiting the Cricova Winery
But, perhaps, Moldova’s top attraction are its wineries!
I had the chance to visit the Cricova winery, which is located just a few miles outside Chisinau.
Moldova was the main wine producer in the whole of the Soviet Union and, to this day, wine-making remains a flagship industry for the country, with the Cricova winery being the top winery.
In fact, a visit to the Cricova winery is sort of a must if you come to Chisinau. Proof of that is the VIP picture gallery on display at the winery, which is pretty much a who is who of global business and politics of the last few decades.
This map shows the extent of Cricova’s underground cellars.
What’s rather unique with the Cricova winery is that most of it is, actually, underground!
We were told, and I guess this is more legend than fact, that at some point in the past, it was forbidden to make wine in Moldova, but some monks kept the tradition in some caves in this region, hence the, literal, underground wine-making tradition.
The Cricova winery is a proper underground city with many km of tunnels, so, after watching a short film about the history of the place, visitors move in these electric vehicles that are a cross between a train and a golf cart.
If you have ever been to a winery, these images will be familiar to you.
In addition to the rooms dedicated to wine-making proper, visitors can also see a number of other areas within Cricova’s underground facilities, such as dining rooms (the winery hosts events regularly, including the one I was attending on this occasion!) with a rather unique decor, and even a chapel!
Eating Moldovan specialities
The visit to the Cricova winery provided also the opportunity to taste some local specialities, such as “Sarmale”, which is a sort of cabbage dumpling filled with rice and meat, which was served inside a stuffed inside a red pepper (left side picture). We also got some fried carp fish served alongside a polenta-type corn-based cake (right side picture), all together with Cricova wines and “Divin”, which is a sort of brandy made with the local grapes.
Where to stay in Chisinau
Park City Hotel
Strada Eugen Doga 2A
Chișinău, Moldova
This turned out to be a pretty good place to stay! It is a 4-star hotel operated by a local company. It is located right in the center of the city, on a pedestrian street adjacent to the main square.
It is located on a high-rise (for Chisinau standards) and the upper floors have some views.
The room was rather large, spotlessly clean and modernly furnished. Good, fast internet as well.
The breakfast was ok, nothing to write home about, but correct.
