Sunny afternon spent in Stefan cel Mare Park in Chisnau.

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Chişinău

Pretty much all roads in Moldova lead to its wine-and-food loving capital. While the city’s origins date back six centuries to 1420, much of Chişinău was levelled in WWII and a tragic earthquake that struck in 1940. The Soviets rebuilt it into what you see today: grandiose Stalinist architecture mixed with gloriously brutal modernism from the later Soviet period and a smattering of pre-WWII edifices.

Attractions

Must-see attractions

Nativity of Christ Metropolitan Cathedral
Chişinău
The main highlight of the Parcul Catedralei is the city's main Moldovan Orthodox church, dating from the 1830s, with rich interior frescoes. The bell…
National Museum of Ethnography & Natural History
Chişinău
The highlight of this massive and wonderful exhibition is a life-sized reconstruction of the skeleton of a dinothere – an 8-tonne elephant-like mammal…
Army Museum
Chişinău
Occupying one end of the Centre of Culture and Military History, this once-musty museum now hosts a moving exhibit on Soviet-era repression. Stories of…
National Archaeology & History Museum
Chişinău
This impressive museum contains artefacts from the region of Orheiul Vechi, including Golden Horde coins and 14th-century ceramics; a rare, 2000-year-old…
Parcul Catedralei
Chişinău
Dab in the middle of Chişinău, this park is popular with families and canoodling teenagers on benches, and makes for great strolling. The highlight is the…
National Art Museum
Chişinău
A massive facelift was half-finished at the end of 2018, with the gorgeously restored main wing open to visitors. The focus is on contemporary Moldovan…
Grădina Publică Ştefan cel Mare şi Sfînt
Chişinău
Parcul Grădina Publică Ştefan cel Mare şi Sfînt is a first-rate people-watching area. Ştefan was Moldavia's greatest medieval prince and ubiquitous symbol…
Pushkin Museum
Chişinău
This is where Russia's national poet Alexander Pushkin (1799–1837) spent three years exiled between 1820 and 1823. You can view his tiny cottage, filled…

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Articles

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Chisinau's Triumphal Arch © Leonid Andronov / Shutterstock

Food

Moldovan mini-break: two days in Chişinău

Feb 14, 2017 • 5 min read

Quick, name a wine- and food-loving European city within range of ancient monasteries and world-class vineyards! You’re probably thinking of something in…

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