I’ve been to Chisinau, capital of Moldova – for 9 times and if I will go again, as I intend to, is for the people, who always spoiled me with the best food and wine I ever tasted, and because I like their genuine and passionate way.
Each time I stayed at the same hotel, Leo Grand, in the city center. They have somebody playing harp during breakfast and piano in the evening. Location is good.
The best time to visit Moldova might be October, it all looks golden. Outside the city, you see only soft hills covered by vineyards, with walnut trees by the road and even the sunlight is golden and it’s undisturbed silence and silence is golden too. And I found so many mushrooms in the forests :)
In the city: Stefan cel Mare is the main boulevard, there you’ll see many gold shops and exchange houses. The rate for exchange might seriously change from one day to another and you must carry some cash with you.
Wine: is the national pride and for good reasons, both quality and quantity. A visit to the “Milestii Mici” cellars is a must, is very close to Chisinau, and it’s the biggest cellar in the world, with 200 km of galleries of 50-80 meters underground and it impressed me more than the visit to the Epernay – Champagne. You travel by bus, in a underground wine city, where there are streets and boulevards with storage walls both sides. Thousands of bottles from 30 years ago sleep there, neglected, waiting to be tasted and labeled and sent on the market, because indeed there is so much wine there. Putin celebrated there his 50th anniversary. After the visit you are invited for wine tasting in the sound of traditional music played by “lautari”. Give them a 20 lei note and ask them to play “Zaraza”.
You can buy wine from special shops along Stefan cel Mare boulevard, but also from any supermarket, like “No1” across the street from Leo Grand hotel. Special for ladies: get a bottle of CAHOR, Purcari vineyards.
Other goodies / gift ideas: you can find a wide selection of teas, not only from China, India and Japan, but also from Russia and other ex-soviet republics, which are interesting. You can also get green-walnut confiture, or orange caviar from Kamceatka.
Food: all Romanian dishes taste so much better in Moldova, I like very much the restaurant “La Taifas”, in Chisinau, on Bucuresti street. All rustic style, but this is what they do best in Chisinau. They should never try to be modern or trendy. This makes them unique. Eating out is very affordable, so there is an abundance of other restaurants. And what is interesting is that they have exotic presences: Tatar, Gagauz, or Uzbek restaurants – like Caravan, also close to Leo Grand hotel. Placinta, very good pastry is available almost everywhere, even by catering.
People show almost overwhelming hospitability. Yet – don’t expect them to display smiles or excel in small talk. But they will really look after you to be sure you have all possible comfort and they insist you eat until you feel you’ll explode. If you want to refuse something you have to do it at lest twice, because it’s considered polite from your side to refuse once and polite from their side to insist more.
A nice gesture is to bring a small gift, something symbolic and representative from your country. I learned to do so because I always left Chisinau with few bags of gifts they insisted to offer me.
