What To See In Chisinau, The Capital City Of Moldova

Moldova is one of the countries that used to be part of the Soviet Union for a very long time. Nowadays, the country strives on its own and its capital city is Chisinau. There are about 780,000 inhabitants living here, and the city itself is a little more prosperous than the country side; although Moldova, as a whole, is among the poorest places in Europe. If you ever want to travel to this post-Soviet city, here are a few ideas to guide you around.

Almost everywhere you look you will see the grey Soviet blocks that are still inhabited by the working class in Chisinau. This is an ideal opportunity to check out the Soviet architecture, but do not expect to encounter any Western like standards here as too few of these buildings were erected with convenience and functionality in mind. Despite the somewhat depressed look of the streets on which these blocks are located, the crime rate is not high here.

A few places to see in Chisinau include the Stefan cel Mare Monument, the Rose Walley, the Botanica Park and the Riscani Park.

There are many parks scattered around the city. One of them is Valea Morilor Park which has a drained lake in its center. The lake project was abandoned, but the scenery here looks quite nice if you want a little bit of quiet right in the heart of the city. Another park is Dendrariu Park, featuring some very nice gardens, a lake and a sports field. If you are on a park tour, do not miss Aluneiul Park where a monument to remember the pogroms in the city happening during the 20th century is represented by a house with no doors or windows.

An important landmark in Chisinau is the Jewish Cemetery. This has a lot of new and old graves, and it is still used by the local community. The cemetery is considered the largest of its kind in all Europe. A synagogue, albeit a destroyed one, is also located here, as well as a Torah scrolls monument.

If you are an English speaker, you will encounter no problems getting around as many people speak English here. When you want to ask for information, try asking younger people as they usually speak better English than their parents. The other languages spoken well here are Russian and Romanian, which is also the language spoken by the largest part of the country’s population.

Here are a few must buy ideas when you travel to Chisinau. For instance, if you want to buy a gift, you can try an exquisite cognac selection, placed in small bottles each with a different fragrance. Wines are also great here. You can also buy cheap cigarettes since there are no additional taxes applied, like in the entire European Union.