Moldova is one of Europe's least-visited countries and, for those who find their way here, one of its most rewarding surprises. Wedged between Romania and Ukraine, this small landlocked republic has no mountains, no sea, and no famous monuments — yet it has the world's largest wine cellar, cave monasteries carved into limestone cliffs, and a capital that mixes faded Soviet grandeur with a lively café scene.
The country is poor by European standards, and emigration has hollowed out many villages. But the people who remain are hospitable in a way that feels unperformed, and the countryside — rolling hills, fruit orchards, sunflower fields — is quietly beautiful. Traveling here takes a little patience; infrastructure is thin outside Chisinau. In return, you'll have the place largely to yourself.
Wine is the country's pride and its most convincing argument for a visit. Moldova has been making wine since ancient times, and today it produces more per capita than almost anywhere in the world. The two great underground cellars — Mileștii Mici (the world's largest) and Cricova — are destinations in their own right. A guided tour ending in a tasting is mandatory.
Transnistria, the breakaway sliver along the eastern border, is a genuinely strange experience: Soviet-era monuments, a currency no one else accepts, and border officials who treat the crossing with dead seriousness. Day trips from Chisinau to Tiraspol are straightforward and oddly fascinating. Tighina (Bender) has an impressive Ottoman fortress on the Dniester.
The monastery complex at Orheiul Vechi, cut into a limestone bend of the Raut river, is the single most striking sight in the country. Further north, Soroca on the Dniester has a well-preserved Genoese fortress and a Roma hilltop quarter worth exploring.
Destinations in Moldova
- Chisinau — the capital, lively and walkable
- Orheiul Vechi — cave monasteries in a limestone canyon
- Soroca — northern fortress town on the Dniester
- Tighina — Ottoman fortress city on the Transnistrian border
- Tiraspol — capital of breakaway Transnistria
- Orhei — regional town near Orheiul Vechi
- Baltsi — Moldova's second city in the north
- Hincesti — small town south of Chisinau
