Hîncești is a small town about 35 km south of Chișinău, the administrative centre of Hîncești district. It sees little tourist traffic but sits in decent wine country — the Codru wine region extends through this part of Moldova, and several estates near the town offer tastings.
The town's most interesting sight is the Manuc-Bey Manor, built by the Armenian-Ottoman merchant and diplomat Manuc Bei in the early 19th century. The manor survives as a museum and cultural centre, and its unusual mix of neoclassical and Ottoman architectural elements reflects its owner's remarkable biography.
The town was known as Kotovsk during the Soviet period, named after the Moldovan-born Bolshevik commander Grigori Kotovsky, who was born in the nearby village of Gănchești in 1881.
It makes an easy day trip from Chișinău by marshrutka if you want a feel for small-town Moldovan life, but most visitors come this way as part of a winery itinerary rather than for the town itself.