Iaşi
Iaşi's premier attraction and symbol of the city is the grandiose Gothic-revival Palace of Culture that dominates the horizon at the southern end of B-dul…
Must-see attractions in Moldavia & the Bucovina Monasteries
Bucovina
This Unesco-protected church in the village of Arbore receives a fraction of the visitors of the other painted monasteries and hence feels more private…
Bucovina
Suceava's rugged, abandoned 14th-century citadel has gotten a high-tech makeover, allowing visitors to scramble over the rocks and into the various…
Bucovina
Built in just three months and three weeks by Ştefan cel Mare following a key 1488 victory over the Turks, Voroneţ Monastery is the only painted monastery…
Bucovina
Suceviţa Monastery (built 1582–1601) is the largest Bucovina monastery, and some regard it as the finest. It's perhaps best known for its exterior Ladder…
Moldavia & the Bucovina Monasteries
Agapia Monastery is an active nunnery, housing 300 to 400 nuns in two locations. The main monastery, Agapia din Vale, stands at the western end of Agapia…
Bucovina
Built in 1532, Moldoviţa Monastery occupies a fortified quadrangular enclosure with tower, gates and well-tended lawns. The central painted church has…
Iaşi
This beautiful late Renaissance–style monastery is guarded by thick walls and the 30m-high Golia tower, which you can climb (120 steps) for views out over…
Moldavia & the Bucovina Monasteries
Medieval Neamţ Citadel had already long been considered Moldavia’s finest fortress before recent renovations improved it again. It was built in 1359 by…
Iaşi
Iaşi's Botanical Gardens are Romania’s first (1856) and largest (100 hectares). They sprawl across Parcul Exposiţiei's western side and offer 21km of…
Moldavia & the Bucovina Monasteries
This is by far the city's best museum, with three floors of well-done displays on the Cucutenians, a neolithic culture with advanced pottery skills that…
Iaşi
The art museum occupies much of the Palace of Culture's 1st floor, with some 24 chambers of paintings organised according to category: Romanian modern art…
Moldavian Metropolitan Cathedral
Iaşi
This cavernous cathedral, built between 1833 and 1839, was designed by architect Alexandru Orascu and decorated by painter Gheorghe Tattarescu. Since 1889…
Bucovina
Rădăuţi is home to Moldavia's oldest church, the mid-14th-century Bogdana Monastery, built by Prince Bogdan I. The church also functions as a mausoleum…
Bucovina
Founded by Chancellor Theodor Bubuiog under Moldavian Prince Petru Rareş, Humor Monastery, built in 1530, is surrounded by ramparts, with a three-level…
Bucovina
Some 28km northwest of Rădăuţi, along a forested road dotted by traditional villages, Putna Monastery (1466–81) was built by Ştefan cel Mare, following…
Bucovina
About 10km north of Suceava in Mitocul Dragomirnei, the 60-nun-strong Dragomirna Monastery was founded between 1602 and 1609 by scholar, calligrapher,…
Moldavia & the Bucovina Monasteries
Placid Sihla Monastery, inhabited by 30 monks, occupies a solitary wooded plateau about 8km southwest of Agapia Monastery along a marked, partly paved…
Iaşi
Built by Prince Vasile Lupu between 1637 and 1639, and restored between 1882 and 1904, this is one of Iaşi's most beautiful churches. Its exterior stone…
Moldavia & the Bucovina Monasteries
The 14th-century Neamţ Monastery is Romania's oldest and largest male monastery. Founded by Petru I Muşat, it doubled as a protective citadel. Ştefan cel…
Alexandru Ioan Cuza University
Iaşi
This is the impressive headquarters of Romania's first university, founded in 1860. The building dates from around the turn of the 20th century and the…
Bucovina
This monastery off Str Mitropoliei, built between 1514 and 1554, remains an important pilgrimage destination: in a decorated silver casket it houses the…
Moldavia & the Bucovina Monasteries
Văratec Monastery is the country's biggest nunnery, inhabited by some 400 to 500 nuns. Founded in 1785, the complex houses an icon museum and small…
Mihai Eminescu Museum of Literature
Iaşi
This museum documents the writings, life and loves of Eminescu (1850–89), Romania’s favourite writer and poet. The great love of the married poet,…
Bucovina
Displays here range from the Bronze Age to the present, and highlight Moldavia's famous rulers, particularly Ştefan cel Mare. While the numismatics,…
Moldavia & the Bucovina Monasteries
Just north of the Princely Court, this simple wooden synagogue dating from 1766 was built over the foundations of a 1490 predecessor. The tiny interior is…
Moldavia & the Bucovina Monasteries
This exposition features the dank ruins of Ştefan cel Mare's 1497 Princely Court complex, which once encompassed all of the nearby buildings on the square…
Bucovina
Suceava's oldest surviving church, Mirăuţi is 500m northwest of the main square. Founded by Petru II Mușat in 1375, it was Moldavia's original coronation…
Iaşi
Located on the western side of the Palace of Culture, the history museum tells the story of Moldavia over the centuries. From the earliest evidence of…
Iaşi
Jewish victims of the fascist Iron Guard’s pogroms are buried in four concrete bunkers at this cemetery on Mountain Hill (Dealul Munteni), 5km west of…
Iaşi
Built in 1841 over a 1615 church foundation, the Bărboi has an eccentric combination of a Byzantine stone-and-brick interior and a neoclassical portico…
Iaşi
Arranged on the Palace of Culture's western side, this collection of folk arts and crafts ranks among the most comprehensive in the country. Exhibits…
Iaşi
This impressive neoclassical palace was Alexandru Cuza's home for three years (1859–62) and later housed King Ferdinand during his WWI retreat from…
Museum of History and Archaeology
Moldavia & the Bucovina Monasteries
This museum documents local history from the Stone Age through the Moldavian princes and more recent developments. The exhibits are comprehensive and well…
Iaşi
The Great Synagogue, built in 1671, is wedged between concrete apartment blocks. At the time of research, the synagogue was closed for renovation. Victims…
'Ștefan Procopiu' Science & Technical Museum
Iaşi
Named for Romanian physicist Ștefan Procopiu, this collection is dedicated to applied sciences and technology, with sections on geology, physics,…
Bucovina
Located next to the Royal Citadel, this small museum displays relocated Bucovinian traditional homes, with their original furnishings, accessories and…
Bucovina
About 2km from Putna, this cave contains a wooden table and memorial plaque to the 15th-century hermit and seer Daniel Dimitru. A monk by age 16, Daniel…
Iaşi
At Str Armeană's southern end, this 16th-century church was built on earlier foundations – records attest to a wooden church consecrated here by a…
Iaşi
Run by the city's ever-dwindling Jewish community, this tiny, hard-to-find museum is currently the only source of background information on Jewish history…
