Iaşi

Exuberant, cultured Iaşi (pronounced ‘yash’) clearly enjoys being the biggest city in Moldavia. Once dubbed the ‘city of the hundred churches’, Iaşi is indeed bursting with centuries of architectural creations. Yet besides the monasteries, theatres and other historic buildings, this eclectic place has botanical parks, big squares and (for better or for worse) both communist-era concrete structures and gleaming modern shopping malls.