Love it or hate it, you can't deny its unbridled popularity. That patio was put there by the gods, broad and beckoning with warm blankets when it gets chilly, and the cocktails are almost grotesquely large. Tack on an absurdly good location flanking the opera house? No wonder it draws the cool crowd.
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
20.11 MILES
The archaeological and ecclesiastical complex at Orheiul Vechi (Old Orhei), about 50km north of Chişinău, is an important historical site and a place of…
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20.11 MILES
The most impressive sight at Orheiul Vechi is the Cave Monastery, built inside a cliff high above the gently meandering Răut river. It is marked by a…
Nativity of Christ Metropolitan Cathedral
0.21 MILES
The main highlight of the Parcul Catedralei is the city's main Moldovan Orthodox church, dating from the 1830s, with rich interior frescoes. The bell…
National Museum of Ethnography & Natural History
0.58 MILES
The highlight of this massive and wonderful exhibition is a life-sized reconstruction of the skeleton of a dinothere – an 8-tonne elephant-like mammal…
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0.96 MILES
Occupying one end of the Centre of Culture and Military History, this once-musty museum now hosts a moving exhibit on Soviet-era repression. Stories of…
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National Archaeology & History Museum
0.32 MILES
This impressive museum contains artefacts from the region of Orheiul Vechi, including Golden Horde coins and 14th-century ceramics; a rare, 2000-year-old…
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0.2 MILES
Dab in the middle of Chişinău, this park is popular with families and canoodling teenagers on benches, and makes for great strolling. The highlight is the…
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0.38 MILES
A massive facelift was half-finished at the end of 2018, with the gorgeously restored main wing open to visitors. The focus is on contemporary Moldovan…
Nearby Chişinău attractions
0.13 MILES
Ştefan was Moldavia's greatest medieval prince and ubiquitous symbol of Moldova's brave past. His 1928 statue lords over the entrances to Parcul…
2. Grădina Publică Ştefan cel Mare şi Sfînt
0.18 MILES
Parcul Grădina Publică Ştefan cel Mare şi Sfînt is a first-rate people-watching area. Ştefan was Moldavia's greatest medieval prince and ubiquitous symbol…
0.2 MILES
Facing Grădina Publică Ştefan cel Mare şi Sfînt is Parliament House, where Parliament convenes.
0.2 MILES
Dab in the middle of Chişinău, this park is popular with families and canoodling teenagers on benches, and makes for great strolling. The highlight is the…
0.21 MILES
Chişinău's own Arc de Triomphe dates from 1841 and marks the centre of the city. It was built to commemorate the victory of the Russian army over the…
6. Nativity of Christ Metropolitan Cathedral
0.21 MILES
The main highlight of the Parcul Catedralei is the city's main Moldovan Orthodox church, dating from the 1830s, with rich interior frescoes. The bell…
0.24 MILES
Government House, where cabinet meets, is the gargantuan building opposite the Arc de Triomphe. It's notable mainly for its heft and Soviet-style…
0.32 MILES
A landmark, the neoclassical National Library is worth popping into both to check out the beautiful interior with its spiral staircases, and for the free…