Chișinău

Chisinau's Cathedral Park (Parcul Catedralei) is marked by two main attractions: the Nativity Cathedral, the city's primary Moldovan Orthodox place of worship, dating to the 19th century, and Chisinau's very own Triumphal Arch, also known as the "Holy Gate".

The country's oldest park spans an impressive 7 hectares, and is very popular with the local populace, especially so during the summer months. Children's playgrounds and merry-go-rounds are in operation, making the park a good choice for families. Some of the highlights include the Avenue of the Classics of Moldovan Literature, containing busts of prominent Moldovan and Romanian authors and political figures, and the Alley of Friendship, where celebrity city visitors (the likes of Yuri Gagarin) planted a tree each.

One of the city's lesser-known highlights, the museum offers informative insight into the country's past, including WWII and Chernobyl nuclear catastrophe involvement, and covers a substantial period of Soviet regime, also detailing events that happened outside of present-day Moldova. Information in English is scarce, but many of the exhibits are self-explanatory. The outdoor display of Soviet military machines can be accessed free of charge.

The museum might as well be dubbed a collection of anything and everything, which in no way compromises its appeal, but rather makes it rank among the most curious Moldovan landmarks. From zoological exhibits and extinct animal reconstructions to traditional dress and folk artefacts, its expansive exhibits cover nearly everything under the Moldovan sun. Purchase an English-language booklet to help navigate exhibition rooms.

One of Moldova's unmissable attractions is the Milestii Mici winery, located a short drive outside the city centre. Book a guided tour of the world's largest wine cellar with a staggering 3,000,000 bottles, all contained in a former quarry spanning dozens of underground kilometres. Only a manageable part of the storage space is visited, followed by a wine tasting and pre-bookable three-course meal at the on-site restaurant 70 metres under ground.

A classy evening out is best spent catching an opera or ballet performance at one of the best theatres of its kind in Eastern Europe. The repertoire is regularly updated, and tickets cost a fraction of the price charged at comparable institutions across Europe.