Travel Guide > Europe > Moldova > Chisinau
Chişinău (pronounced as ki-shi-NEW), also known as Kishinev, is the capital of Moldova. Located in the central parts of the country along the Bic river, surrounded by green rolling hills, it is the biggest city in the country and also the cultural and economic heart. It is one of the greenest and smallest capitals in Europe with just over 600,000 people living in the city. You won't notice much of this along the central boulevard where the massive Moldovan government building and several other large buildings makes you feel small just like any other former communistic city does. The city itself isn't particularly beautiful but deserves at least a day to appreciate it and visit one of its museums and of course Chisinau's own replica of the Arc de Triomph, although much smaller.
Visit the world's largest wine cellar and Europe's largest wine collection at Milestii Mici winery. Located only 20 km south of Chisinau makes this sight an excellent day trip from the capital. The winery has an underground wine city made of limestone making the wine cellar stretch for 250 km, although only 120 km are currently in use. It is possible to travel in these tunnels by car or bike! And the best part is the tour ends with a wonderful tasting.
Chisinau has a continental climate with warm summers and cold winters. Summertime is from June to September with temperatures averaging around 27 degrees Celsius, while winters (December to February) are between zero and -8 degrees on average. Absolute highs and lows are aroun 37 and -30 respectively. Precipitation is evenly distributed throughout the year with some more rain in summer, when sometimes heavy showers and thunderstorms occur.
May and September are very good months for a visit.
Air Moldova is the national airline of the country and is based at Chişinău International Airport (KIV), near the capital. Destinations include Athens, Frankfurt, Lisbon, Istanbul, London, Madrid, Paris, Milan, Rome and Vienna.
Air Baltic flies to and from Riga and Vilnius.
There are trains to and from Odesa in the Ukraine and to and from Bukarest in Romania among several other connections.
| Property | Address | Type | Popularity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buiucani | Alba-Iulia 10,ap.53. | Guesthouse | 93 |
| Central Youth Hostel | Pruncul 6, Apt. 1 | Hostel | 80 |
| Chisinau Hostel | 55 Tighina St Chisinau | Hostel | 89 |
| Dacia Hotel | str. 31 August 1989 nr 135, | Hotel | - |
| Flowers Hotel | 7, Anestiade Street | Hotel | - |
| Home from Home Apartment | Bogdan-Voievod 62 ap.28 | Apartment | 92 |
| Hotel Cosmos-Chisinau | 2, Negruzzi Sq. | Hotel | - |
| Hotel Villa Natali | Sfatul Tarli, 15 str. | Hotel | - |
| Leogrand Hotel | Mitropolit Varlaam str. 77 | Hotel | - |
| Moldova Puskin 30-17 | A. Puskin Street 30-17 | Apartment | 20 |
| Svetlana's Flat Chisinau | Spataru 15 Apt. 109 | Apartment | 81 |
This is version 9. Last edited at 15:55 on May 19, 09 by Utrecht (+809). 4 articles link to this page.

Except where otherwise noted, content of this article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License