Incredible Bessarabia
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What's included
The motto in Latin of the city of Balti is “CEDANT ARMA TOGAE” – Let weapons give way to the toga.
We offer you a special sojourn dedicated to the north of Moldova. You will visit Balti and Soroca. The latter, founded in 1420, is located in the north 160 km from the capital, in the Nistru valley, being surrounded by hills and centuries-old forests. The Russians compared Soroca to Yalta, which is in Crimea, while the Romanians called it Bessarabian Sinaia. This trip will also lead you to discover (the Orthodox monastery of Curchi, the historic site of Orheiul Vechi and the Cricova wine cellar).
Video on the landscapes of northern Bessarabia
- 1st Day
- 2nd Day
- 3rd Day
- 4th Day
- 5th Day
Arrival in Moldova
On arrival at Chisinau International Airport, you will be greeted by your English-speaking guide and transferred to the city center at your 4-star hotel.
Dinner at the restaurant.
Night at the hotel.
Visit of the capital and the Cricova cellars
Panoramic tour of Chisinau, its military museum and its large central market.
Lunch at the restaurant.
Visit to the famous Cricova cellars (the second largest cellar in the world) and its prestigious collection, including the one captured by the Red Army, belonging to Hermann Göring, a former Nazi dignitary.
Tasting* at the end of the visit (20 km from Chisinau).
* Alcohol abuse is dangerous for health, consume in moderation.
Dinner at the restaurant in Chisinau.
Night at the hotel.
Curchi Monastery & Orheiul Vechi
Visit to the Curchi Orthodox Monastery (60 km from Chisinau).
Lunch in a traditional restaurant in the village of Butuceni. Visit to the archaeological site and the cave monastery of Orheiul Vechi.
Dinner at the restaurant in Chisinau.
Night at the hotel.
Visit to Soroca and Balti
Day in the North of Moldova.
Visit to the town of Soroca, its medieval fortress and its “gypsy hill”.
Visit to the city of Balti, the “Capital of the North”.
Return to Chisinau and night at the hotel.
Departure
You will be transferred from the hotel to Chisinau International Airport.
More about Moldova
More about this tour
SOROCA: ITS FORTRESS AND ITS BOHEMIANS
The town of Soroca, which has about 40,000 souls, is the administrative center of the Soroca district in the north of Moldova, 160 km from the capital Chisinau. It is crossed by the Dniester river.
The city is famous for two reasons. Its grandiose fortress located in the city center and its large Bohemian population.
Built in 1499, by order of Prince Stefan Cel Mare, the Fortress of Soroca is famous for having been the meeting place in 1711 between the Moldovan army commanded by Chief Cantemir and the Russian army commanded by Czar Peter I in view of defeating the invaders of the immense and powerful Ottoman Empire. Today the building, completely renovated, is still open to visitors.
Soroca is also known for being the capital of the Roma.
The gypsy presence in the city dates back to the 15th century, when the Prince Stefan Cel Mare brought the community, specializing in techniques of extraction and processing of metals, to forge the weapons of his army, then at war with the Turks.
There is thus a district, nicknamed “the hill of the gypsies” and which is full of sumptuous and ostentatious palaces where luxury often takes precedence over taste. You have to see it to believe it. Some simply spectacular buildings rub shoulders with abandoned construction sites. A real bohemian empire where the cult of appearance reigns. Unavoidable.
