Detailed description

We will begin our morning exploration with the very first museum in Moldova – the National Museum of Ethnography and Natural History. It was built in 1905 in an oriental style, thus being a unique building of this kind in Moldova. Among the many thousand exhibits, you will see the complete skeleton Dinoterium Gigantisimus, famous archaeological treasures, Bessarabian carpets of 19th century and much more.

After the museum, prepare yourself for a dose of spirituality. We will travel to Capriana Monastery. Founded in 1429, it was later worshiped to the Zograf Monastery from the Saint Athos Mountain. During a long period, Capriana Monastery acted as the residence of the Moldavian archbishop. Being closed and devastated in the post-war years, it was one of the first monasteries that reopened in 1989, becoming soon the symbol of national revival. During weekends, the liturgy is accompanied by a spectacular men choir, whose voices will leave you speechless.

Lunch time. You will enjoy it in the midst of nature’s wild beauty at Grill Parc restaurant. The fresh air and the silence of the forest will release your senses and give the sole opportunity to appreciate each bite. You can choose from a great variety of grilled veggies and meat.

Highlight of the day – Milestii Mici Winery. Stretching an impressive 200 km and deepening up to 85 meters, Mileștii Mici is the ultimate playground for wine lovers. These cellars are home to more than two million bottles of wine and have been listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the largest wine collection in the world. Mileștii Mici is like an underground wine city: the winding tunnels have been given street names to help people navigate them and all streets have been named after different wine types. In fact, it is so large, you can travel through it by car or bus, and staff ride bikes through the tunnels to get around.

In the winery you will find even a hidden wine room, with an electronic door with a small wine niche in it. When that door is closed you will feel like at the end of the tunnel. The room was built as to protect the oldest and most precious wines after Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev announced his ”Dry Law”. More than 2000 bottles were stored in 1985 in case the Soviets came to destroy the wine. Fortunately, they did not.

Eventually, in the underground wine shop, seize your chance to take home a bottle from the largest wine collection in the world.