( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; %0232-225 566; www.facebook.com/AnticariatGrumazescu; Str Alexandru Lăpuşneanu 24; h10am-5.30pm Mon-Fri)
This long-standing local antiques shop sells everything from folk heirlooms and jewellery to rare, expensive icons. It can provide authorised sale certificates for anything that might excite border-point customs agents.
8Information
Forte CafeINTERNET
( GOOGLE MAP ; B-dul Independenţei 27; per hr 3 lei; h24hr)
Down a passage off the footpath.
Post OfficePOST
( GOOGLE MAP ; Str Cuza Vodă 10; h9am-6pm Mon-Fri, to 1pm Sat)
Sfântu Spiridon University HospitalHOSPITAL
( GOOGLE MAP ; %0232-240 822, ext 193; www.spitalspiridon.ro; B-dul Independenţei 1)
Iaşi's largest hospital.
Tourist Information CentreTOURIST INFORMATION
( GOOGLE MAP ; %0232-261 990; www.turism-iasi.ro; Piaţa Unirii 12; h8am-4pm Mon-Fri)
Helpful staff provide city maps and activity brochures.
8Getting There & Away
Iaşi, the biggest city in the east of the country, is a major transport hub, with good air, rail and bus connections to the rest of the country.
Air
Iaşi Airport (Aeroportul Internațional Iași, IAS; GOOGLE MAP ; %0232-271 590; www.aeroport.ro; Str Moara de Vant 34) is 5km east of the centre. Both Tarom and Blue Air (www.blueairweb.com) fly to Bucharest as well as to Cluj-Napoca and Timişoara. There are also flights to various European destinations, including London (Luton).
Bus
The Autogara Transbus Codreanu (Autogara Vama Veche; GOOGLE MAP ; %0232-250 985; www.transbuscodreanu.ro; Str Gării 22), across the street from the main train station, is Iaşi's most useful and convenient bus and minibus station. Buses and minibuses regularly depart from here for towns and cities around the country, as well as for Chișinău in neighbouring Moldova. There's a timetable posted at the station entrance. Buy tickets from the driver.
A second smaller station, Bus Station 'Real Fresh' (Autogara Real Fresh; GOOGLE MAP ; %0232-240 000; www.autogari.ro; Str Moara de Foc 15a), is located about 1km north of the main train station. It serves mainly smaller regional destinations, though it's also used by a handful of long-haul coaches to Western Europe.
Sample destinations and fares include the following:
Destination Cost (lei) Duration (hr) Frequency (Daily)
Bucharest 80 7 6
Chişinău 25 5 9
Cluj-Napoca 90 9 4
Piatra Neamţ 30 3 13
Suceava 30 2 12
Târgu Neamţ 20 2 8
Train
Nearly all domestic and international trains use the Central Train Station (Gara Centrală; GOOGLE MAP ; %reservations 0232-202 777; www.cfrcalatori.ro; Piața Gării 2; j2). The central Agenţia de Voiaj CFR ( GOOGLE MAP ; www.cfrcalatori.ro; Piaţa Unirii 10; h7.30am-8.30pm Mon-Fri) sells advance tickets. A 24-hour left-luggage office is by the car park. Daily rail services include the following:
Destination Cost (lei) Duration (hr) Frequency (daily)
Braşov 92 8½ 1
Bucharest 92 7 3-4 direct
Chişinău 40 2 1
Cluj-Napoca 92 9 1
Suceava 22-40 2½ several daily
Târgu Neamţ, change at Paşcani 26 2½ several daily
Timişoara, via Oradea 121 16 2
WORTH A TRIP
TASTING THE WHITES OF COTNARI
The vineyards at Cotnari (%0740-234 040, tours 0741-117 751; www.cotnari.ro; tours per person without/with food €10/55), 54km northwest of Iaşi, are among the most fabled in Romania, and the sweet whites made here are exported worldwide.
The town got its start in 1491, when Ştefan cel Mare built a small church, followed by a Latin college in 1562. But it was incoming French monks who transformed Cotnari into a wine power. By the late 19th century, Cotnari wine was prominent at international exhibitions. King Michael I’s half complete royal palace from 1947 (restored in 1966) today houses the winery offices.
Popular varietals include white table wines such as frâncuşa (dry) and cătălina (semisweet), and the sweet, golden grasă and tămâioasă dessert wines.
The winery offers a menu of tours and tastings, some paired with food. Tours without food normally start at 10am on Monday, Wednesday and Friday and don't require prebooking. Tours with food require a 10-person minimum and prior appointment.
Cotnari makes for a fairly easy day trip from Iaşi. Hârlău-bound buses make the trip in a little more than an hour.
Târgu Neamţ & Around
Pop 18,695
Târgu Neamţ (literally 'German Market') is a quiet market town which wouldn't figure on most travellers' itineraries if it wasn't for its proximity to the Neamţ county monasteries. The half-dozen or so major monasteries in the surrounding area lack the colour of Bucovina's painted monasteries, but they certainly have historic cred and, more importantly, they're still very much working monasteries. This lends a feeling of living spirituality that sometimes gets drowned out by the tour buses pulling into the painted monasteries to the north. Târgu Neamţ's own claim to fame is the Neamţ Citadel, a 14th-century stronghold that repelled invaders for nearly 300 years.
1Sights
Neamţ Citadel is the only major sight within the town limits of Târgu Neamţ. The monasteries are located in a cluster 10km to 15km southwest of town.
Neamţ CitadelFORTRESS
(Cetatea Neamţului; %0744-702 415; Târgu Neamţ; adult/child 5/2 lei, photography 10 lei; h10am-6pm Tue-Sun)
Medieval Neamţ Citadel had already long been considered Moldavia’s finest fortress before recent renovations improved it again. It was built in 1359 by Moldavian Prince Petru I Muşat, who picked an impregnable high location. The castle successfully resisted attacks by Hungarians in 1395 and by Turks in 1476, and was only conquered by Polish forces in 1691. The citadel is 2km west of the centre, following the main road B-dul Ştefan cel Mare. It's a 15-minute scramble to the top.
Agapia MonasteryMONASTERY
(Mănăstirea Agapia; %0233-244 736; Agapia; museum adult/child 5/3 lei; h9am-7pm May-Sep, to 4pm Oct-Apr)
Agapia Monastery is an active nunnery, housing 300 to 400 nuns in two locations. The main monastery, Agapia din Vale, stands at the western end of Agapia village. It was built in 1644 by Gavril Coci (Vasile Lupu’s brother). It has relaxing gardens and an impressive facade, but most come to see the interior frescoes painted from 1858-61 by Romanian master Nicolae Grigorescu. A second, smaller monastery, Agapia din Deal (sometimes called Agapia Veche), is 1.6km up a steep road.
The main monastery also has a small museum, which exhibits 16th- and 17th-century icons, and a shop where you can buy icons and other religious articles. To find the monastery from Târgu Neamţ, head south along the main road to Piatra Neamţ, bearing right at the sign to Agapia village. The monastery is 7km further at the end of the road.
Sihla MonasteryMONASTERY
(Schitu Sihla; h9am-7pm May-Sep, to 4pm Oct-Apr)F
Placid Sihla Monastery, inhabited by 30 monks, occupies a solitary wooded plateau about 8km southwest of Agapia Monastery along a marked, partly paved forest road. The remote location keeps the number of visitors to a trickle. Here you may observe pustnici (hermit monks), who regularly kneel in prayer, sometimes remaining so for hours. Nearby the venerated Cave of Pious St Teodora was where the eponymous nun lived for 60 years, sleeping on a rock slab. The hermitage is candlelit.
Sihla is accessible by car from Agapia Monastery along the forest road. Alternatively, the 8km hike following the road takes around an hour and is largely uphill.
Văratec MonasteryMONASTERY
(Mănăstirea Văratec; Văratec; h9am-7pm May-Sep, to 4pm Oct-Apr)F
Văratec Monastery is the country's biggest nunnery, inhabited by some 400 to 500 nuns. Founded in 1785, the complex houses an icon museum and small embroidery school. The main church, whitewashed in 1841, incorporates neoclassical elements and gro
unds featuring a small botanic garden. The lavishly decorated interior has numerous frescoes. The monastery is 7km south of Agapia along a main road.
Neamţ MonasteryMONASTERY
(Vânători-Neamţ; h9am-7pm May-Sep, to 4pm Oct-Apr)F
The 14th-century Neamţ Monastery is Romania's oldest and largest male monastery. Founded by Petru I Muşat, it doubled as a protective citadel. Ştefan cel Mare built today's large church in the 15th century, though some of the paintings date from Muşat’s time. The fortified compound houses a medieval art museum and a house museum dedicated to novelist Mihail Sadoveanu (1880–1961). The library, with 18,000 rare books, is the largest of any Romanian monastery.
4Sleeping & Eating
Târgu Neamţ has a handful of hotels and pensiunes. The village of Agapia, near the monastery of the same name, is loaded with decent pensiunes.
AristocratisPENSION$$
(%0233-791 986; www.aristocratis.ro; B-dul Ştefan cel Mare 245, Târgu Neamţ; s/d 220/250 lei; pnaiWs)
This snazzy four-star pensiune (priced to match) offers spotless rooms, an excellent Italian restaurant (open to nonguests), a beautiful rural setting and an open-air swimming pool. There's also a playground for kids.
The location is 4km east of the centre of Târgu Neamţ, following the main road B-dul Ştefan cel Mare out of town.
DoinaHOTEL$$
(%0233-790 270; www.hotel-doina.ro; Str Mihail Kogălniceanu 6-8, Târgu Neamţ; s/d 130/170 lei; pnaW)
The Doina is a tastefully renovated modern hotel in the centre of Târgu Neamţ that represents excellent value for money, given the clean rooms and location. There's a decent in-house restaurant.
oEdenPENSION$$$
(%0728-821 013; www.edentur.ro; Hwy DN15C, Agapia; s/d 200/240 lei; pniW)
Family-owned Eden, in an updated farmhouse setting, boasts the nicest rooms in the general area of the Neamţ monasteries. There's an excellent restaurant here (open to nonguests) and plenty of pretty gardens to stroll or to let the kids play in.
The pension is situated outside Agapia village, 5km south of Târgu Neamţ on the main highway to Piatra Neamţ.
VeneziaITALIAN$$
(%0757-512 259; Str Serafim Lungu, Târgu Neamţ; mains 20-30 lei; h9am-11pm; pW)
This pizzeria and grill house is the best of a meagre range of options in Târgu Neamţ. That said, the pizzas are excellent and the grilled pork and chicken offerings are spiced up with homemade tomato sauce. There's a covered terrace in nice weather. Find it down the side street that leads south from the Tourist Information Centre.
8Information
Tourist Information CentreTOURIST INFORMATION
(%0233-790 154; B-dul Ştefan cel Mare 60, Târgu Neamţ; h8am-4pm Mon-Fri)
Every town should be so lucky to have such a helpful and efficient tourist information office. Cheerful English-speaking staff are happy to advise on monastery visits and figuring out travel logistics. The free town map includes coverage of the Neamţ county monasteries. The office is located along the main boulevard, near the centre of town.
8Getting There & Away
At least four daily buses go to Suceava (20 lei, two hours) and several maxitaxis run to Iaşi (13 lei, two hours). Hourly buses run to Piatra Neamţ (10 lei, one hour). Check the website www.autogari.ro for an up-to-date timetable.
8Getting Around
Getting around to all of the monasteries from Târgu Neamţ on public transport is possible, though schedules don’t allow for seeing them all in one day – it’s much easier and more efficient to drive or take an organised tour.
Several buses make the 15km journey from the centre of Târgu Neamţ to Neamţ Monastery and from Târgu Neamţ to Agapia Monastery. You can hike to Văratec from Agapia (two hours) and on to Sihăstria Monastery along clearly marked trails. There are maxitaxis to Văratec from Târgu Neamţ (10 daily).
Piatra Neamţ
Pop 104,605
Up-and-coming, easy-going Piatra Neamţ (literally 'German Rock') sprawls in three directions across a valley, gripped by forested mountains. Moldavia’s third-biggest town was home to Ştefan cel Mare's 15th-century Princely Court and has a smattering of decent museums and cultural offerings, including a couple of the region's best restaurants. It's also a decent base for forays into the nearby Bicaz Gorges and Ceahlău Massif. ATMs, groceries and pharmacies line Piaţa Ştefan cel Mare and central B-dul Decebal.
Piatra Neamţ
1Sights
1Bal Shem Tov SynagogueD1
2Cozla Zoological ParkC1
3Cucuteni MuseumC1
4Museum of History and ArchaeologyD3
5Nativity of St John the Baptist ChurchD2
6Princely Court ExpositionD2
2Activities, Courses & Tours
7TelegondolaB3
4Sleeping
8Central Plaza HotelB3
9Hotel CeahlăuD2
5Eating
10Cercul GospodinelorD1
11LagunaA1
12NoirD3
13TimesD2
6Drinking & Nightlife
14CasablancaC2
15Chaplin's PubA1
16Temple PubC3
3Entertainment
17Tineretului TheatreC2
18Tonique ClubC3
1Sights
Cucuteni MuseumMUSEUM
(Muzeul Cucuteni; MAP GOOGLE MAP ; %0233-226 471; www.viziteazaneamt.ro; Str Ştefan cel Mare 3; adult/child 4/2 lei; h10am-6pm Tue-Sun)
This is by far the city's best museum, with three floors of well-done displays on the Cucutenians, a neolithic culture with advanced pottery skills that lived in the area from around 6000 BC to 3000 BC. The ground floor is given over to the stunning symmetry of Cucutenian vases and vessels, while the upper floors feature the frank sexuality of Cucutenian sculpture.
Princely Court ExpositionHISTORIC BUILDING
(Expozitia Curtea Domnească; MAP GOOGLE MAP ; %0233-217 496; www.viziteazaneamt.ro; Str Ştefan cel Mare 4; adult/child 4/2 lei; h10am-6pm Tue-Sun)
This exposition features the dank ruins of Ştefan cel Mare's 1497 Princely Court complex, which once encompassed all of the nearby buildings on the square. The exposition is housed under the Petru Rareş School (Liceul Petru Rareş) and has historical displays and archaeological finds such as weapons, pottery and tool fragments.
Museum of History and ArchaeologyMUSEUM
( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; %0233-218 108; www.viziteazaneamt.ro; Str Mihai Eminescu 10; adult/child 4/2 lei; h10am-6pm Tue-Sun)
This museum documents local history from the Stone Age through the Moldavian princes and more recent developments. The exhibits are comprehensive and well laid-out, but the lack of significant English commentary hampers comprehension.
Bal Shem Tov SynagogueSYNAGOGUE
(Wooden Synagogue; MAP GOOGLE MAP ; %Jewish community 0233-223 815; Str Dr Dimitrie Ernici; tours per person 5 lei; h8am-1pm Mon-Fri or by appt)
Just north of the Princely Court, this simple wooden synagogue dating from 1766 was built over the foundations of a 1490 predecessor. The tiny interior is decorated with Jewish artefacts, restored frescoes and paintings. While the synagogue keeps nominal opening hours, it's often closed. The best bet is to call ahead to make sure it's open.
Nativity of St John the Baptist ChurchCHURCH
(Biserica Domneasca; MAP GOOGLE MAP ; Piaţa Libertăţii 2; tower adult/child 5/2 lei, church free; hchurch 8am-7pm, tower 10am-6pm Tue-Sun)
St John Church dates from 1498 and was originally part of Ștefan cel Mare's Princely Court complex. It has a lovely but sombre interior. Standing in front of the church is a free-standing, 19m-high tower that served both as a bell tower and watchtower. You can climb up for views out over the town.
Cozla Zoological ParkZOO
(Parcul Zoologic Cozla; MAP GOOGLE MAP ; www.viziteazaneamt.ro; Piaţa Ştefan cel Mare; adult/child 4/2 lei; h8am-8pm)
Northwest of the centre along Str Ştefan cel Mare, this petting zoo is situated on successive terraces running up Mt Cozla
.
2Activities
A year-round telegondola ( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; %0724-538 928; www.cozlaparc.ro; adult/child return 20/12 lei; h10am-8pm Mon-Thu, to 8.30pm Fri-Sun) runs regularly throughout the day from a base near the main train station high up to the foot of Mt Cozla (639m). The eight-passenger gondolas make the nearly 2km run in about 10 minutes. Buy round-trip tickets (or go for one-way trip up and return to town along a marked path).
In summer, the Strand ( GOOGLE MAP ; %information 0233-218 991; www.viziteazapiatraneamt.ro; Alee Tineretului; adult/child Mon-Fri 7/5 lei, adult/child Sat & Sun 10/5 lei Sat & Sun; hnoon-8pm Mon, 8am-8pm Tue-Sun Jun-Aug) is a recreational complex consisting of two big swimming pools, a beach bar, a skateboard park and a half-dozen other summertime activities.
4Sleeping
For a town its size, Piatra Neamţ lacks standout accommodation options.
Central Plaza HotelHOTEL$$
( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; %0233-216 230; www.centralplazahotel.ro; Piaţa Petrodava 1-3; s/d 200/220 lei; pnaiW)
The nicest hotel in town is this high-rise affair in the centre of the city. The rooms have been thoroughly renovated and are bright and clean. There's a restaurant and nightclub on-site, and the location is within easy walking distance of the train and bus stations.
Hotel CeahlăuHOTEL$$
( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; %0233-219 990; www.hotelceahlau.ro; Piaţa Ştefan cel Mare 3; s/d/ste 140/190/260 lei; naiW)
Lonely Planet Romania & Bulgaria Page 35
