Iași

Iași was the capital of Moldavia from the sixteenth century and briefly of Romania, and it kept the institutions that go with that: the country's first university, founded in 1860, a heavy concentration of churches and monasteries, and a literary life centred on the Junimea circle whose members shaped modern Romanian letters. The landmark is the Palace of Culture, a vast neo-Gothic pile finished in 1925 on the site of the princely court, holding four museums under one roof and a clock tower whose chimes play a Moldavian folk tune. Nearby stands the Three Hierarchs Monastery, whose entire exterior is covered in carved stone ornament in bands, a technique with no real parallel elsewhere. Golia monastery, the metropolitan cathedral holding the relics of Saint Parascheva, and the Copou park with Eminescu's lime tree fill out the centre. The city is busy, student-heavy and rather worn between its monuments.

What you actually see

• The Palace of Culture - a neo-Gothic complex housing four museums.
• Three Hierarchs Monastery - a church carved over its whole exterior surface.
• The metropolitan cathedral - focus of the October pilgrimage to Saint Parascheva.
• Copou park - the old public garden with Eminescu's lime tree.

When to go

April to October. The Saint Parascheva pilgrimage in mid-October fills the city with enormous queues and is a remarkable thing to witness but a difficult time to visit casually. Spring in the Copou park is pleasant. Summer is hot and dusty.

Honest expectations

Between the monuments the city is architecturally patchy, with heavy communist-era building and busy roads. The Palace of Culture museums are large and can absorb a whole day, and their labelling is largely Romanian. Traffic and parking in the centre are difficult. Two days is enough unless you have a particular interest.

Nearby

Cotnari vineyards lie northwest; the Bucovina monasteries are a few hours away.