Description

Romania is a country of natural beauty with a rich cultural heritage. She enchants

visitors with beautiful landscapes, forested hills and quiet valleys, countryside full of

traditions and folklore, and the cities that have rich history.

Northern Moldavia offers travelers sights of rare beauty, plus famous monasteries built

by the great rulers and Moldavian landonwers.

Geography

North of Moldova is a region in north-eastern Romania, consisting of the following

counties: Botosani (without Sinaia, Rogojesti and Candesti, which are part of Bukovina)

Neamt (without Bicazu Ardelean, Bicaz-Chei and Damuc they are part of Transylvania )

Suceava (south-eastern part of the county, the remaining part of the historical region

belonging to Bukovina).

Climate

The climate is a temperate continental one. Summers are warm with temperatures

sometimes exceeding 32 °C (90 °F) while winters are cold and windy with moderate snowfall

and temperatures at night sometimes dropping below −10 °C.

Transportation

You can go to northern Moldavia by train, airplane and car.

The nearest major airport in Romania is Iaşi International Airport (IAS / LRIA). This

airport has international and domestic flights from Iasi, Romania and is about 95 km from the

center of Botosani, Romania.

The nearest airport is Suceava Airport about 35 km from Botosani.

Myths and History

Moldova definitely had many great rulers, but the best known was undoubtedly, ruler

Stephen the Great ( 1457-1504 ) . He ruled for almost 50 years , during which has never been

equaled in the history of Moldova . In its time, the country has led many battles for

independence against several neighbors, such as the Ottoman Empire, Kingdom of Poland and

Hungary.

Several of the churches and monasteries built during his reign are now on the list of

World Heritage Sites.

The most popular legend was that for each victory against the Turks (and not only),

Stefan built a monastery or a church.

Stephen the Great was the only ruler of Romania that was passed among the saints by

the decision of the Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church from June 20, the year of

salvation 1992.

Shopping

Northern Moldavia is full of history, but to remember the tradition over the centuries,

we need memories. There are many areas where you can buy souvenirs, definitely you can not

miss the black pottery workshops , and small souvenir shops scattered throughout cities,

shopping centers or even monasteries, villages and resorts.

Food

Perhaps the best known Moldovan dish is a porridge. Moldovan cuisine lies a special

role in meat products , especially cooking hot , and appetizers . The most common are chicken

soup, stew , roast pork ribs , small beef, brined cheese, a mutton stew. Local wines

accompany most meals.

Attractions

Botosani

County Museum (Historical and Archaeological section), housed in a historic

monument dating from 1913, presents in its 17 rooms the story of Botoșani's evolution from

prehistory to the present.

"Mihai Eminescu" National Theatre; the building was opened in 1914, partially

destroyed by the bombings of 1944, and restored in 1958 and again in the 1990s.

The Old Centre (The Old Downtown) is the oldest part of the city from an

architectural standpoint, bringing together a large number of commercial buildings dating

from the 17th and 18th centuries.

"Ștefan Luchian" Art Galleries, the fine-arts section of the County Museum, pays

tribute to Botoșani's rich artistic heritage.

Iasi

The "Vasile Alecsandri" National Theatre, opened in 1840, is the first National

Theatre in Romania. The building, designed according to the plans of the Viennese

architects Hermann Helmer and Ferdinand Fellner, was raised between 1894 and 1896, and

also hosts, starting 1956, the Iași Romanian National Opera.

The Theatre Museum, opened in 1976, at the celebration of 160 years since the first

theatrical performance in Romanian

The Natural History Museum, founded on 4 February 1834, is the first museum of this

kind in Romania with over 300,000 items, the most valuable being the collections of insects,

mollusk, amphibians, reptiles, birds, plants and minerals. Iași hosts six cultural

centres: French, German, British, Latin American & Caribbean, Hellenic and Arab.

Targu Neamt

The Neamț Fortress  was built in the 14th century by VoivodePetru I (possibly on the

ruins of a smaller Teutonic castle), and is located on the north bank of the Neamț river.

Heroes' Monument: an obelisk that commemorates the Romanian soldiers from World

War I is found on Dealul Pleșu near the Pometea suburb.

Ion Creangă memorial house in Humulești, across Ozana river: This is the house

where the famous Romanian writer was born and where he spent his childhood.

Târgu Neamț is an appropriate starting point for trips to the monasteries in the region,

located all on an average 15 km radius: Neamț Monastery, Secu, Agapia, Văratec

Monastery Sihăstria and Sihla Skete. It is close to Ceahlău, Durău and Valea Bistriței.

Piatra Neamt

Bâtca Doamnei Fortress (Petrodava), (4 km south west of the city). It was founded in

1st century BC, but there are traces of a much earlier civilization.

Casa Paharnicului,  It was built at the beginning of the 19th century by police prefect

(aga) Dimitrie Gheorghiadis. This massive building was used as a storage for merchandises

and now there is a restaurant.

History Museum.  Founded in 1934 by archaeologist (and priest) Constantin Matasa, it

has important archaeological collections from the Bronze Era and Geto-Dacian Era.

Natural Sciences Museum,  It was founded in the 1960’s and it has a collection of

fossilized fishes and other botanical, zoological, paleontology collections

Discover

NORTHEN MOLDOVIADay I: Salcea, SUCEAVA

The tourists will land on the “Stefan the Great”Airport in Salcea, Suceava. Afterwards they will get on the bus that will take them in front of the Belvedere Hotel in Botosani witch is 35 km from the airport. They will arive at noon so there will not be any activities planed. Between 7 and 10 they will serve dinner.

Day II: Piatra Neamt

The day will start at 8 a.m. when they will serve breakfast. At 8.45 a.m. the tourists will get on a bus that will take them to Piatra Neamt, a 132 km drive. In the meantime the guide will inform them about this beautiful region and talk aspecially about Piatra Neamt and it’s history and what attractions are there. At about 11 a.m. the tourists will arrive in this great city. At first the guide will show them the memorial museum Calistrat Hogas, the Royal Court Museum exhibition, the Royal Court and Church, the Museum of Natural Sciences, the Art Museum and the Etymology Museum. After a 2 to 3 hour visit there will be a lunch break for about an hour where tourist can enjoy some Romanian cuisine. At about 3 oçlock the guide will take them to the Cozla Park and the Zoo where the tourists will have a 2 hour free time to relax, enjoy the city and visit some of the old monasteries. At five o’çlock the tourist will head back to the hotel but not until they visit the Ruins of a Geto-Dacian Fortress from Batca Lady, a 3 km detour. At 7.30 they will arrive at the hotel and serve dinner.

Day III: Targu Neamt

The tourist will serve breakfast at 8.30 a.m. At 9.15 they will get on the bus to travel to Targu Neamt, which is 96 km drive. At 11 o’clock they will arrive in Targu Neamt where they will visit the Neamt Citadel, the Neamt Monastery, the Memorial House of Veronica Micle, the

Memorial House of Ion Creanga and the Memorial House of Mihail Sadoveanu. After a 3 hour tour there will be a lunch break for about 2 hours where tourists can eat, buy souvenirs and visit monasteries,etc. On the way back from Targu Neamt they can also admire the Forests of Bronze, the Meadow Lime, the Oak Grove Reservation and the Bison Reservation Dragos Voda. At 8 o’clock they will arrive at the hotel and serve dinner.

Day IV: Iasi

At 7.30 they will be serving breakfast. Around 8.15 they will leave to visit Iasi, which is a 122 km drive. About 10 o’clock they will arrive and start by visiting the History Museum, the Memorial House of Mihail Kogalniceanu, the the Culture Palace and the Ion Creanga shack. After this two hours there will be a stop at the Copou Park where tourists will have time to relax, visit the Mihai Eminescu Museum and the bust of Ion Creanga, Mihai Eminescu and the Junimea Alley. In this park exists the oldest monument of Romania: The Monument of Constitutional Laws. After an one hour lunch break there will be a stop at the Botanical Garden. This will end our touristic day and head to the hotel. At 7 o’clock there will be served dinner.

Day V: Botosani

Tourists will be having breakfast at 8.30 a.m. At 9.15 they will head out for a tour of Botosani. They will see the The house Ciomac Cantemir, Nicolae Iorga Memorial Museum, Octav Onicescu Memorial Museum, The City Hall, the Antipa House and Silion House. After a three hour visit there will be a break for the entire remaining day where tourists can enjoy walking, relaxing, eating and visiting a few other places like: County Library Mihai Eminescu, Art Galleries, the Old Town, parks and monasteries, etc. Between 7 and 9 they will serve dinner and prepare for the next day.

Day VI: Romanian Day

At 10 o’clock they will be serving breakfast and afterwards they will enjoy a day in nature, joining a Romanian Festival. The tourists will learn about the Romanian traditions and customs, they will be able to interact and socialize with the locals, they will taste Romanian cuisine and find more about their hobbies and skills. Also there will be traditional dances and music and lots of souvenirs. Between 7 and 9 they will serve dinner.

Day VII: The Departure

Tourists will serve breakfast between 7 and 10. The check-out will be at 11.30 and they all leave by plane at 13.45.