Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
CAR & MOTORCYCLE
Autonom
( 0748-110 557;
www.autonom.ro
;
B-dul Ştefan cel Mare 8-12; per day 150
lei; 9am-6pm Mon-Fri, to 1pm Sat)
rents cars and offers 24-hour assistance.
Around Iaşi
COTNARI
Cotnari is 54km northwest of Iaşi. Its vineyards, dating from 1448, are among the most
famed in Romania, and its famous sweet white wines are exported worldwide.
Cotnari's Cătălina Hill (280m) hosted a 4th-century-BC Geto-Dacian stronghold. In
1491 Ştefan cel Mare built a small church, followed by a Latin college in 1562. Incoming
French monks planted their own grape seeds and, 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 Cotnari Winery's administration.
Cotnari Winery
( 0744-532 426, 0232-730 393;
www.cotnari.ro
;
tasting €50 per
person, minimum five people per group; 7am-3.30pm)
offers one-hour tours and wine-
tasting sessions with food by appointment. Connoisseurs enjoy the 14 September harvest
celebration here. Popular wines include white table wines like
frâncuşa
(dry),
cătălina
(semisweet), and the sweet, golden
grasă
and
tămâioasă
dessert wines.
By car from Cotnari's shop, follow the road towards Botoşani and turn left at the Cot-
nari warehouse - the visitor building is 200m further, down a right-hand dirt lane.
Three Iaşi-Hârlău buses stop at Cotnari daily (17 lei, 1¾ hours). Maxitaxis leave hourly
opposite Iaşi's train station.
CITADELS AND MONASTERIES OF TÂRGU
NEAMŢ
Although Târgu Neamţ (literally, German Market Town) is a grim post-communist backwater, it's a transit hub on
the Suceava-Piatra Neamţ road, and also has significant sights nearby. Rural
pensiunes
(pensions) are preferable
to uninspiring town accommodation (though an organised day tour or drive-by will usually suffice).
In the town itself, the medieval
Neamţ Citadel
(Cetatea Neamţului;
0744-702 415; Târgu Neamţ; admis-
sion/photos 5/15 lei;
10am-6pm Tue-Sun)
was already long considered Moldavia's finest fortress before re-
