Hi everyone, we've picked up a great deal to Iasi for the weekend from the UK. We have booked to stay in the centre to keep our lives easy as we arrive early hours of the morning on Saturday and leave Monday night . Would love some ideas of a) things to do on day 1 locally and b) a trip out somewhere a bit different on day 2. The internet is not throwing up a lot of ideas - we will be there end of February so i expect it is out of season but also not an overly touristy city. We love walking/culture/local food and wine/a little history/anything quite energetic and all things people! Open to anything really - we had considered going to Moldova for an overnight stay but time just wont permit it. We really are open to any ideas, thanks everyone
Posted by
TX, USA
4909 posts
I have no experience whatsoever, I do have Iasi marked on my maps as a potential stop when I get to Romania. I am a sucker for old churches and monasteries so both the Dobrovat and Hadambu Monasteries look interesting to me. But yes, on a quick search, I am seeing a number of day trips that head into Moldova - a couple of wine tours I would consider. However there’s probably a day trip available (not into Moldova), even if you have to wait till you get there to find it. Come back and report please!
Posted by
Washington DC
28275 posts
Romania is a really fascinating country. I haven't been to Iasi (or neighboring Moldova), but I see from the map that it's just south of Bucovina, an area known for spectacular painted monasteries. In 2015 I took a one-day excursion to see the monasteries. To facilitate that, I spent a night or two in Suceava, where the excursion originated. I didn't really have an opportunity to see anything of that city. The guide for the bus tour was far from outstanding, but I still enjoyed the day a lot; the visual appeal of the monasteries is such that just about any method of seeing them would be worthwhile. Perhaps some Googling will turn up a tourist agency in Iasi that runs tours to the monasteries. It probably will not be very expensive.
Here's a website with info on sights in Iasi: https://romaniatourism.com/iasi.html
And this website for Suceava has a section on the painted monasteries: https://romaniatourism.com/suceava.html
Posted by
San Francisco
15057 posts
Hi,
If you have the opportunity to visit Iasi , do it. You will find it interesting and intriguing.
It is a singular place in Romanian and the history , ie given its strategic location , of that area., also a cultural site. I know a Romanian here in CA who attended the university there, talked to him about that city as it pertains to the diplomatic history of the Great Powers in SE Europe.
Posted by
Denver, CO, USA
1615 posts
We spent 2 days in Iasi as a transit point in 2018 summer where we started in Belarus, moved to Odessa in Ukraine, crossed into Moldova by train and then took a taxi across the border to Iasi. We stayed at the Hotel Select right in the center. Overall we used this as a relaxing place - wandered around the downtown areas, and visited the botanic gardens which were quite nice close to the university. I will need to try and dig up some notes to see what else we did there.
Our next destination after Iasi was Bergen, Norway which involved a cancelled flight and rebooking and rerouting through Bucharest and Amsterdam. Overall, an enjoyable trip.