Things to Do in Moldova in April

Moldova claims the title of one of the world's oldest wine cultures, and April is the ideal month to go below ground. The cellars at Cricova and Mileștii Mici hold a steady, cool cellar temperature year-round, so while the surface weather seesaws, the experience never changes, except that the spring lull means smaller groups and unhurried tastings. You drive (or get driven) through galleries lined floor to ceiling with dusty bottles, the air sharp with cool stone and old oak, ending at a tasting of bold local reds from the Fetească Neagră grape. It's the single most distinctive thing Moldova offers.

Carved into a limestone cliff above a horseshoe bend of the Răut River, the cave monastery at Orheiul Vechi is Moldova's most photographed landmark for good reason. In April the surrounding steppe turns vivid green and wildflowers edge the footpaths, and the river valley below echoes with birdsong rather than summer's tour buses. The hike up to the bell tower rewards you with a cool wind off the water and a view across the meadows that flattens out toward Transnistria. Go on a clear-forecast day. The clay paths get slick after rain.

Moldova's capital is best read on foot, and April's mild air makes a half-day walk pleasant. You move from the neoclassical Triumphal Arch and the Nativity Cathedral in its central park, past brutalist Soviet-era blocks and the bizarrely wonderful State Circus building, to the busy Central Market where the smell of brined cheese, dill, and spring radishes fills the aisles. A good guide ties the layers together, Tsarist, Soviet, and post-independence Moldova, in a way no guidebook manages.

Crossing into the breakaway region of Transnistria feels like stepping into a preserved slice of the Soviet Union, Lenin still stands outside the parliament in Tiraspol, the currency is a ruble you can't spend anywhere else, and the main avenue is wide, quiet, and lined with red-starred monuments. April's cool, clear days are well suited to the long, flat walk along 25 October Street. This is a guided-trip-only kind of place: the border formalities and the political sensitivities make a knowledgeable operator essential.

Beyond the famous cellars, Moldova's estate wineries open up beautifully in spring. At places around Purcari in the south, the vines are pruned and pushing buds, and you can walk the rows under a warm 60°F (16°C) sun before tasting in a stone tasting room. April's quiet means the winemakers themselves often pour for you. The southern estates pair their reds with mămăligă (cornmeal polenta) and sheep's-milk brânză, eaten at a long table with the smell of woodsmoke drifting from the kitchen.

Moldova's working monasteries are at their most atmospheric in April, threaded through with Easter preparations. Căpriana, tucked into beech forest about 40 km (25 miles) northwest of Chișinău, has cool, incense-heavy churches and grounds where the first spring blossoms open against whitewashed walls. The forest air is damp and resinous, monks move quietly between services, and the steady ringing of bells carries across the valley. It's a calm, reflective counterpoint to the wine-and-cities circuit.