Piața Centrală, the Central Market of Chișinău

The Piața Centrală is the largest and busiest market in Chișinău: about 3.5 hectares of stalls, halls and alleys between Strada Armenească, Strada Mitropolit Varlaam and Strada Tighina. This is where locals buy vegetables, fruit, meat, cheese and household goods. For visitors it is the quickest way to see what Moldovans eat and how people haggle.

What you see

The market takes up an entire city block in the centre, opposite the central bus station on Strada Mitropolit Varlaam. Walk in and you pass, one after another, vegetable and fruit stalls, meat sellers, dairy, sweets and home-made pastries. Further back the goods shift to clothing, household items, tools and spare parts. Among the stalls you will also find souvenirs, woven baskets and the traditional fur hats (căciuli).

This is not a restored market for tourists but a working one: loud, crowded and at times chaotic. Haggling is part of the deal, and sellers will often let you taste fruit or cheese before you buy.

History

The market has a long history. According to the city authorities, the New Market, which opened in 1825, is the great-grandmother of today's Piața Centrală. In 1829 it was joined by the St Dumitru fair, held every October on the square by the Ciuflea church. By around 1860 Chișinău had become the trading centre of the governorate of Bessarabia: in 1861 there were 4,000 registered traders in the province, more than a thousand of them in Chișinău.

At that time the Old Market and the Ilie market sold only food; other goods were traded at bazaars and in small shops (dughene). In Soviet times it was simply called the Central Market, in Russian Tsentralny rynok. After the war the part towards Bulevardul Ștefan cel Mare was built up with five-storey blocks of flats with shops on the ground floor.

Tips for your visit

Come in the morning: that is when the choice is greatest and the atmosphere liveliest.
Keep your wallet and phone close; in the crowds that is sensible.
Bring cash in lei; most stalls do not take cards.
Look for the sellers of fresh sheep's cheese (brânză) and the stalls with pickled vegetables: this is Moldovan cooking in its raw form.
The central bus station is just across the road, handy if you are travelling on.