Moldova’s most famous attractions are underground. At Cricova, just north of Chișinău, and Mileștii Mici, just south of it, former limestone quarries have been turned into wine cellars on an almost absurd scale: tunnels tens of kilometres long, named like streets after grape varieties, where visitors are driven past endless rows of barrels and bottles.
Cricova is known for sparkling wine made by the traditional method and for its showy tasting halls. Mileștii Mici holds a Guinness World Record, awarded in 2005, for the largest wine collection in the world — well over a million bottles. Both are easy half-day trips from the capital and combine well with a day in Gagauzia for anyone interested in Moldovan wine.
Top things to do: Cricova & Mileștii Mici
Tour the Cricova tunnels
A guided ride through the galleries by electric vehicle, with stops at the sparkling-wine production area, the national collection and the themed tasting rooms.
See the Mileștii Mici “Golden Collection”
Tours follow the galleries — often in your own or the tour’s vehicle — to the record-breaking collection of bottles ageing in niches cut into the rock, then finish in underground tasting halls.
Taste
Both wineries offer tasting packages ranging from a few wines with snacks to full meals. Sparkling wines are the speciality at Cricova, aged reds at Mileștii Mici.
Do both in a day
Private tours link the two cellars in around six hours with transport from Chișinău — the most efficient way to compare them.
How to get to Cricova & Mileștii Mici
- Cricova is about 15 km north of central Chișinău and Mileștii Mici roughly 20 km south. Neither is convenient by public transport for a timed tour, so most visitors book a tour with transfers or take a taxi.
- Visits are by timed, pre-booked tour only; you cannot simply walk in.
Insider tips
- It is cool underground all year — roughly 12–14 °C — so bring a jacket even in July.
- Book several days ahead in summer and around the National Wine Day weekend in early October.
- If you only have time for one, choose Cricova for sparkling wine and spectacle, Mileștii Mici for the sheer scale of the collection.
Tours & day trips: Cricova & Mileștii Mici
These bookable day trips are the easiest way to see Cricova & Mileștii Mici and the area around it — check each itinerary for the exact stops:
Half-day tour from €130 Mileștii Mici Underground Tour, Tasting & Wine Labyrinth
A half-day trip from Chișinău to Mileștii Mici, the vast limestone cellar famous for the largest wine collection in the world, with a tour of the galleries and a tasting.
- The world’s largest wine cellar
- Tour of the underground galleries
- Wine tasting included
Private tour from €210 From Chișinău: Visit Cricova and Mileștii Mici Wineries
A private guided tour that covers both of Moldova’s enormous underground wineries, Cricova and Mileștii Mici, with different wines tasted alongside typical Moldovan appetisers.
- Both giant cellars in one day
- Private guided tour
- Tastings with Moldovan appetisers
Half-day tour from €162 Moldova: Tour of Cricova Winery with Wine Tasting & City Tour
A visit to the Cricova winery with a tasting, followed by a one-hour city tour of Chișinău — a compact way to cover the capital and its most famous cellar in a single afternoon.
- Cricova winery visit
- Wine tasting
- One-hour tour of Chișinău
Day trip from €135 From Chișinău: Old Orhei Complex and Cricova Wine Tasting
One day, two essentials: the Underground City of Cricova, one of Moldova’s most visited wineries, with a tasting, and the Old Orhei archaeological complex.
- Cricova underground wine city
- Wine tasting
- Old Orhei archaeological complex
