Palace of Culture in Iași

<p>The Palace of Culture in Iași is a monumental neo-Gothic castle — 92 m facade, 55 m clock tower, 298 rooms — built between 1906 and 1925 on the site of the old Moldavian Princely Court. One of Romania's largest 20th-century palaces, originally commissioned as a Justice headquarters and later turned into a museum.</p><p>Inside are four museums: the Art Museum (rich collection — Grigorescu, Aman, Andreescu, plus Europeans), the Moldavian History Museum, the Ethnographic Museum, and the Science and Technology Museum (partly fascinating, partly dated). The Voivodes Hall and the Henri Coandă Hall are the most spectacular — vaults, stained glass, huge chandeliers.</p><p>Tip: buy the combined ticket (about €10, gets you into all four). Together they take 3-4 hours — a serious half-day. Come in the morning. Closed Mondays. English audio guides available.</p><p>Iași is a reading kind of city. After the Palace, walk Lăpușneanu street, see the Three Hierarchs Church (stone carved like embroidery), climb to Copou for Eminescu's Linden Tree. Good cafes here too: Akademia, Tea Box, Origo.</p>