Experience the best of Piatra Neamț

Piatra Neamț lies in a valley of the Bistrița river in the eastern Carpathians, with wooded hills on all sides and the rocky outcrop of Cozla rising above the centre. A cable car climbs Cozla for views, and the ruins of the medieval princely court of Stephen the Great, with its bell tower of 1499, stand in the old quarter. The county museum holds pottery from the Cucuteni culture, an ancient farming people of the region.

Lake Bicaz, a large mountain reservoir, is west of the town, and the Ceahlău massif, with its bare rock summits and a mountain-walking tradition, rises beyond it. To the north, the Neamț Monastery is among the oldest and most important in Moldavia, and the stone fortress of Neamț stands in the town of Târgu Neamț.

Moldavian cooking, with polenta, sour soups, cabbage rolls and smoked pork dishes, is served in the town's restaurants, and trout comes from the mountain streams. Summer is cool and green in the hills, and winter brings snow to the surrounding slopes. The town is a base for the eastern Carpathians.