Reading culture - Best bookstores in Chisinau

We all are living in the age of social networks and do not really notice how do smartphones absorb our free time. Do you remember when the last time you held a book in your hands was? No? It is a pity because reading today - is everything! Even if Chisinau is a modern city with all of these electronic books and other e-services, it also has a lot of traditional libraries, like the Hasdeu one, that continue the good tradition of reading and caring for the good old paper books. In addition, we have plenty of good bookstores! Where to find great and quality books in Chisinau? Let us find out! 

Treasure islands

For those who hunt for the 'paper books' - Chisinau is not the easiest place to do so, however, the bookstores that we have are the real "treasure islands." There you will surely spend a lot of time and will never leave without buying at least one book. For example, "Librarius" - is one of the most popular "islands," where you can find a lot of books of different types, genres, authors, languages, etc. Also, in this bookstore network, you can buy a lot of gifts and souvenirs for your friends and family, that reflect not only the love for books but also our Moldavian culture. Note - here, you can look for some exercise books and different dictionaries too. Anyway, you will definitely leave this shop with a beautiful book; let it be your favorite author or even a Moldavian one. Be ready to spend at least an hour browsing in there! The main and the most popular store of this network on Pushkin Street is located right in the building of the House of Press. Coincidence? Sure! You can also visit this one spot of interest. 

Fat Frumos bookstore

"Fat Frumos" bookstore is situated on Stefan cel Mare Street. This bookstore is one of the oldest in our city. Usually, when children are studying at school, teachers ask them or their parents to buy academic and exercises books exactly in "Fat Frumos." There we could find a lot of interesting books that helped us during our primary and high education. However, there you will also find much other fiction literature. Like in the "Librarius," you can buy books from Moldavian authors to the modern American prose. If to talk about the bookstore name, "Fat Frumos," it is connected to the most famous character of our Moldavian fairytales - like "Ivan-tsarevich" in Russian folklore and the Prince Charming in others. This is quite symbolic, right?

Librarius Book store Cafe

I have some great news for those who like to read books and drink tea or coffee at the same time. There is another 'Librarius Bookstore' in Chisinau; you will surely adore it when visiting our city! In Librarius Bookstore, you will be able to buy a book or to read your preferred one, along with a cup of coffee. You can even organize a meeting with your close friends! It is located in the center of the city, however, in a tranquil and calm square. Near this Bookstore Cafe, you can find small parks, different markets, and bus stations to get to any spot of the city. 

How much will those books cost?

Prices in all bookstores are not so different from each other. The soft-bound volume of Lermontov or Pushkin will cost about 70 leis (currently ~3,6 euros). Good paper and great colorful illustrations will obviously be more expensive. One newer and hardback book, like, for example, the biography of Steven Hawking, will cost about 300-400 leis (currently ~15,4-20,6 euros). Do not forget that the "Librarius" bookstore is a network of shops that are situated throughout the whole city. The chances to find the right book are huge- however, "Fat Frumos," being the one and only, will offer you great academic exercise and literature books. It is up to you to decide where to go and buy great books. One thing I can assure you: you will never come out of any of those stores with empty hands. Books and reading are everything today: the knowledge we get from them is a great power.