Tiraspol

Tyras (Τύρας) is said to have been founded about 600 BC, as a colony of the Greek city Miletus, some 10 km from the mouth of the Tiras River (Dniester). It was refounded in 1792 by Field Marshal Alexander Suvorov on behest of empress Catherine the Great, as a border fortress on conquered land from the Ottoman Empire. The city's central square features the equestrian statue of Suvorov. Tiraspol was the capital of the Moldavian ASSR from 1929 until 1940.

Tiraspol is landlocked, and largely closed off from the outside world, due to a lack of transcontinental infrastructure. There is neither an airport nor a seaport in Transnistria. The nearest international airport is in neighbouring Moldova.

The present city has relatively modern infrastructure. The state-run bus service is a simple, fairly accessible method of transportation operating at peak hours during the day, made up of trolleybuses and maxi taxis (the latter cost 3.95 rubles), you pay on board. Night-time operations were halted due to an increase in criminal drug trafficking, which became rampant on the bus system during the mid-1990s. Subsequent reforms by ex-President Smirnov and other officials enabled the bus system to remain open for at least the better part of the day, restoring a much needed public service to the Transnistrian population.

The local sewer system and electrical grid are state-of-the-art, adapted from models based in western Europe. The Transnistrian basic infrastructure was built in the mid-1990s with the profits gained after the war of independence in 1992.

You will mostly be happy to get around on foot.

You might enjoy a visit to the main street with its parliamentary building boasting a relatively new Lenin statue. Opposite, a T-34 tank from the Great Patriotic War era forms part of a monument which also contains soil from the pivotal battle of Stalingrad.

You can see most of what there is to see in Tiraspol by walking along 25 October, the main street. There are several nice parks in the city, including the Culture Park near the university. This has abundant trees and a mixture of abandoned and enthusiastically used amusement park rides, and is a good place for people-watching. Most of the big monuments are at the south end of the city, about 2 km from the Palace of Soviets. It is also worth taking a small detour off the Main Street and going down to the Dniester river, where locals tend to gather in the summer.

• 🌍 Suvorov Square (Площадь Суворова), The city center (between Red Alley and Shevchenko Street). The city's central square is named after Alexander Suvorov, the founder of Tiraspol. It is surrounded by the Memorial of Glory, the building of the Supreme Council of Transnistria, the Palace of children and teenagers, and monuments to Suvorov and Catherine the Great. (updated Jan 2020)
• 🌍 Supreme Soviet (Parliament of Transnistria), 45, Strada 25 Octombrie. An impressive government building like not many others from the Soviet era. The building can be found on the back of the 50-rouble note of Transnistria. (updated Dec 2022)

• 🌍 Lenin Monument. A statue of Comrade Lenin in front of the parliament building. (updated Dec 2022)

• 🌍 T-34 Tank Monument (Memorial of Glory). Like many former Soviet cities, also Tiraspol has a tank on display—a Russian depiction of Soviet Power and symbol for the halt of the expansion of the Ottoman Empire. (updated Jun 2019)
• 🌍 House of Soviets (Каса Советелор). City Hall in an impressive Soviet-era building with a bust of Lenin in front. (updated Sep 2019)
• 🌍 The Christmas Cathedral (Church of the Nativity) (just east of the central produce market). A beautiful Russian-Orthodox church. Nice interior with colorful paintings. (updated Jun 2019)
• 🌍 Yuriy Gagarin Monument. (updated Jun 2019)
• 🌍 Mig-19 Monument (Monument to Aviators). Erected in 1975 and surrounded by beautiful pine trees. (updated Jun 2019)
• 🌍 Noul Neamț Monastery (from 25th October Street in Tiraspol cross the river, where minibuses leave approximately every half an hour, take 10 min/7 km to the monastery (take the second stop), and cost 4 lei each way). Daylight hours. A beautiful monastery complex just south of Tiraspol with a number of sizeable churches to explore. If you have concluded your visit to Tiraspol, take the bus back or hitch west towards Bendery, where you can catch a bus back to Chișinău. Free entry, though the tower may only be accessible if visiting as part of a tour. (updated Sep 2019)

• Visit the Soviet monuments that remain in Tiraspol. You may also want to visit the local drama theatre and local museums (closed Mondays) near the centre of the city. There are cheap boat tours on the Dniester which take about 30 minutes; just board the boat, the guide will collect the money after the ship departs (25 rubles).
• Iceskating - near where the mashrutkas from the Ukrainian border arrive is an ice rink. 65 rubles.
• Sheriff Casino - inside the Russia Hotel
• A point of interest is that although there are no foreign embassies in Transnistria, both South Ossetia and Abkhazia have representative offices in Tiraspol and Russia itself has a consulate.
• The information office on the Main Street has friendly, English-speaking staff. It also doubles as what is apparently the state's only souvenir shop, offering a range of postcards, shot glasses and other goods.
• Watch football: FC Sheriff Tiraspol play soccer in Divizia Națională, Moldova's top tier. They often do well and qualify for European tournaments. The Sheriff Stadium (capacity 12,700) is 3 km west of city centre.

The famous Transnistrian 'Kvint' vodka and cognac can be purchased at several liquor stores throughout the city, as well as the Kvint factory (the latter being an attraction in itself). The vodka is approximately US$3/litre.

There are many shops and markets to purchase local food, drink and their famous Transnistrian brandy, Kvint. Kvint's factory is at ul. Lenin, 38 (+373 533 9-61-70), and it has several shops around town. Transnistria is also known for a vodka drink commonly referred to as a "smirnovka" - appropriately named after president Igor Smirnov.

Further along the river in the city centre are a handful of bars and restaurants which usually are open until about midnight.

There are several large and modern discos in the centre. They are usually open until late, seven days a week. Tourists are rare and the few English-speakers that might be around are often very happy to communicate with foreigners.

In some hotels hot water and showers are not standard. They often cost extra on top of the price of a basic room, although often no more than a few dollars on top of the base price.

• Hotel Russia, Svedlova, 67 (down the street from the Parliament building, a 15-min walk from the train/bus station), ☏ +373 533 38 000. A modern business hotel with restaurant, terrace, casino. Breakfast 95 rubles. From €50 without breakfast. (updated Sep 2018)
• Lenin Street Hostel, Lenina 28, ☏ +373 777 57 005, +373 68 188 352, gotiraspol@gmail.com. Check-in: 14:00-20:00, check-out: 08:00-11:00. Free WiFi, free breakfast, hot water, shower/toilet, cosy well equipped kitchen, mini laundry, souvenirs. 
• Tiraspol Hostel, Mira 36 (opposite the Pobedi Park), ☏ +373 68 571-472, tiraspolhostel@gmail.com. There are a number of bars within walking distance, with centre reachable by public transport, or just a few dollars in a taxi. (As of June 2015 the owner was running homestays for 200 rubles per night per person. He meets guests at the bus/train stations and takes them to the accommodation). 
• Hotel Aist, Naberezhnyi 3. Soviet museum of a hotel but is well located near the main square and overlooks the river. Do not expect the comfort of a decent hostel or even hotel. The showers are barely dripping and there is no laundry service, etc. The "luxury" rooms are equipped with a TV set and a fridge. There's a bar on the second floor with a terrace that overlooks the river Dniestr. Do not expect anybody to speak English. A two-room en suite twin without hot water costs 250 rubles, 400 with hot water. 
• Hotel Timoty, 395A, Karl Libknecht str. Rooms at Hotel Timoty with standard western amenities are available for around US$50, depending on the size of the room, the date of your reservation, and your nationality. Note that many hotel rooms at cheaper hotels may not havd a private bathroom. And even if you have a private bathroom, hot water is not guaranteed. Ask in advance. 

A cheaper alternative to staying in a hotel is to rent a private apartment.

Orange Moldova gives around 2 bars of 3G signal in most of Tiraspol as it's still relatively close to Moldova proper, however the further away you go and inside buildings the signal can become weaker or entirely nonexistent. Don't rely on this.

Many restaurants now have free password-protected wifi available, ask the staff and they will gladly help you out.

There are public wifi hotspots at various central locations in Tiraspol operated by Interdnestrcom called IDC Wi-Fi however it's limited to 30 minutes per day at slow speed, and the premium packages cannot be purchased with international payment cards.