Craiova

If you are looking for a relaxing and charmful new place to discover, Craiova is the best to choose for a city break.

Craiova is a city of creative and generous people, with amazing old buildings and green spaces, good vide and fascinating traditions and gastronomy, ready to be revealed. Is the place where local artists give color to each urban space – pedestrian alleys, parks, walls, benches and gardens transforming them into genuine micro cultural centers.

Craiova is a city where you can relax in the shade of trees while enjoying

the fragrance of artistically placed flowers. With over 800 hectares of green

areas, Craiova is home to the largest natural park in central and eastern Europe – Nicolae Romanescu Park. Spread over 100 hectares and designed by the French architect Édouard Redont, the park received the gold medal at the Universal Exhibition in Paris in 1900. Is an amazing landscape jewelry with a charming middle age castle, lakes, waterfalls, a suspended bridge, a hippodrome, a velodrom for bikers lovers and zoo, all enclosed in the frenzied abundance of vegetation. Various cultural events are hosted here all summer long, at the Summer Theater – the largest open-air showroom in Craiova with a unique dome and perfect acoustics. 

Craiova is the city where you can walk in the most beautiful historic center in Romania, renovated in “La belle Epoque” style. In Craiova you can be surrounded on the streets, in every 24th of June, by the explosion of colorful traditional blouses from 100 years ago, worn by most beautiful girls or you can meet with Shakespeare’s characters played by famous theater companies from Australia, Japan or Great Britain, every 2 years, in april-may, as part of one of the most important Shakespeare’s Festival of the world.

As a curious visitor you may experience Craiova’s harmonious blend of past and present by travelling the city on foot, on Calea Unirii street, to the old Town, in the city’s parks and gardens. You will be amazed by the fragrance of flowers, impressed by the variety of churches and urban pieces of art – both new and old – and awestruck at the magnificence of a large number of historic monuments. 

Craiova’s museums (Art Museum – Jean Mihail Pallace, Bănia House, Oltenia Museum) house masterpieces and artefacts ranging from works of Constantin Brâncuşi to the 30,000-year old skull of a woman. The latter stands as testimony to the ancient history of this region, one of the oldest human settlements in the Balkans. 

The sculptor Constantin Brancusi, Rodin’s disciple, is the most important personality formed in Craiova. A whole museum is dedicated to him in Paris, while the Art Museum of Craiova exhibits the most important collection of his works in Romania. The Art Museum is an impressive palace built in 1907 by the richest noble of Craiova – Constantin Mihail with the distinction of a meticulously crafted jewellery and which housed, at the beginning of World War II Polish, refugees, the Polish President Ignacy Moscicki with his family and Marshal Edward Rydz-Śmigły – the chief commander of the Polish armed forces.  

As a tourist in Craiova, the famous street parade of oversized puppets and allegorical floats is a must to live and see. Puppets Occupy Street – the second biggest festival for children in Europe – animates the city every year, from 25th of August to 1st of September, with live performances of puppet artists from all over the world, concerts, exhibitions, video projection, sand art, video mapping, street animation, visual arts, fine arts etc.

And there are a lot more to see, to live, to tell in Craiova: street food festivals, sculpture camps, urban movie festivals, the Craiova Super Rally Show (in september), the Christmas Fair (november-december) etc. 

In true Latin spirit, Craiova harbors a deep love for sports in general. Fans of football will be amazed by the incendiary atmosphere on the Ion Oblemenco Football Stadium from Craiova (with more than 30.000 seated places), which was voted in 2018 as the 4th most beautiful in the world, according to StadiumDB.com, after the stadiums from Moscow, Paris and Atlanta.

As a sport lover, you can choose to watch a competition at the biggest and modern stadium in Romania for Athletics (with more than 5.000 seated places), you can relax at the Water Park Aquatic Complex (over 54.000 sqm), you can try a family bike experience in the local parks or just take a coffee moment at Barcicleta Social Bike Shop (https://barcicleta.ro/). 

Craiova is situated in the south-west of Romania, at 71 km away from the Bulgarian border and 227 km from Bucharest, the capital of Romania. 

Craiova has an international Aeroport and its regional location grants a very good connectivity to Carpathian Mountains, to the Danube and European ways of communication. 

That’s why Craiova is the best place to visit if you are a tourist on the move. You can experience the combination of visiting the beauties of an inspiring city with a trip to Danube beaches (Cetate or Calafat), to the magical Danube Gorge by boat (Orșova, Dubova, Eșelnița) or to the underground and mysterious network of Oltenia’s caves (Muierilor Cave, Polovragi Cave etc.). A trip to Craiova could be the easiest and fastest way to enjoy the freshness of the Carpathian mountains, where you can admire the landscapes from Transalpina (the King’s Road) – the highest road in Romania or to discover the virgin forests of Oltenia, where wild horses run free.  

Mountains, caves, narrow gorges, monasteries, fortified houses, wineries and royal vineyards like Domeniul Coroanei Segarcea or others, crafts and traditions (Horezu pottery, Oltenia carpet, the art of woodworking) and various events, all of these are to be revealed within 60 – 150 km from Craiova.  

Last, but not least, Craiova is a place to remember for its traditional cuisine. Once you have chosen to try the local food such as roasted dock rolls with fried polenta, spicy dried red peppers, the leek dishes, stuffed crayfish or meat rolled in cabbage leaves, wine and traditional plum brandy you will be forever in love with Craiova and its people. You will get to discover better their local history and how their grandparents used to gather in the house to make plans or relive memories, to tell each other their joys or sorrows.