As the country’s 7th largest city, Craiova has much to offer, including museums, architectural delights and vast open spaces. There are also street food festivals, the urban cinema, sculpture camps, a Christmas Fair, Shakespeare Festival and the local Super Rally Show in the autumn.
Craiova is home to one of Europe’s largest natural parks, Nicolae Romanescu Park, an award-winning project designed by French architect Édouard Redont. Enjoy strolls through 100 hectares of green space with waterfalls, lakes, a hippodrome, a velodrome, a zoo, a suspended bridge and a medieval castle.
The city’s historic centre is one of the country’s finest. This area, brimming with churches, gardens and jewels of the Belle Époque architectural style, is best browsed on foot. Nature lovers can enjoy a stroll through the English Park, the Chrysanthemum Park, or the Botanical Garden.
To immerse yourself in the local history and culture, head over to Craiova’s Art Museum, an impressive palace dating to 1907, which harboured the Polish presidential family and other refugees in WWII. Today, the museum exhibits some of the most important artwork by renowned local sculptor Constantin Brâncuși, a disciple of Rodin.
Nearby lies the Oltenia Museum with its 3 buildings, one for each section: natural sciences, ethnography, and history-archaeology. Here you’ll discover documents, weaponry, garments, coins and other artefacts dating back as far as Roman times and Bronze Age finds like the 30,000-year-old skull of one of the Balkans’ oldest settlers.
Sports lovers are well provided for in Craiova, where the semi-open, all-seater Ion Oblemenco Football Stadium holds up to 30,000 spectators. Deemed one of the world’s finest stadiums, it’s complemented by Craiova’s athletics track and nearby football pitch. Toward the end of Știrbei Vodă Boulevard lies Parcul Tineretului, which houses a theatre, tennis courts and the local Water Park. Spread over 54,000 sqm, Craiova’s water park and lido features an inviting lazy river, a wave pool and a handful of waterslides suitable for adults and children.
What the lido lacks in terms of restaurants, the city makes up for with its wide array of bistros, steak houses and eateries. In Craiova, you can revel in the region’s finest traditional dishes, such as carrot pilau, garlic green beans, onion soup, aubergine casserole, pumpkin pudding and Oltenești sausages. Served with polenta and polished off with țuica, the local plum brandy, a hearty traditional meal will leave you wanting to explore the wider region.
With car hire in Craiova, a trip to Oltenia’s caves, the Danube beaches, the Carpathian Mountains, or the royal vineyards at Domeniul Coroanei Segarcea is just a matter of minutes.