What to See in Craiova in One Weekend

Craiova is easy to enjoy in a weekend. The city is compact enough that you can walk through almost the whole centre, but there is plenty to see, so two days fill up nicely.

Day 1 — The centre and the museums

The Art Museum (Jean Mihail Palace)

The building alone is worth the trip. The palace, built at the end of the 19th century, now houses the most important art collection in Oltenia, including six works by Constantin Brâncuși, among them The Kiss and Mademoiselle Pogany.

Seeing a Brâncuși in person, in a palace with marble staircases and painted ceilings, is a different experience from seeing one in an album.

Calea Unirii and the Old Centre

After the museum, keep walking along Calea Unirii. The pedestrian area has been renovated and is full of 19th-century buildings, cafés and terraces. It gets lively in the evening.

The “Marin Sorescu” National Theatre

If you can catch a show, do it. The Craiova theatre has a solid reputation across the country, and the hall is beautiful.

Day 2 — Green spaces and family time

Romanescu Park

One of the largest parks in Romania and, for many people, the most beautiful. It was designed by the French landscape architect Émile Redont and awarded at the Paris World’s Fair in 1900.

It has a lake with boats, a suspension bridge, a hippodrome and a small zoo. For families with children, it can easily fill half a day.

The Botanical Garden

Quieter than Romanescu, and good for a morning walk.

Where to eat

• The Old Centre — the biggest concentration of restaurants and terraces
• Promenada Mall — food court and restaurants, handy if you are staying in the area
• Look for local Oltenian dishes: ciorbă de burtă (tripe soup), tochitură (pork stew) and plăcintă cu brânză (cheese pie)

Getting here and where to stay

Craiova has an airport with domestic flights and a few international ones, a well-connected train station and direct access from the A1 motorway via Pitești.

We are at 7 Dimitrie Grecescu Street, 400 metres from Promenada Mall: close enough to the centre to be convenient, yet in a quiet area with free parking. Every apartment has a full kitchen, which is useful if you stay more than two days.

Practical tip: if you come by car, the Promenada area is much more relaxed for parking than the Old Centre, and the centre is 10 minutes away by car or 25 on foot.