Free entry🏰 What to see, and in what order
Things to do in Craiova — the sights worth your time
Craiova is a two-day city with three things that are genuinely worth travelling for: the Brâncuși sculptures at the Art Museum, Romanescu Park, and a Belle Époque centre that survived better than most. Everything else is a bonus — and we will say plainly which is which.
80 places
The three that matter
The Art Museum, in the Jean Mihail Palace on Calea Unirii. It holds Brâncuși's *The Kiss* of 1907 — the first of the series he worked at for four decades, and routinely called the first modern sculpture of the twentieth century — alongside the student bust *Vitellius* of 1898 and *Orgoliu* of 1905. He learned to carve at the School of Arts and Crafts in this city, which is why the collection is the beginning of the story rather than a selection from it. Pair it with Târgu Jiu and you have one of the best days out in Romania.
Romanescu Park, ninety-six hectares to the south. Laid out around 1900 to a design by the French landscape architect Émile Redont and a gold medallist at the 1900 Paris Exposition Universelle. It works a natural valley rather than flattening it — slopes, a lake, a suspended bridge, a grotto — which is why it does not look like any other Romanian city park. The zoo is inside it.
The centre itself. Piața Mihai Viteazul with the equestrian statue and the fountains, the Administrative Palace behind them, the pedestrianised Calea Unirii, and the Old Town lanes off it. It is a walk, not a ticket, and an hour does it.
The second tier, which is still good
Casa Băniei — the oldest building in the city, now the Oltenia Museum's ethnography section. The Oltenia Museum's history and archaeology wing and its natural sciences wing. The Metropolitan Cathedral of St Demetrius and the Madona Dudu church. The National Theatre, which is worth seeing for the building even if you are not going to a performance, and the Philharmonic.
Green, and why it is not optional
Craiova sits in the Oltenian plain. July and August average a daily high of 30 °C and the centre has very little shade, so the parks are not a pleasant extra in summer — they are the only way to spend an afternoon outdoors. Besides Romanescu there is the Botanical Garden, much closer to the centre and much quieter, and the smaller English Park and Parcul Tineretului.
Two days, in order
Day one, the centre. Art Museum in the morning while you are fresh, Casa Băniei and the Oltenia Museum after, lunch on Calea Unirii, the square and the Old Town in the late afternoon, a terrace in the evening.
Day two, the park or the road. Either Romanescu and the zoo as a half-day with the Botanical Garden after, or out to Târgu Jiu for the Brâncuși ensemble — which is free, outdoors and open at any hour.
For what any of it costs, see prices; for what is open right now, see Craiova right now.
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Where to stay in Craiova
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Before you go
Brâncuși day tripsThe Art Museum here holds his early work; the ensemble he laid out in 1937–38 is 110 km north at Târgu Jiu, on the UNESCO list since 2024. With a driver it is one day; by public transport it is two.Compare day trips →Monasteries of OlteniaHurezi has been on the UNESCO list since 1993 and Tismana is the oldest monastic foundation in Wallachia. Neither has useful public transport from Craiova, and neither publishes reliable visiting hours.See monastery tours →Castle ticketsFor the Art Museum and the Oltenia Museum, an entry booked ahead skips the desk — and matters most on a wet winter afternoon, when everyone has the same idea.Check tickets →Old Town walking toursGuided walks along Calea Unirii and through the Old Town lanes — the Belle Epoque facades carry a century of the city's history and almost none of it is written on them.Browse walking tours →
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Frequently asked
What is Craiova known for?
Brâncuși, who studied here and whose early work — including the 1907 Kiss — is in the Art Museum; Romanescu Park, one of the largest and most unusual city parks in Romania; its Christmas market, twice top of European media rankings; and Universitatea Craiova, whose 1982–83 UEFA Cup semi-final the city still measures every season against.
How many days do you need in Craiova?
Two covers the city properly: one for the centre and its museums, one for Romanescu. A third is worth adding for a trip out — Târgu Jiu for the Brâncuși ensemble, Segarcea for the wine, or Horezu for the UNESCO monastery.
Is Craiova worth visiting?
For three specific things rather than as a general city break: the Brâncuși collection, Romanescu Park, and the Christmas market if you come in season. If you want a dense old town to wander for days, this is not that city — but each of those three is genuinely first-rank, and the Brâncuși pairing with Târgu Jiu has no equivalent anywhere else in Romania.
What is there to do in Craiova with children?
Romanescu and the zoo inside it are a straightforward half-day. The Water Park is the summer answer and what local families actually use. The Oltenia Museum's natural sciences wing and the Colibri children's theatre cover a wet afternoon.
Where are Brâncuși's works in Craiova?
In the Art Museum, in the Jean Mihail Palace at Calea Unirii 15. The Kiss of 1907 is the one to see, with Vitellius (1898) and Orgoliu (1905). Sources count the full holding as six, about eight or nine works depending on what they include. The Kiss has been lent out for temporary exhibitions, so ring the museum if it is your reason for coming.
