Blog
From Craiova
Shorter notes: what has opened, what has closed, what changed this season, when the Christmas market lights go up, and the occasional argument about who makes the best papanași in town.
The best free thing in Craiova is a benchRomanian park culture is social, not scenic. A bench in Romanescu on a Sunday is a seat at the main event — and it tells you more than the museum does.9 September 2026 · 4 min read
Coffee in Craiova is a duration, not a drinkOrdering a coffee here is a request for a table for an hour. The specialty scene exists because of the students — and the old counter habit is not a lesser one.28 August 2026 · 4 min read
In Craiova, your district is a biographyThe city was built twice and people do not move much, so an address carries a whole set of facts. For visitors it collapses to one instruction: stay central.20 August 2026 · 4 min read
The eleven questions every visitor asksIs it safe, does anyone speak English, six Brâncuși really, where is the old town, and — over the second drink — would you live anywhere else?8 August 2026 · 4 min read
What is actually worth the money in CraiovaWhen everything is affordable, nothing tells you what is worth doing. The museum, the theatre and Oltenian food repay; a three-hour stop is the most expensive thing here.4 August 2026 · 4 min read
What nobody tells you about moving to CraiovaThe year has two halves, July reorganises your schedule, the informal network is the real infrastructure — and you get your afternoons back.2 August 2026 · 4 min read
What changed in Craiova in ten yearsNo landmark project, no capital-of-culture year — just a run of small changes that together altered what a normal evening here looks like.17 June 2026 · 4 min read
Craiova is not a three-hour stopThree hours buys the main street and a coffee, and guarantees a lukewarm review. Six things here are individually worth more than an hour.11 June 2026 · 4 min readCraiova, seen from BucharestIt's smaller than I thought, why does this look like this, six Brâncuși and nobody told me — and then, in the park, the arithmetic starts.16 May 2026 · 4 min read
How to spot a CraioveanWe use a literary verb tense at bus stops, will not be hurried, take garlic seriously, and will walk you to the park whether or not you asked.10 May 2026 · 4 min read
Craiova has no icon, and that is the pointNo fortress, no walls, no medieval core — an administrative seat on a flat plain leaves no silhouette. Which means nothing here has been given up to tourism.4 May 2026 · 4 min readWhy nobody knows about CraiovaIt is not on the way anywhere, the famous things are 90 minutes north, the brand is industrial, we are bad at telling people — and the best thing here is free.2 May 2026 · 4 min readWhy you cannot book a walking tour of CraiovaSpiky seasonal demand, the best sights ninety minutes away, and a city that does not think it needs explaining. Here is the workaround — and the opportunity.30 April 2026 · 4 min read
Why we stayTwenty minutes to anywhere, a city that is not performing for anybody, four performing institutions and six Brâncuși — and an honest list of what you give up.28 April 2026 · 4 min read
Why football matters this much in CraiovaA stadium larger than the city needs, an emotional core dated 1983, and a club dispute a visitor should not pick a side in.24 April 2026 · 4 min read
Sunday in Craiova — the city has moved, not closedWalk the high street at eleven and you will think there is nothing here. Everybody is in the park, at a long lunch, or out of town — and that is the better day.20 April 2026 · 4 min readTen mistakes visitors make in CraiovaThree hours is not enough, the park is not „just a park”, two day trips in opposite directions is a day in the car — and nobody needs to apologise for coming.10 April 2026 · 4 min read
The city after the students leaveIn mid-July the city empties on a specific Tuesday and refills in four days in late September. Fewer people, worse hours — and an art museum to yourself.7 March 2026 · 4 min readThe market at eight in the morningGo at eight, not eleven. Tell producers from resellers by the range on the table, do not touch anything, bring small notes — and buy cheese and honey.25 February 2026 · 5 min readThe first evening of the Christmas marketCrowded, loud and genuinely good. Go once on opening night, then go on a weekday in December — same lights, half the people, room at the stalls.19 February 2026 · 4 min read
