💳 Essentials
Money, cards and paying in lei
Romania uses the leu, not the euro. Cards work almost everywhere in Craiova; the one expensive mistake is letting a machine charge you in your own currency.
The currency
Romania's currency is the leu (plural *lei*, code RON), divided into 100 *bani*. The euro is not legal tender here, although a few hotels quote room rates in euros and charge the lei equivalent. Every price on this site is in lei, with a rough euro figure where it helps; the full table, with dates and sources, is on what it costs.
Cards
Cards — Visa and Mastercard above all — are accepted in hotels, restaurants, shops, museums and petrol stations, and contactless works on the city buses: tap your card on the validator and that is your ticket. Carry some cash for a Christmas market stall, a village guesthouse out in Oltenia, a monastery donation box, or a parking machine that has decided not to read cards.
The one thing to get right
When a card terminal or a cash machine offers to charge you in euros, pounds or your home currency, decline and choose lei. That is *dynamic currency conversion*: the rate is set by the machine's operator, not by your bank, and it is the worst rate on offer.
Cash machines and exchange
Bank ATMs (*bancomat*) are everywhere in the centre, and at the airport and station. Prefer machines that belong to a bank over stand-alone ones with high fees. If you must change cash, use a bank or a licensed exchange office (*casă de schimb valutar*) and compare the buying rate before you hand over the notes. Never change money with someone on the street.
