Olt-side and elegant, this western Romanian metropolis is the cultural and economic capital of the historic Oltenia region — a sophisticated and surprising city whose grand 19th-century mansions, leafy parks and excellent museums have earned it the nickname 'Little Vienna' along the Jiu river. Café culture is youthful and pleasant, with pavement terraces along the pedestrian Lipscani street and around Piața Mihai Viteazul, atmospheric coffee houses in the grand Old Center, leafy garden cafés in the spectacular Romanescu Park and a growing wave of third-wave specialty roasters in the regenerated University district. The dining scene celebrates Oltenian Romanian cooking — sarmale, mititei, mămăligă with cheese, pomana porcului (a hearty pork festival dish), the famously good Craiova pretzels, and the excellent Oltenian wines from the Drăgășani and Sâmburești hills — alongside an emerging modern Romanian fine-dining tier, excellent Italian, Lebanese and Turkish restaurants, and a remarkable craft-beer movement led by the local Craft Beer Festival. The Marin Sorescu National Theatre stages year-round drama productions in a beautiful 1973 modernist building; the Oltenia Philharmonic delivers regular classical concerts in the historic Mihai Viteazul Palace; and the open-air summer programmes in Romanescu Park and on Piața Mihai Viteazul are highlights of the warm-weather calendar. Nightlife is enthusiastically student-driven thanks to the substantial University of Craiova population — Lipscani street and Piața Mihai Viteazul host cocktail bars, jazz pubs, and live-music venues; the university quarter has buzzing student bars and craft-beer pubs; the regenerated Sineasca district has emerging clubs; and the city's lively football culture (CSU and FC Universitatea both with passionate followings) keeps sports bars packed. Major events include the renowned Shakespeare International Festival (one of the world's leading Shakespeare festivals, held biennially); the Puppets Occupy Street international festival; the SoNoRo classical music festival; the spectacular Craiova Christmas Market (consistently voted one of Europe's best); the Craft Beer Festival; and the Romanescu Park summer concerts. Distinct neighbourhoods include the elegant historic centre around Piața Mihai Viteazul and the Old Court; the spectacular Romanescu Park (one of Europe's largest urban parks, designed by French landscape architect Édouard Redont and awarded the Grand Prix at the 1900 Paris World Exposition); the leafy university quarter; the buzzing Lipscani pedestrian street; and the rapidly growing modern Decebal commercial district. Architectural highlights are extraordinary: the spectacular 1906 Mihai Viteazul Palace housing the Art Museum (with a remarkable Brâncuși collection); the magnificent Metropolitan Cathedral; the medieval Madona Dudu Church; the 1925 University Palace; the elegant Constantin Mihail House (now an art museum); and dozens of grand belle-époque mansions along Calea Unirii. Day trips lead spectacularly to the spectacular Cozia Monastery in the Carpathian foothills; the Oltenian wine country of Drăgășani and Sâmburești; the spectacular Bistrița Olteană gorges; the medieval citadel of Hurez (UNESCO World Heritage); the famously dramatic Iron Gates of the Danube; and the Bulgarian border for excursions to Vidin and Belogradchik. Founded as the medieval Wallachian capital of Cetatea de Floci and granted city status in the 18th century, the city safeguards its rich heritage in the Art Museum housed in the spectacular Jean Mihail Palace (with the world's largest collection of Brâncuși sculptures alongside Romanian and European masters), the Oltenia Museum, the Romanescu Park, the House of Bania (the oldest building in the city, now an ethnographic museum) and dozens of historic Orthodox churches.

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Population

370,000

Weather

Continental climate at the heart of the wide Wallachian plain gives Craiova hot dry summers, cold snowy winters and famously sunny springs and autumns. The Jiu river adds humidity and dramatic morning fogs in autumn and winter. Spring (March-May) climbs from 3-14°C (37-57°F) in March to a delightful 12-24°C (54-75°F) by May, with the city's many parks (Craiova is one of Romania's greenest cities) bursting into chestnut and acacia bloom. Summer (June-August) is hot and sunny, averaging 16-30°C (61-86°F) with regular heatwave spikes touching 37°C (99°F); afternoon thunderstorms drift in occasionally. Autumn (September-November) cools from 12-25°C (54-77°F) in September to 1-9°C (34-48°F) by November, with the Oltenian wine country (one of Romania's oldest) bringing in the harvest. Winter (December-February) is properly continental, with daytime highs of -1 to 4°C (30-39°F), overnight lows commonly between -6 and -10°C (21-14°F), and reliable snow cover through January and February; the famous Romanescu Park lake regularly freezes for ice skating.

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