Things to see and do Craiova

Since 1954, the Craiova Art Museum has been housed in a superb palace in the centre of the city, known as Mihail Palace, named after the family that built it. Built according to the plans of Paul Gottereau, a French architect, it was completed in 1908, one year after the death of its owner, Constantin Mihail. His son Jean, an enlightened businessman, bequeathed it to the Romanian state in 1936. The building displays an eclectic style typical of the period, mixing French academicism with late Baroque elements. While the façade is richly ornamented, the interiors are equally grandiose: the vast halls are richly decorated with Lyonnais silk, golden stuccoes, Carrara marble, Murano crystal and Venetian mirrors. The palace was completely restored in 2014.

The Art Museum is divided into several sections. The National Gallery presents works of Romanian painters and sculptors, such as Aman, Grigorescu or Jalea. The universal gallery exhibits works from French, Italian, Dutch and German schools, from the 17th to the 19th century. Finally, the museum's masterpieces are the eight works by Constantine Brâncuși, exhibited in a cabinet dedicated to the internationally renowned artist. You will be able to see the famous Kiss, but also the Girl's Head, the Boy's Head, Vitellius, the Woman's Torso, Miss Pogany, as well as a flayed sculpture and a carved wooden corner chair, made when Brâncuși was a student at the city's School of Arts and Crafts.

The central square, piața Mihai Viteazul, houses a statue of the voivode, a native of the city. Bordered by a park, where the Sfânta Treime church stands, this mineral square is dominated by the prefecture, an imposing neo-Romanian building dating from 1913. Calea Unirii, which crosses the town from north to south, also passes through here: here and for 300 m the avenue is pedestrianised. Noteworthy buildings include the Madona Dudu church (1929), in the street of the same name, and the university, which occupies a massive 1890 building at the corner of calea București and strada Arieș.

Find out all about the history of Craiova and the surrounding region in this section of the Oltenia Museum, housed in a neo-Romanesque building. You'll see clay figurines from Gârla Mare, a Dacian treasure, icons, frescoes from medieval churches, photographs of the city in the ^19th and ^20th centuries and evocations of the 1989 revolution. The Museum of Oltenia also includes a section dedicated to the natural sciences, located in strada Popa Șapcă (no. 8), with models, fossils, stuffed animals, paintings..

This section of the Oltenia Museum is housed in the pretty Casa Băniei, built in 1699 by order of Constantine Brâncoveanu, Prince of Wallachia. The typical style created by Brâncoveanu can be found here in the large balcony with columns. The building, remodelled over the centuries, has been used alternately as a seat for the Austrian administration or for the state archives, as a court of law, etc. The collections are devoted to Oltenia's specific crafts: costumes, wooden objects, icons, carpets... The museum also includes a beautiful souvenir shop.

Located to the south of the city, it's one of the largest and most beautiful in the country, covering more than 90 hectares. Designed by French architect Édouard Redont, it was inaugurated in 1903. Set around a lake, it's a very pleasant place, but it gets crowded on Sundays, when families flock to its paths and small zoo. Among the trees and statues, terraces welcome strollers in summer. The park also boasts a suspension bridge dating from 1901-1902 and the ruins of an "enchanted castle"(Castelul fermecat), built around the same time.

To the north-west of the town center, this university botanical garden, created in 1952, comprises various sections covering a dozen hectares. Entering via strada Iancu Jianu, the first section is dedicated to ornamental plants, with superb beds of colorful flowers beautifully laid out on the lawns. You'll see beautiful collections of dahlias, roses, tulips, water lilies and peonies. Other sections are devoted to Romanian and world flora. The garden also includes greenhouses and a beautiful herbarium for all to consult.

Its date of birth is unknown, but probably before 1500. In any case, it's the city's oldest church. It was the church of the great boyar families, and also served as the city's defense tower. After damage caused by the January 1838 earthquake, it was completely rebuilt in 1889 by French architect Lecomte du Nouÿ, who has other church reconstructions to his credit in the country, such as Curtea de Argeș. Byzantine in style, its brick "stripes" make it very elegant.