The Metropolitan Cathedral of Saint Demetrius is the oldest church in Craiova. Some historians have dated its existence back to the 8th-11th centuries. However, the year specified in first official record, where it is referred to as the Princely Church of Craiova, is 1645. The church houses relics of Saint Niphon, Patriarch of Constantinople, Saints Sergius and Bacchus, and Saint Tatiana of Rome. In the past, Oltenia’s oldest school for priests functioned here.
Visit to Madona Dudu Church, St. Demetrius Cathedral, Mântuleasa Church and the Church of the Holy Trinity, Craiova (optional)
Departure from Craiova
Visit to the Monastery of Maglavit or visit to the St. Nicholas Church, Calafat (optional)
Visit to the Museum of Art and Ethnography, Calafat (optional)
Departure to Belogradchik
Lunch in Vidin area
Departure to Belogradchik and visit to the Magura cave or Kaleto fortress in Belogradchik and The Belogradchik Rocks (optional)
Departure to Chiprovtsi, dinner and overnight accommodation
Visit to the Chiprovtsi Monastery of St. John of Rila, town of Chiprovtsi
Free time in Chiprovtsi and visit to the Museum in the town
Lunch in the town of Chiprovtsi
Departure to the Monastery of St. Ivan Pusti
Dinner and overnight accommodation in the Monastery
Departure to Vratsa
Visit to the Cathedral of Holy 12 Apostles, Vratsa
Visit to the Church of Saints Constantine and Helen, Vratsa
City tour and visit to the Ledenika cave
Lunch in Vratsa
Visit to the Cherepish Monastery of the Dormition of the Theotokos
Visit to the Ritlite rock formation, Skoklya waterfall, the Cherepish rocks (optional)
Dinner and overnight accommodation in the area
Departure to Vidin
Visit to the churches of St. Pantaleon and of the St. Paraskevi, the Cathedral of St. Demetrius and the Church of St. Nicholas
Lunch in Vidin
Free time: visit to the Baba Vida Fortress, Krastata Kazarma museum and Historical Museum, Vidin (optional)
Dinner and overnight accommodation in Vidin
Hotel-restaurant RAMADA
GPS coordinates: 44.321184 / 44°19’16” N – 23.795993 / 23°47’45” E
Address: 1 Calea București Str., Craiova
Hotel Helin Central
GPS coordinates: 44.318489 / 44°19’6” N – 23.800482 / 23°48’2” E
Address: 14, Alexandru Ioan Cuza Str., Craiova
Restaurant Iberico
GPS координати: 44.317182 / 44°19’21” N – 23.798969 / 23°47’56” E
Address: 13, Romen Rolan Street, Pedestrian Area of the Old Town, Craiova
Hotel – restaurant Tata și Fii (Fathers and sons), Becket
GPS coordinates: 43.786058 / 43°47’10” N – 23.954573 / 23°57’16” E
Address: 51 Alexandru Ioan Cuza Str., Becket
Hotel – restaurant Casa Verde(Green House), Becket
GPS coordinates: 43.779065 / 43°46’45” N – 23.961584 / 23°57’42” E
Address: 7 Calea Dunării Str., Becket
Hotel – restaurant Coliseum, Calafat
GPS coordinates: 43.993466 / 43°59’36” N – 22.931091 / 22°55’52” E
Address: Gheorghe Doja Str., Calafat
Craiova Art Museum
GPS Coordinates: 44.319323 / 44 ° 19’9 “N – 23.794477 / 23 ° 47’40” E
Address: 15 Calea Unirii str., Craiova, Dolj county
Craiova Art Museum is located right in the centre of the city and is housed in the splendid palace of the Mihail family. This beautiful site was built between 1900 and 1907, according to the plans of the French architect Paul Gottereau, at the request of the family of Constantin Mihail, one of the richest families in Romania at that time. The best quality materials were used for the construction of the palace by foreign builders, generally Italians, who had lived in the Oltenia region. Its chief architect was the Italian Constantino Cichi. The Palace has 29 rooms, plus facilities. This building is a true masterpiece of the architecture. The Museum has been operating in this building since 1954. It rich cultural heritage consist of about 12,000 artistic works.
Băniei House, Craiova
GPS coordinates: 44.314705 / 44 ° 18’53 “N – 23.792139 / 23 ° 47’31” E
Address: 16 Matei Basarab str., Craiova, Dolj county
The House of Băniei is an emblematic building for the whole region of Oltenia. Whoever visits this historic and cultural building has the opportunity to step into the world of the folklore traditions through its thematic exhibitions. The House of Băniei is the oldest civilian building in Craiova, erected in 1699 at the initiative of Prince Constantin Brâncoveanu, on the site of a former edifice from the fifteenth century, which originally belonged to the great families of the boyars Craioveşti. The House of Băniei is located in the centre of the city, close to St. Mark’s Square. Since 1966, this old Brancovenian architectural monument houses the Ethnography Section of the Oltenia Museum, and hosts collections that currently include over 9,000 pieces, grouped as folklore art collections, such as traditional peasant tools, traditional musical instruments, pottery, carved wood, carpets , leather goods, popular costumes and clothes, icons and other religious objects, etc.
Museum of Oltenia – Department of History and Archeology
GPS Coordinates: 44.316970 / 44 ° 19’1 “N – 23.789637 / 23 ° 47’22” E
Address: 4 Madona Dudu street, Craiova, Dolj County
Short presentation: The Oltenia Museum comprises of 3 main sections, located in different buildings in the city of Craiova. The most important and interesting of them is the Department of History and Archeology, which is in a building that originally belonged to the Madona Dudu Church. At the beginning of the 20th century, the construction of the current headquarters started with public funds provided by the Ministry of Education and the City of Craiova, because the first school of boys and girls was inaugurated in 1906 on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the reign of King Carol I. In the 1940 earthquake the building was severely damaged and the communist regime abolished the school in 1948, the building being the destination of the museum.
Nicolae Romanescu Park
GPS Coordinates: 44.302102 / 44 ° 18’7 “N – 23.798774 / 23 ° 47’55” E
Address: 1A Bulevardul Nicolae Romanescu, Craiova, Dolj County
Nicolae Romanescu Park in Craiova is the third largest park in Europe, being one of the favorite places both for the locals and the tourists. Nicolae Romanescu, who was chosen as a mayor of Craiova in 1898 and who ordered to modernize and give a European image of the city, has put into practice a project of landscaping and public gardens. The official inauguration of the park was on September 29, 1903, in the presence of King Carol I of Romania. Currently, Nicolae Romanescu Park has an area of about 96 hectares, a central lake with an area of 4 hectares and long alleys. Nicolae Romanescu Park also hosts one of the oldest zoos in Romania, inaugurated in 1906. Craiova has the privilege to host one of the largest and most beautiful parks in Europe, an exceptional monument of landscape architecture.
Craiova Botanical Garden
GPS Coordinates: 44.323441 / 44 ° 189’24 “N – 23.790325 / 23 ° 47’25” E
Address: 26 Constantin Lecca street, Craiova, Dolj county
The Botanical Garden in Craiova is named after the initiator of its foundation in 1952, the university professor Alexandru Buia, and is based on 50 years old original plans of the French landscape architect Emile Redont. Alexandru Buia, an university professor, who turned these plans into reality, so the current Botanical Garden is organized as a botanical garden of Craiova University. It has plant specimens, collected from different regions of the country and preserved as reference material. There are also 3 artificial lakes. The garden occupies a large area in the city centre of Craiova. Its visitors can see plants and trees from all corners of the world, some of which are easily recognizable, and others are totally unknown in our country. The Botanical Garden “Alexandru Buia” is well known both nationally and internationally and has been included in the International Association of Botanical Gardens. It has recently become a promenade and relaxing place for the citizens of Craiova.
