Romanescu Park

<p>Romanescu Park is Craiova's largest urban natural park — 96 hectares laid out in 1900 by French landscape architect Émile Redont. It won the gold medal at the 1900 Paris Universal Exposition. A masterpiece of English landscape style: winding alleys, mixed forests, lakes, fountains, greenhouses, a hippodrome, a small zoo.</p><p>Come to wander, not to tick boxes. There's a suspended walkway, a wooden bridge (the oldest in Romania, rebuilt in 2007), rowboats on the lake, the small hunting lodge (Casa Hagi-Casuții), the pyramid-shaped poplar grove, shady alleys for hot days. Autumn is chromatically spectacular.</p><p>Tip: free, open year-round. Friday evenings are relaxed, weekends bring all of Craiova. Cafes and local restaurants near the lake. Reserve 2-3 hours for a full visit.</p><p>Combine with the Art Museum (Mihail Palace, neoclassical, with a Brâncuși hall) and the Bibescu palace — a historic center walk. Craiova has some of southern Romania's best pastry shops: try "Minerva" for cremșnit and plăcintă.</p>