The AC Milan Europa League Travel Guide: Craiova, Romania

Craiova? It’s the 6th largest city in Romania and it’s where Milan will head out to on the 27th of July as they face the first leg in the Third Qualifying Round of the UEFA Europa League. The name of the city has a history that is almost impossible to trace - it could be ‘King’ from the Old Slavonic word ‘Kral’ or it could mean ‘Border’. Either way, you can see that this a city with big history. In fact, it’s built on top of the old Roman city of Pelendava. Craiova is known for it’s industry and industrial production is responsible for the vast makeup of Craiova’s economy. Craiova is also know as a ‘University City’ and this shows in CS Craiova, the team Milan will play - who are named after the University and was formed by it’s students.

If you’re thinking about heading to the match, you can still get flights - and that might be the only way you’re getting there. The drive is 14 hours! You’ll land at Craiova International Airport direct from Milan and the cost is pretty steep, we found a return trip to Craiova for about €250 (for just the flight) with Whizz Air that departs on Wednesday the 26th and returns on the Friday Morning. It’s about the same price to depart from London Luton to Craiova as well. Accomodation won’t be much of an issue and will set you back around €130 at the most expensive, and most of the places to stay are based right in Craiova. If you’re backpacking and traveling and want to head to a Milan match; this is the one to attend. Craiova has links to the rest of Europe, meaning you don’t have to just go in one direction. Unfortunately, the match won’t be broadcasted on Romanian TV, accoring to @rbaicu on twitter. Radu also found out that the tickets (8 euros at the cheapest) for the game can be bought on site in Severin - yep, you’ll need to travel up to Severin if you want to see the game. Good news if you’re driving, bad if you are flying in! Severin is right on the border with Serbia. The E79 and E70 lead right to Severin from Craiova.

It’s likely Milan will experience a bit of heat in their match. The average highs in July are 28 degrees celsius, which make for an uncomfortable footballing experience. It’s usually quite wet in Craiova around this time of year as well. Expect a bit of rain and a pretty uncomfortable night if this is your average July night in Craiova. Bring a coat, just incase.