In optimization, when can we turn an inf to a min?

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Suppose that an optimization problem is written as

$\inf_{x \in C} f(x)$

Under what assumption on $C$ can we turn it to a $\min$?

I think Weierstrass's theorem says that minimizer is guaranteed to exist whenever $f$ is continuous over a compact $C$.

Can we relax the assumption on $C$?