BULGARIA - PURE BEAUTY
7 Nights / 8 Days
Departure on a regular flight bound for the capital of Bulgaria, Sofia. Arrival and transfer to the hotel. Depending on the arrival time of the flight: walking tour of the city without entrances: the Rotunda of St. George, the Church of St. Petka Samardzhiiska, the Basilica of St. Sofia, the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral - symbol of the city, the Russian Church of St. Nicholas, the Parliament, the National Theatre and others.Accommodation and dinner at the hotel.
Breakfast. Visit of the National Museum of History, where the famous Thracian treasures can be appreciated. Continue towards Rila Monastery with entrance to the museum. The monastery is located in the heart of the Rila Mountain Range, 130 km from Sofia, and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Founded in the 10th century by Ivan Rilski, the monastery became the largest cultural and literary centre in Bulgaria during the Middle Ages and the largest religious centre during the entire period of Ottoman rule. Lunch in the area.Return to Sofia. Dinner and overnight at the hotel.
Breakfast. Departure towards Lovech to see the Covered Bridge over the Osam River - the only covered bridge in the Balkans, symbol of the city. The bridge connects the old part with the new part of the city. It was built between 1872-1874 by the master builder of the Bulgarian National Revival, Kolyo Ficheto, and today hosts numerous shops where souvenirs can be purchased. Continue towards Troyan Monastery “Assumption of the Virgin Mary”, located in Oreshak village: the third-largest monastery in Bulgaria. After the visit we will have lunch. Continue the trip to Veliko Tarnovo - a wonderful town with houses arranged in stepped formation over the hills surrounding the Yantra River. Its history dates back to the first half of the 3rd millennium BC, but its greatest flourishing was between 1187-1393, when it was capital of the Second Bulgarian Kingdom.A walking tour (no entrances) will be taken along Samovodska Charshiya Street, a breath of romanticism in the old part of Tarnovo. It is the oldest commercial street of the city with houses in National Revival style and small craft workshops that recreate the atmosphere of the early 19th century. Here you will find woodcarvers, icon painters, armourers, knife-makers, furriers, many ceramic and pottery workshops, and a pastry shop where, among other things, “kadaif” is offered (an oriental sweet made of angel hair pastry, syrup, and nuts). You will be able to see the artisans working according to ancient tradition: real old pottery in the ceramic workshop, carpets and tapestries coming to life on the looms. You will also see from the outside the impressive Tsarevets Fortress (former residence of the Bulgarian tsars), where Emperor Baldwin of Flanders was imprisoned in one of the towers after the great Battle of Adrianople in 1205.Dinner and overnight at the hotel.
Breakfast. We will begin the day with a visit to Arbanasi: an authentic jewel of the architecture of the National Revival Period. It was founded in the 15th century and flourished in the 17th–18th centuries. The local merchants maintained contact with people and cultures from abroad, which influenced the characteristic architecture of the village. Some of the most beautiful houses have been turned into museums. Here we will visit the Church of the Nativity, richly decorated with biblical-themed murals and called by many tourists “the Sistine Chapel of the Balkans” due to the frescoes covering its walls.After the visit we will continue to the city of Shumen to see the Sheriff Halil Pasha Tombul Dzamia Mosque, declared an architectural monument. Together with the complex of buildings surrounding it, this temple is the largest and most architecturally significant in the country, and the second largest in the Balkans after the Sultan Selim Mosque located in Edirne, Turkey.After lunch, our journey continues to the city of Varna - the pearl of the Black Sea coast. Varna is the third most important city in Bulgaria. Ancient Odessos, as it was called by the Greeks, has an incredible historical legacy: the world's oldest worked gold was found in the Varna Necropolis and dates back to the 5th millennium BC (kept in the Archaeological Museum), the Roman thermal baths (2nd–3rd centuries BC), the Ethnographic Museum, the Clock Tower (1880), the Cathedral of the “Dormition of the Virgin Mary” - symbol of the city, etc.Visit to the Archaeological Museum, which houses the objects found in the Varna Necropolis: the oldest worked gold in the world.Accommodation and dinner at the hotel.
Breakfast. Departure towards Nessebar - one of the oldest cities in Europe, founded 3,200 years ago. In antiquity the city was called Mesambria, in the Middle Ages Mesemvria, and later Nessebar. Numerous archaeological findings bear witness to the millennia-old history of the ancient city. Most of them can be seen in the Archaeological Museum we will visit, located at the entrance of the peninsula. In the museum’s halls one can trace the city’s existence from the Thracian period through the Roman Empire, the Byzantine Empire, and the Bulgarian State.After the visit, we will have wine tasting followed by lunch.Continue the trip towards Pomorie to visit the ancient circular mound in the form of a dome dating from the 2nd–3rd centuries AD. The ancient Thracian Tomb Heroon is unique in the Balkans. Its architecture and construction impress to this day with their perfect execution. Architects from all over the world study it in attempts to decipher the secret of its mushroom-shaped dome. It was declared a national architectural monument in 1965.Departure towards Sozopol. Founded by Greek colonists in the 7th century BC under the name Apollonia, Sozopol is another of the oldest cities in Europe. We will take a walking tour (no entrances) through the town and continue to Burgas.Accommodation and dinner at the hotel.
Breakfast. Departure towards the city of Kazanlak, located in the heart of the Valley of the Roses and the Valley of the Thracian Kings. This city, in addition to being the geographical centre of Bulgaria, is the main centre of the rose oil industry - Bulgaria’s liquid gold - an important ingredient in many perfumes and cosmetics. The land of roses is Bulgaria’s business card to the world. A rich Thracian culture inhabited this valley in antiquity: evidence of this is the Kazanlak Necropolis, the best-preserved example of Thracian art dating from the 4th century BC.Visit of the replica of the Thracian Tomb or another original Thracian tomb.Departure towards Skobelevo to visit the Damascena Ethnographic Complex and have lunch.Continue the journey towards Plovdiv (European Capital of Culture 2019), the second largest city in the country after Sofia. The city is a crossroads of cultures, eras, and religions.Accommodation and dinner at the hotel.
Breakfast. Departure towards Bachkovo Monastery, located 28 km from Plovdiv. In size, it is the second-largest monastery in Bulgaria after Rila. Founded in the 11th century, it was destroyed during the 15th–16th centuries and rebuilt between 1640 and 1842. The monastery, which has a large library and museum, was an important educational centre. With the magnificent architecture of its three churches and its extraordinary pictorial decoration, it represents a monument of culture and art.Return to Plovdiv. Visit to the oldest continuously inhabited city in Europe and one of the oldest in the world. During the walk along its narrow streets in the Old Town, we will see the Roman Theatre, picturesque houses from the 17th and 18th centuries, the Church of Sts. Constantine and Helena, the Ethnographic Museum, the old Pharmacy, etc. We will make selected entrances in some places of interest. Lunch.Departure towards Sofia. Arrival, accommodation, and free time until dinner at the hotel.
Breakfast. Transfer to the airport for departure on a regular flight home.Arrival and end of trip.
