A three-week tour of Bulgaria
2024
Highlights of the trip
During your stay you can enjoy the following highlights: Culture / Heritage.
Best times to go
The best time(s) to go is/are : Printemps, Eté, Automne, Hiver.
Where to stay - Rila ?
The map of your stay "A three-week tour of Bulgaria"
Detail of the stay : A three-week tour of Bulgaria
How to get there - Rila
Sofia
Visit of the city of Sofia: the Alexander-Nevsky cathedral, the church of Saint Sophia, the museum of archaeology, the Banya Bachi mosque. Walk to the public garden in front of the National Theater, to the market hall, along Vitosha Boulevard, the main pedestrian area and to the women's market.
Rila - Blagoevgrad
Steps: Blagoevgrad
Visit of the largest monastery in Bulgaria, on the slopes of Mount Rila, about 100 km from Sofia (2 hours by bus to reach the village of Rila). Passage through the historical center of Blagoevgrad, pleasant and which has a district of the National Renaissance.
Melnik - Rojen Monastery
Steps: Melnik
Melnik, the smallest town in the country surrounded by sand pyramids, in the style of the National Renaissance, is known for its production of red wines, unique in the world. Charming monastery with an incredible view of the sand pyramids and the chain that forms a natural border with Greece.
Kovacevica - Bansko
Steps: Bansko
Welcome to Kovacevica, a small architectural reserve. In the vicinity there is a Thracian astronomical observatory. Visit of the small mountain town Bansko, founded in the 10th century: stone and wooden houses built behind fortification walls, to fight against the Ottoman invader.
Belitsa - Velingrad
Steps: Belitsa
Meeting with the dancing bears of the Belitsa reserve. Visit of the famous spa town of Velingrad for its numerous springs and its pure air.
Batak and Dospat lakes - Trigrad gorge - Devin
Steps: Devin
Crossing the beautiful Rhodopes. The Trigrad Gorge is one of the most beautiful places. The cliffs are 200 m high. Visit the Devil's Cave. Overnight at the Devin spa, one of the best spa centers in the country. Also horseback riding, biking and walking.
Chiroka Laka - Batchkovo Monastery - Assenovgrad
Steps: Asenovgrad
Visit of Chiroka Laka, a beautiful little mountain village of the National Renaissance, declared an architectural and ethnographic reserve. Crossing the Rhodopes, detour to the Enchanted Bridges (Choudnite Mostove), visit of the second monastery of Bulgaria, Batchkovo, and one of the most beautiful fortresses of the country, Asenovgrad. Night in Plovdiv. Visit of the old town of Plovdiv: houses from the National Revival period, Byzantine churches, art galleries.
Stara Zagora - Kazanlak
Steps: Kazanlak
Walk in the gardens of Stara Zagora, among the most beautiful of the country and visit of the old town (Roman theater). Visit of Kazanlak, capital of the valley of roses: distilleries of rose essence and Thracian tomb of the 3rd century B.C., inscribed on the Unesco World Heritage List.
Bourgas - Sozopol
Steps: Bourgas
First visit of the old town of Sozopol built on a peninsula. Fisherman's houses, friendly atmosphere and beautiful beaches. Evening in the lively port of Bourgas, with its pleasant streets and seaside promenade.
Nessebar
Steps: Nessebar
Welcome to Nessebar, a rocky peninsula on the Black Sea coast: walk through the cobbled streets of the pearl of the Bulgarian coastline, discovering its forty ruined Byzantine churches.
Varna - Aladja monastery
Steps: Varna
Capital of the Bulgarian coast. Pleasant atmosphere, visit to the Roman baths and stroll along the city's northern beaches. Overnight in Varna.
Visit the Aladja rock monastery, first occupied in the 4th century (17 km from Varna), or the Pobitite Kamani petrified forest 20 km west of the city.
Baltchik
Steps: Kaliakra
In Baltchik, visit the fabulous botanical gardens of the Palace of Mary of Romania. Walk to the cape of Kaliakra and further north to the natural reserve of Yailata with its tombs in the rocks.
Shumen
Steps: Pliska
Visit on the road of the archaeological site of the ancient Bulgarian capital of Pliska and the famous Madara horseman carved in the rock at 23 m height. The fortress of Shumen and the monument of the Founders of the Bulgarian State. Night in Shumen.
Roussé
Steps: Ruse
On the Romanian border, Rousse is built on the banks of the Danube. Visit of the city with its Austro-Hungarian architecture. Ivanovo Monastery carved in the rock dating from the 13th century, classified as a world heritage site by Unesco, in the beautiful nature reserve of Roussenski Lom, then the fortress of Cherven. On the way to Tarnovo, take a break at the Byala stone bridge built in 1867.
Veliko Tarnovo - Arbanassi.
Steps: Arbanassi
Veliko Tarnovo, capital of the Second Bulgarian Empire: houses hanging from the rock walls and visit of the ruins of the Tsarevets citadel. Visit of the village ofArbanassi and its three churches-museums with sublime frescoes.
Dryanovo - Tryavna
Steps: Tryavna
Visit of the Dryanovo monastery and the Batcho Kiro cave. In Tryavna, museum of woodcarving, visit of the old town, in the style of the National Renaissance.
Etara - Lovetch
Steps: Etara
Visit ofEtara, a village-museum dedicated to handicrafts, and of the superb Sokolski monastery. In Lovetch, visit of the old quarter and the covered bridge.
Troyan
Koprivchtitsa
Steps: Koprivshtitsa
Walk to the Troyan Pass, the highest in the Balkans (1,525 m). Visit of Koprivchtitsa, a village-museum of the 19th century, in the national Renaissance style, surrounded by beautiful forests.
