Varna
Exhibits at this vast museum, the best of its kind in Bulgaria, include 6000-year-old bangles, necklaces and earrings said to be the oldest worked gold…
Must-see attractions in Black Sea Coast
Summer Palace of Queen Marie & Botanical Gardens
Black Sea Coast
At the far western end of the seafront, this palace was completed in 1926 by King Ferdinand of Romania for his English wife, Queen Marie, when Balchik was…
Burgas
Four lakes surrounding Burgas (Pomoriysko, Atanasovsko, Mandrensko and Burgasko) comprise 9500 hectares and represent the largest wetland system in…
Burgas
This small volcanic island makes for a fun day of exploring. The island, which has served as a religious retreat, a prison and pirate bait (according to…
Varna
The well-preserved ruins of Varna's 2nd-century-AD Roman Thermae are the largest in Bulgaria and the fourth-largest of their kind in Europe. Visitors are…
Black Sea Coast
The diverse collection here includes valuable remnants from excavations carried out at the nearby Kibela (Cybele) Temple (referred to at the museum as the…
Varna
Established in 1878, this large and attractive green space, overlooking the sea, stretches for about 8km and is said to be the largest of its kind in…
Cathedral of the Assumption of the Virgin
Varna
Varna's cathedral (1886) is topped with golden onion domes. Note the murals (painted in 1950) and colourful stained-glass windows, though you'll have to…
Black Sea Coast
This 687-hectare reserve covers nearly the whole of Kaliakra Cape, a 2km-long headland that juts into the Black Sea 13km southeast of Kavarna. Visitors…
Black Sea Coast
This nature reserve is located 10km south of Sozopol, along the main road to Primorsko. Visitors can hike or picnic, but most come for a 30- to 40-minute…
Black Sea Coast
Little is known about this bizarre rock monastery; the caves were first inhabited by 11th-century hermits, but what remains today was created during the…
Sozopol
The largest Bulgarian island in the Black Sea (0.7 sq km), Sveti Ivan lies 3km north of Sozopol's old town. The island's history stretches back to…
Black Sea Coast
Located about 2km south of Sveti Konstantin, along the main road to Varna, the 90-hectare Euxinograde complex boasts a 19th-century palace featuring…
Black Sea Coast
This interactive visitor centre provides information on bird- and species-conservation efforts on Pomorie Lake undertaken by the NGO Green Balkans. From…
Sozopol
Housed in a drab concrete box near the port, this museum has a small but fascinating collection of local finds from its Apollonian glory days and beyond…
Varna
The museum presents the flora and fauna of the Black Sea region, divided into sections representing the area's geology, botany, vertebrates and…
Black Sea Coast
The History Museum is spread out over three traditional houses, around 50m south of the centre. The first building shows off numerous Thracian and Roman…
Varna
The National Naval Museum hosts several galleries of model ships and uniforms. Anchors, artillery and helicopters can be seen rusting quietly in the…
Burgas
Stretching lazily along the Black Sea coast and filled with manicured flower beds, fountains, busts of Bulgarian worthies, abstract sculptures and cafes,…
Black Sea Coast
Explore the rich history of Nesebâr – formerly Mesembria – at this fine museum. Greek and Roman pottery, statues and tombstones, as well as Thracian gold…
Black Sea Coast
Built in the 11th century and reconstructed 500 years later, this is the best-preserved church in town. If you only visit one, this is the church to…
St Michael the Archangel Church
Varna
St Michael the Archangel Church was founded in 1865 and is historically significant as the first place where religious services were given in Bulgarian…
Burgas
This small museum houses a diverting collection of local finds including Neolithic flint tools, a wooden canoe from the 5th century BC, Greek statuary and…
Sozopol
This 15th-century church was built below street level, as required at the time by the Ottoman rulers. Set in a courtyard with a giant fig tree, it is one…
Black Sea Coast
The permanent collection of this gallery holds about 1500 works of art from Bulgarian and foreign artists, though the main draws tend to be the highly…
Black Sea Coast
Offering dramatic panoramic views across the Black Sea, these peaceful gardens overlook the northern peninsula's rocky headland at the end of the main…
Black Sea Coast
Inside a typical wooden National Revival building, constructed in 1840 for a wealthy merchant, this museum features exhibitions of folk costumes and…
Varna
The pretty Sveti Nikolai Church, right in the city centre, is worth a visit for its saintly murals. It’s always busy, and is a popular venue for weddings.
Varna
The beautiful Sveti Atanas Church overlooks the Roman Thermae. Dating from 1838, it features numerous icons and an intricately carved bishop’s throne.
Black Sea Coast
The impressive ruins of this 5th-century church today form the centrepiece of a busy plaza surrounded by cafes and artists’ street stalls.
Monastery of Sveti Georgi the Victorious
Black Sea Coast
Sveti Georgi Monastery, built in 1856, is a small complex set in pretty gardens with a quaint, icon-filled church and a bell tower covered in saintly…
Southern Fortress Wall & Tower Museum
Sozopol
This museum occupies a former granary and part of the fortification walls of the medieval town, dating from the 5th century AD. At this time, Sozopol was…
Black Sea Coast
Typical of the characteristic Nesebâr construction is this well-preserved church, built in the mid-14th century. An unusual feature at the eastern end of…
Varna
Housed in a powder-blue art deco building, the city aquarium is worth a look to see the tanks filled with seahorses, piranhas and conger eels, as well as…
Varna
Varna's retro planetarium is a beautiful building in its own right, though the nightly presentations (shows start at 5pm Monday to Saturday) are in…
Black Sea Coast
With only one nave and one apse, the Sveta Paraskeva Church is a fine example of 13th-century architecture. The church now houses a small exhibition of…
Sveti Konstantin & Elena Monastery
Black Sea Coast
This tiny church and monastery was built in the early 18th century on the site of a holy healing spring, though it has been rebuilt and remodelled since…
Black Sea Coast
Pomorie Lake has been an important source of salt, via salt panning, through the ages. Visitors learn the techniques of panning as well as the history of…
Black Sea Coast
The Church of St John the Baptist was built in the 10th century and features some of the best-preserved murals from the 14th and 17th centuries. The…
Varna
Varna’s ivy-clad city history museum covers the post-independence period from 1878 to 1939, with mock-ups of long-gone 1920s shops and offices,…
