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Archaeological Museum
The Archaeological Museum displays Thracian and Roman pottery and jewellery, and ecclesiastical artefacts, icons and liturgical paraphernalia. The museum exhibits its collection of 60,000 archaeological items.
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Atanas Krastev House
The Atanas Krastev House was where local painter and conservationist Atanas Krastev lived until his death in 2003. His self-portraits and personal collection of (mostly) abstract 20th-century Bulgarian paintings are displayed. The cosy, well-furnished house is strewn with personal mementoes, and the terrace offers superb views. The garden also houses exhibits. Buy paintings by living legend Dimitar Kirov here.
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Balabanov House
Once owned by Luka Balabanov, a wealthy 19th-century merchant, the Balabanov House was completely rebuilt in 1980 according to the original blueprints. It contains modern paintings and gorgeous antique furniture.
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Center for Contemporary Art
The Center for Contemporary Art is housed on pl Hebros in the Chifte Banya, an old Turkish bath, and hosts contemporary works.
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Church of Sveta Bogoroditsa
The huge, three-aisle Church of Sveta Bogoroditsa , stands atop a grand series of stone stairs at the old town's base. With its unmistakable pink and blue belltower, this church (built in 1844 on the site of a 9th-century shrine), contains icons and murals, including one depicting a sword-wielding Turkish soldier harassing chained and lamenting Bulgarian peasants.
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Church of Sveti Konstantin & Elena
The Church of Sveti Konstantin & Elena, Plovdiv's oldest, was built over a late Roman church. It's dedicated to Constantine the Great, the 4th-century emperor who made Orthodox Christianity the state religion, and his mother, Sveta Helena. The current church, however, dates mostly to 1832. The wonderful iconostasis was painted by Zahari Zograf between 1836 and 1840, and the covered portico features sumptuous frescoes.
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City Art Gallery
The City Art Gallery, another branch of the State Gallery of Fine Arts, holds small, temporary exhibitions of abstract art.
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Cultural Center Thrakart
Visible through floor-to-ceiling windows in the Tsar Obedinitel underpass, Cultural Center Thrakart contains extensive Roman floor mosaics and various artefacts from Roman (and earlier) times. Concerts are performed on the centre's small stage.
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Danov House
The Danov House, dedicated to renowned writer and publisher Hristo Danov and several other Bulgarian authors, contains a mock-up of a bookshop and a National Revival-era classroom. There's an old printing press, and the gardens offer wonderful views. Enter through a wall up the laneway leading to the Church of Sveta Bogoroditsa.
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Dzhumaya Mosque
The Dzhumaya Mosque, currently undergoing heavy renovation, is one of the Balkans' oldest, dating from the mid-15th century. This enormous structure with a 23m minaret was the largest of Plovdiv's more than 50 Ottoman-era mosques.
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Encho Pironkov City Gallery of Fine Arts
Encho Pironkov City Gallery of Fine Arts displays Bulgarian modern art. It's down a small laneway downhill from ul Sâborna.
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Ethnographical Museum
Plovdiv's fascinating Ethnographical Museum houses some 40,000 exhibits, including folk costumes and musical instruments, jewellery and traditional crafts, like weaving, metalworking, winemaking and beekeeping. Traditional tools ranging from grape-crushers and wine-measures to apparatuses used for distilling attar of roses are also displayed. Upstairs, the restored 19th-century rooms have nice touches like carved wooden ceilings. The most renowned Bulgarian National Revival-period home in Plovdiv, it was built in 1847 and owned by the eminent Agir Koyoumdjioglou, later becoming a girls' boarding school and a tobacco and flour warehouse.
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Hindlian House
The 19th-century Plovdiv 'baroque' style house is typified by an overhanging upper storey with jutting eaves, a columned portico and a brightly painted façade. Inside, the salons, drawing rooms and bedrooms feature finely carved woodwork, painted wall decorations and ornamental niches. What's more, most also display art or other exhibits.
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Historical Museum
The Historical Museum, also called the Museum of Revival & The National Liberation, concentrates on the 1876 April Uprising and the Batak massacre. Built in 1848 by Dimitâr Georgiadi, it's also called the Georgiadi Kâshta .
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Imaret Mosque
Another Ottoman structure, the Imaret Mosque is open; note the unusual minaret. It's between the Hotel Elite and river.
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Lamartine House
Built in 1830, the elegant Lamartine House, also called the Georgi Mavridi House, belongs to the Union of Bulgarian Writers. The building is named after the French poet, Alphonse de Lamartine, who stayed for three days in 1833, during his 'travels in the Orient'.
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Museum of History
Housed within the Archaeological Museum, the Museum of History chronicles the 1885 Unification of Bulgaria through documents, photographs and belongings of the protagonists.
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Museum of Icons
Beside the Church of Sveti Konstantin & Elena, the small Museum of Icons has a sublime display of (15th century and up) icons.
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Nedkovich House
The Nedkovich House, dating from 1863, has a lovely, leafy courtyard that sometimes hosts art shows, but alas, the house is poorly lit inside. The highlights are the ornate wood ceiling and flowery wall paintings.
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Night of the Galleries
Plovdiv's large and thriving artistic community continues creating and sustaining the city's many galleries - already bursting with the fruits of 200 years of Bulgarian painting. On 28 September each year, the magical Night of the Galleries sees every Plovdiv gallery open, for free, from to .
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Philipopolis Art Gallery
The Philipopolis Art Gallery is Bulgaria's first private art gallery and occupies the well-restored Hadzhi Aleko house (1865). It boasts works by 19th- and 20th-century Bulgarian masters like Vladimir Dimitrov, Anton Mitov and Dimitar Gyudzhenov. Hospitable owner Stefan Maletzov happily provides background information and encourages you to take photos.
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Roman Amphitheatre
Plovdiv's magnificent 2nd-century AD Roman Amphitheatre, built by Emperor Trajan was, incredibly enough, only uncovered during a freak landslide in 1972. At its peak, the structure held about 6000 spectators. Now largely restored, it once again hosts large-scale special events and concerts. Visitors can admire the amphitheatre from several lookouts along ul Hemus, or from the cafés above.
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Roman Forum
Just down the steps at the overpass near pl Tsentralen, ruins of the Roman Forum, are still being excavated; peer over the fence along the main road.
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Roman Odeon
Adjacent to the tourist information centre, the remains of a Roman Odeon have been partially restored. There's a tiny, reconstructed amphitheatre and some original columns. It's used for occasional performances.
