Plovdiv & Southern Mountains
About 30km south of Plovdiv stands the magnificent Bachkovo Monastery, founded in 1083. Most of the complex dates from the 17th century onwards, with the…
Must-see attractions in Plovdiv & Southern Mountains
Plovdiv
Plovdiv’s magnificent 2nd-century AD amphitheatre, built during the reign of Emperor Trajan, was uncovered during a freak landslide in 1972. It once held…
Plovdiv & Southern Mountains
The rust-red ruin of a late Roman church creates an enigmatic silhouette in the fragrant meadowlands outside Perushtitsa, 20km southwest of Plovdiv. The…
Church of Rozhdestvo Bogorodichno
Plovdiv & Southern Mountains
The highlight of Rila Monastery is this magnificent church, built from 1834 to 1837, with distinctive black-and-white archways and three yellow-painted…
Plovdiv & Southern Mountains
Larger and much better presented than many of Bulgaria's regional museums, this multifloor exhibition space preens from a steep hill behind Smolyan's…
Plovdiv
One of Plovdiv's most beautiful Bulgarian National Revival–era mansions, Balabanov House is an enjoyable way to experience old town nostalgia as well as…
Bansko
Surrounded by 1m thick stone walls, this 19th-century church has the air of a fortress. By contrast, the interior is a multicolour marvel with flower…
Bansko
This richly painted 18th-century mansion stands out among Bulgaria's countless heritage properties. Admire elaborate frescoes within the house-museum and…
Pirin Mountains
Standing serenely in the hills 7km north of Melnik, this working monastery has admirable 16th-century frescoes and a holy icon of the Virgin Mary. Its…
St Luke’s Hermitage & St Ivan’s Cave
Plovdiv & Southern Mountains
About 3.7km northeast of Rila Monastery, on the road to Kiril Meadow, a trail leads to St Luke’s Hermitage. Built in 1798, the hermitage features a…
Pirin Mountains
Bulgaria's largest Revival-era building, this whitewashed and wooden mansion beams down from a cliff face at the eastern end of Melnik's main road. Dating…
Plovdiv & Southern Mountains
The panoramic views from Asen's Fortress, which squats precariously on the edge of a cliff 19km southeast of Plovdiv, will make your stomach flutter…
Ecclesiastical & Historical Museum
Plovdiv & Southern Mountains
Rila Monastery's museum has a diverting collection of items and documents from across the centuries, including 14th-century wood carvings, Revival-era…
Plovdiv & Southern Mountains
Yagodina is the Rodopi Mountains' longest cave at 8.5km, and its many abysses and labyrinthine tunnels also make it one of Bulgaria’s deepest grottoes…
Plovdiv
Even if you don't have time to step inside, it would be criminal to leave Plovdiv's old town without glancing into the courtyard of this stunning National…
Plovdiv
Close to Nebet Tepe hill, this late 18th-century house was the residence of local painter and conservationist Atanas Krastev until his death in 2003…
Plovdiv & Southern Mountains
This stone church, built between 1847 and 1849, is now a memorial to the horrific Ottoman massacre of insurgents and their families, who were walled up…
Plovdiv
This 100,000-item museum is a tour de force of Thracian and Roman artefacts, as well as icons and ecclesiastical artefacts from recent centuries. Most…
Plovdiv
Plovdiv's prettiest place to stroll, Tsar Simeon Garden was sculpted by Swiss architect Lucien Chevalas in 1892; he's now lovingly referred to as the …
Church of Sveti Konstantin & Elena
Plovdiv
This is Plovdiv’s oldest church and one of its most beloved. Dedicated to Emperor Constantine the Great and his mother, Helena, it was built on the spot…
Plovdiv & Southern Mountains
Four kilometres north of Rodopi village Zabardo, karst bridges sculpted by the Erkyupryia River set photographers' hearts fluttering. With their tallest…
Plovdiv
Some 203m high in the old town, a hill with spectacular views reveals sparse ruins of Eumolpias, a Thracian settlement in 5000 BC. The fortress and…
House Museum of Nikola Vaptsarov
Bansko
This house-museum was the birthplace of Nikola Vaptsarov (1909–42), a respected antifascist poet and activist. Influenced by communist ideology while a…
Plovdiv
Painted a fetching shade of butter-cream yellow, this three-nave church looks out proudly from a stone staircase at the base of the old town. Built in…
Plovdiv & Southern Mountains
Visitors can explore 330m of passageways in Uhlovitsa Cave, 25km south of Smolyan and 3km northeast of Mogilitsa village, which fires the imagination with…
Plovdiv
Once owned by merchant Stepan Hindlian, this opulent house was built between 1835 and 1840. It’s full of exquisite period furniture and walls painted with…
Plovdiv
A little-visited 16th-century gem, Sveta Marina Church has suberb Old Testament murals on its outer walls, depicting scenes from Adam, Eve and a…
Plovdiv & Southern Mountains
A piece of tranquil nature compared to the tourist bustle at Rila Monastery, 7km southwest, this verdant, pine-backed area has picnic spots and a simple…
Plovdiv
While the once-huge 2nd-century Roman stadium is mostly hidden under a pedestrian mall, there are stairways from different sides allowing for exploration…
Plovdiv
Plovdiv's Historical Museum concentrates on the 1876 April Uprising and the massacre of Bulgarians at Batak, which directly led to the Russian declaration…
Church of Vavedenie Presvetiya Bogoroditsi
Pirin Mountains
In a small, serene garden, this church (1844) has a richly frescoed portico and a unique black-and-white chequered facade. Look for the extraordinary…
Bansko
Occupying a Revival-era stone and wood building, this house-museum exhibits manuscripts by, and photos of, Rilski (1793–1881), the father of Bulgarian…
Plovdiv
Occupying an 1881 girls gymnasium, this gallery contains more than 7000 artistic works by 19th- and 20th-century masters, including Nikolai Pavlovich,…
Plovdiv & Southern Mountains
This excellent gallery features 1800 paintings, sketches and sculptures by local, national and foreign artists. Especially interesting are the upper floor…
Plovdiv & Southern Mountains
Also called 'Devil’s Throat Cave', this dank cave system was burrowed out by the Trigrad River over millennia. A mandatory 20-minute guided tour,…
Plovdiv & Southern Mountains
The dome of Bulgaria’s biggest planetarium, built in 1975, is the mirror image of the equally broad, navy-coloured cathedral cupola opposite…
Plovdiv & Southern Mountains
Although not exactly replicating the voyage along the River Styx (the waterway into the Greek underworld), the journey into Golubovitsa Cave is a…
Plovdiv
Get two famous Bulgarians for the price of one at this tasteful National Revival–era mansion. Seventy-two paintings by Plovdiv native Zlatyu Boyadjiev …
Plovdiv
Bulgaria's first working mosque, this unmissable Ottoman building in the middle of Plovdiv's pedestrianised shopping zone was originally built in 1364. It…
Plovdiv & Southern Mountains
The Danov School (1850) hosts an interesting little museum to Bulgarian Revival education – complete with old-fashioned writing desks – within its elegant…
