1st day |
Sofia. Hotel accomodation. Overnight.
|
2nd day |
Sofia-Rila Monastery –Sofia
World Heritage. Founded in the 10th century by the Bulgarian monk St. John of Rila.
|
3rd day |
Sofia-Bachkovo-Plovdiv
Visit to Bachkovo Monastery. At 28 kms from Plovdiv it is the second in importance in Bulgaria. It was built in 1083. From ancient times it was used as an ossuary, and both its architecture and wall-paintings are exquisite.
|
4th day |
Plovdiv
Panoramic city tour of Plovdiv. Lucina the Greek called Plovdiv “the biggest and most beautiful of all towns” in Thrace. It is Bulgaria’s second largest city. The old town show us the long and varied history of the city: the Thracian fortifications used by Macedonians masons and overlaid with Byzantine walls, the mansions erected during the Bulgarian Revival, the Ottoman mosques and artisan?s homes of the lower town.
|
5th day |
Plovdiv-Kazanlak-Shipka-Etara-Triavna-Veliko Tarnovo
Kazanlak: Since the 19th century Kazanlak has been the centre of Bulgarian rose-growing and rose-oil manufacturing. Many people from all over the world associate Bulgaria with the fragrant rose of Kazanlak.The city is most famous for the Thracian tomb of Kazanluk. The tomb was excavated in 1944 and is one of the 9 cultural and historical sites in Bulgaria included in the UNESCO list of historical and architectural monuments of global importance. Visit of the Thracian Tomb and the House of Roses.
Shipka, Visit to Shipka Memorial Church. It was erected after Bulgaria’s Liberation from Turkish rule as a monument to both Russian and Bulgarian soldiers that died in the fierce battles here. T
Visit to Etara, an open-air ethnographic museum located on the outskirts of Gabrovo. Arts and crafts from bygone years are still practised here.
Visit to Triavna.The whole town exudes an air of the National Revival period: richly designed wood carvings inside and outside the houses. The most important house must be visited is the Daskalov?s House built in 1804, which has been turned into an ethnographic museum
|
6th day |
Veliko Tarnovo-Arbanassi-Veliko Tarnovo
Veliko Tarnovo: The royal city of Veliko Tirnovo, once capital of the Second Bulgarian Empire, is situated on three hills encircled by the Yantra river. The sheer cliffs are home to houses, perched one on top of another, right down to the river?s bank. The main hill, Tsarevets, was a natural inaccessible fortress on which the royal palace, the patriarchate and the many domed churches were built.
Visit to Arbanassi one of Bulgaria?s most picturesques villages. At only 4 km north east from Tarnovo, it represents an architectural jewel of the Revival Period.
|
7th day |
Veliko Tarnovo-Shumen-Varna
Departure to Varna with stop in Shumen for visiting the Tombul Dzhamia Mosque. Arrival and accommodation in Varna.
|
8th day |
Varna-Ruse
Panoramic city tour of Varna, the gem of the Bulgarian Black Sea is a beach resort and the third city most important in Bulgaria. It was an important port and trading centre from ancient times: Odessos (the ancient name of Varna). In the afternoon drive to Ruse. Overnight in Ruse.
|
9th day |
Ruse-Sofia
Walking city tour of Ruse .The city is on the Danube river and its location is amphitheatrical. Rousse is the largest Bulgarian city on the Danube and the fifth largest city in Bulgaria with tradition and modernity in one. The major factor for the territorial development of the town of Ruse is the Danube river along which the town has been developing during the ages.
|
10th day |
Transfer OUT
|