SOFIA HOTELS

Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria, lies in the Sofia plain, enclosed by the Balkan Range Mountain to the north, and Mount Vitosha to the south. A city with a 7000-year-old history where excavations in its very centre bring up objects from Neolithic man, and remnants of the stone and bronze era, Sofia was a settlement for Thracians, Romans, Bulgarians, Byzantines and Ottoman. Nowadays Sofia is the country's leading industrial centre, housing one eighth of the population, the country's political and cultural elite.......see hotels

VARNA HOTELS

The biggest city at the Bulgarian Black Sea coast, Varna is situated 470 km east of Sofia. In the course of more than 7 millennia, the Gulf of Varna has been the cradle of several significant civilizations - humankind's oldest gold was excavated in Varna, created by people who inhabited that place around the 4th millennium BC and long before the Thracians, Greeks, Bulgarians and Turks. The third largest city, Varna, after Sofia and Plovdiv is Bulgaria's most animated metropolis and it rivals Sofia and Plovdiv in providing a wide range of sights and museums. The outstanding treasures of the Archeological Museum include the Chalcolithic necropolis with the oldest examples of gold jewellery ever discovered, and impressive Greek, Thracian and Bulgarian artifacts. Of particular interest are the National Revival Museum, the Ethnographic and City Historical Museum, the Art Gallery, the Navy Museum and the Aquarium, the Natural History Museum, the Zoo and the Dolphinarium, the Sea Gardens.......see hotels

VELIKO TARNOVO HOTELS

The town of Veliko Tarnovo is situated along the historical hills of Sveta Gora, Tsarevets and Trapezitsa, on the two banks of the Yantra River, cutting a peculiar gorge through Tarnovo elevations. It is the former capital of the Second Bulgarian Kingdom (1185-1396) and a symbol of the Bulgarian nationhood. Probably the most outstanding landmark of the town is the medieval fortress of Tsarevets - the ramparts, the Baldwin Tower, the royal Palace and Patriarchate, the Palace Church St Petka and a multitude of small cross-domed churches, showcase Tsarevets's grandeur. To the west lies the Asenova quarter with the 13 century Church of the Forty Martyrs and to the north the Church of SS Petar and Pavel, the sole better preserved church from medieval Tarnovo.......see hotels

PLOVDIV HOTELS

The country's second-largest city, Plovdiv is one of its most attractive and vibrant centers, situated in the Upper Thracian valley, along the two banks of Maritza, scattered upon six unique syenite hills. Certainly, there's plenty to see: the old town embodies Plovdiv's long and varied history - Thracian fortifications overlaid with Byzantine walls, and by great timber-framed mansions erected during the Bulgarian renaissance, looking down on the Ottoman mosques and artisans' dwellings of the lower town. But Plovdiv isn't merely a parade of antiquities: the city's arts festivals and trade fairs rival Sofia's in number, and its restaurants and hotels compare favourably with those of the capital. The Roman Plovdiv revolves around the ruins of a Roman stadium and forum, the Turkish Baths, the 15 century Imaret dzhamiya and the impressive Dzhumaya dzhamiya or "Friday mosque" with its diamond-patterned minaret and lead-sheathed domes......see hotels

KAZANLAK HOTELS

Kazanlak, the capital of the rose-growing region, known as the Valley of the Roses, is located 200 km east of Sofia and 108 km northeast of Plovdiv. The city is well-known for its production of rose oil, the importance of which is reflected in the Festival of Roses held in early June. Nowadays the city is known also as the centre of the Valley of the Thracian Kings. Once a significant area of Thracian settlement, the vicinity of Kazanlak is spotted with countless burial mounds and tombs. The most famous of the tombs, the Kazanlak Tomb, a late 4th-early 3rd century BC domed burial chamber, lies just outside the town centre and contains unique paintings. The Tomb is one of the 9 cultural and historical sites in Bulgaria included in the UNESCO list of historical and architectural monuments of global importance.......see hotels

MELNIK HOTELS

With under 300 inhabitants, Bulgaria's smallest town - Melnik, 20 km southeast of Sandanski, is famous for its robust red wine, impressive houses and natural surroundings. Nestled amidst the southwestern fold of Pirin mountain, Melnik combines memories of a prosperous past and unique in its kind countryside with whimsical sand pyramids, sandstone towers and mushrooms, vineyards and orchards. The original Revival architecture of the Melnik houses with their famous sand wine-cellars, the ruins of the old-time splendour such as the 13th century Boyar House, and the numerous churches, are the reason Melnik has become an architectural reserve. You can still enjoy the justly famed Melnik wine once traded as far as Western Europe in the numerous taverns and hotels. Moreover, the proximity to the 12th century Rozhen Monastery and the Rupite - home village and burial place of the oracle Baba Vanga, makes Melnik the most popular destination in southern Pirin.......see hotels

KOPRIVSHTITSA HOTELS

The town of Koprivshtitsa is the best preserved architectural reserve in Bulgaria. The small town with cobble-paved streets and picturesque colourful houses from the 17-18th century is situated among spacious meadows and quite forests with bracing air in the heart of Sredna Gora mountain, 110 km southeast of Sofia. Koprivshtitsa straggles along either side of the River Topolnitsa and there is hardly a part of town that is not named after an episode or participant in the April Uprising of 1876 in which the town played a crucial role. More than 380 of Koprivshtitsa's houses date from this National Revival era, the most elaborate from 1842 to 1870. Six of them are turned into museums - each of them a real must-see. Koprivshtitsa also occupies an important place in the Bulgarian folk music calendar with its national music festival of musicians from all over the country taking place every 5 years. The town is a key point for hiking and sightseeing in the highest part of Sredna Gora......see hotels

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