The journey
Sofia's Roman ruins, Plovdiv's painted houses, and the Valley of the Thracian Kings.
Bulgaria is one of the best-value destinations in Europe and one of the least visited by Western tourists. Sofia has Roman ruins beneath its streets and a late-night food scene that rivals Belgrade. Plovdiv was European Capital of Culture in 2019 and has a Roman amphitheatre in the city centre, still used for concerts. The Rila Monastery is one of the most significant sites of Bulgarian national identity.
Five nights is enough to see the highlights properly — the capital, the country's most beautiful city, and the extraordinary archaeological landscape of the Thracian plain.
Day by day
The itinerary
Sofia
Sofia — Layers Below the Street
Sofia's secret is underground: Roman Serdica lies directly beneath the modern city, its streets and buildings visible through glass floors in the metro stations and pedestrian underpasses. Above ground: the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, the Boyana Church (UNESCO, with 13th-century frescoes that anticipate the Renaissance), and the National Palace of Culture, Bulgaria's most ambitious socialist modernist building.
Rila Mountains
Rila Monastery — The National Symbol
The Rila Monastery is Bulgaria's most important cultural monument: a 10th-century foundation, rebuilt in the 19th century in a style of extraordinary ornamental complexity, set in a valley of the Rila Mountains that is beautiful in any season. The frescoes of the outer courtyard cover every surface.
Plovdiv
Plovdiv — Europe's Oldest City
Plovdiv claims to be the oldest continuously inhabited city in Europe, with evidence of settlement from 6000 BC. The Old Town: colourful National Revival houses built over Thracian and Roman ruins, their upper storeys projecting over the cobbled streets. The Roman amphitheatre, 2nd century AD, seats 6,000, still in use for concerts. The Kapana arts quarter.
Kazanlak
Valley of the Thracian Kings
The Thracian plain east of Plovdiv contains hundreds of burial mounds — the tumuli of Thracian kings who ruled here 2,500 years ago. The Kazanlak Tomb is UNESCO-listed; its frescoes, painted around 300 BC, are among the finest examples of Thracian art in existence. The Valley of Roses: in May, the source of most of the world's rose oil.
