COAST For most foreign package-tourists, the For mostforeign package-tourists, Black Seacoast Black Sea Coast 212 © LonelyPlanetPublications of thedevelopment, butaslongthemoneyflowsin,buildinggoeson. wildlife. Environmentalcampaignershave voicedtheirconcernsaboutthepaceandscale scarring whatwere oncepristine,openstretches ofsandandputtingpressure onlocal workonmassive complexesconstruction hotels, andholidayhomesisongoing, apartment ily targeted developers inthelastfew byproperty years,andalmosteverywhere youlook, Cape andDobrudzharegion theirstodiscover. inthenorth greater choice,withthewildStrandzhaNature Park inthesouthandpicturesque cities, theunofficialregional capitalofVarna. willhave even Those withtheirowntransport beautiful ancienttownssuchasNesebârandSozopol andoneofBulgaria’smostattractive thebird-filledBurgasto explore, Lakes, includingemptybeachestothesouthandnorth, butindependenttravellers willfindplentyofplaces anything beyondtheparasolsandjetskis, holidaymakers. Many,ofcourse,simplyflyin,splashaboutand flyoutagainwithoutseeing hereresorts are becomingseriousrivalstoSpainandGreece international inattracting More sothananyotherregion ofBulgaria,however, theBlackSeacoasthasbeenheav-

„ „ „ „ „ HIGHLIGHTS

gardens inBalchik( p252 ) Inhale thefragrant sea airatthebotanical Flowered up (p220) Lakes Meet somenewfeathered friendsat Back tonature sandy bays( p223 ) Go beach-hoppingbetweenSozopol’s two Sun, sea&sand Varna’s poundingseasidepromenade( p242 ) Join thelocalsforcocktailsandclubbingon Beach party Nesebâr’s gorgeous churches( p231 ) Sense thecenturiesofdevotionamong Sacred sights is , and the big, purpose-built Bulgaria, andthebig,purpose-built Burgas Lakes Nesebâr Varna During winter thetemperature rarely drops breezes keep itcool.warm 23°C,butsea time tovisit.Theaverage temperature isa so it’sobviously thebest–andbusiest In summer,the climate iswarmandmild, lonelyplanet.com havens forabundant birdlife (see p220 four lakes justoutside thecity,which are ). bouring tourist resorts. transient sunnydaysenjoyedbythe neigh- and theatres give itanactive life beyondthe butthecity’sbars, clubsand theseafront, ing theirwaytowardstheMaritime Park meandering, ice-cream-licking localsmak- centrepedestrianised isalive withcrowdsof few daysof anyone’s time. and clutch of canhappilyfilla museums parkits uncrowdedbeach, boskyseaside forexploringthesoutherncoast,while base tentious university citythatmakes agood and transporthub,Burgas isalively, unpre- industrialcentrewell asbeinganimportant with themore Varna, cosmopolitan butas It’softenown right. compared unfavourably rarely features onthetouristitineraryinits Burgas (sometimeswritten as‘Bourgas’) best beach resorts andmosthistorictowns, % BURGAS Sunny Times Guide Summer Seaside the coast.ThewebsiteisalsoavailableinEnglish. coastal . Widelyavailable invenuesupanddown rants, cinemasandmuseumsinVarna, Burgasandother bars,clubs,restau- only,covering magazine, inBulgarian Programata Media and buriesthecoast in snow. storm (orthree) howlsinfromtheBlackSea a below freezing, butatleastonceaseason reception desksinVarna, Burgasandthe big resorts. mix oflocalandUKnews. Youcanpickitupatsomehotel expats,witha English newspaper,aimedmainlyatBritish along the coast. ofrestaurants reviews andbars guidecarries summertime thisfree glossyannual but inEnglishandBulgarian, coast’s The gateway tosomeof theBlackSea SUHR COAST SOUTHERN Climate Nature lovers also cometoBurgas forthe Burgas isatitsbestinsummer, whenthe 056 /pop226,000 БУРГАС (www.programata.bg) Free weeklylistings (www.sunnytimes.info) Free monthly SOUTHERNCOAST ••Burgas AlsopublishedbyProgramata, itrainl maps. international including English-languagenovels,andlocal,regional and square, thisbookshopstocksawiderangeofbooks, h novels andbooks about Bulgaria. Stefano, Penguin ofEnglish-language sellsasmallselection endofthisroad,onthe cornerwithbulSan At thenorthern Penguin Bookshop Helikon Bookshop Bookshop Bel Canto BOOKSHOPS Information and street stalls. Both mapsare available atcitybookshops (1:8500) isalsopublished onlyinCyrillic. but isinCyrilliconly.Domino’s Bryag),isperhaps(Slânchev themostuseful, of andSunnyBeach Sozopol,Nesebâr which alsoincludessmallermaps Datamap, The MAPS Park. Maritime bul AlekoBogoridi,headseastwardstowards Aleksandrovska, anotherpedestrianstreet, bul SanStefano. About halfwayalongul which to runsnorthwards,viaplTroikata, pedestrian thoroughfare, ulAleksandrovska, tion are bothlocated justsouthof themain andthemainYugbussta- The trainstation rything of interest iswithinwalkingdistance. Burgas ispleasinglycompact,soalmosteve- Orientation oil refinery in the . and commercialcentre, hometothelargest the port(1903).Todayit’samajor industrial from of (1890)andthedevelopment quickly after thecompletionof therailway the widerregion here. settled Thecitygrew in the17thcentury,whenfisher folkfrom The nameBurgas first appeared onmaps named Deultum,inthe1stcenturyAD. and EmperorVespasian foundedacityhere, the Romanscamealong Later, century BC. the Burgas region asfarbackthe6th day Sozopol)expandedtheirterritory into Greek colonistsfromApollonia(modern- tlements have foundinthearea, been while Evidence of BronzeAge andThracianset- History well asmaps and postcards. ofbooksas avariety shop bythetrainstationoffering 9am-1.30pm &2-8.30pm)Ontheedgeof main Burgas map(1:12,000),publishedby ( ( % % (ulKnyazAlBattenberg)Small 800 231; pl Troikata 4; 800 231;plTroikata 830 460; ul Aleksandrovska 147) 147) 830 460;ulAleksandrovska Burgas

213

map BLACK SEA COAST COAST SEA BLACK BLACK SEA COAST 214 Doulovo BLACK SEACOAST

S

t LC E OS COAST BLACK SEA r

a BULGARIA

CENTRAL

n

d

z h Aitos

Mandrensko a Burgasko

Atanasovsko Lake

M

Lake

o

u Cherno n

Lake Dereköy More Conservation

t Kableshkovo

a

i Centre

n Poda s Brushlyan Burgas Târnovo

NORTHERN

BULGARIA Malko

Ro Staro

Souvorovo Aheloi p otamo Pomoriysko Lake Nature Park Aksakovo Bulgari Kiten Nesebâr Sozopol Varna Lake (Slânchev Bryag) Reserve Nature Elenite Kosti Maslen Cape Nature Park Aladzha Toshevo General Sv AtanasCape Emine Cape Varna Kardam Sveti Konstantin (Zlatni Pyasâtsi) Golden Sands Balchik Dobrudzha Bâlgarevo Kaliakra Reserve Nature 0 0 B LACK Kaliakra Cape S EA Rusalka Krapets Protected Shabla Cape Site Taukliman Protected lonelyplanet.com Site 30 miles 50 km Bank has anATM thatacceptsallmajor credit MEDIA Club Internet ACCESSINTERNET lonelyplanet.com 541; ul Aleko Bogoridi 21;adult/under 7yr2lv/free;541; ulAleko Bogoridi Burgas’ small ARCHAEOLOGICAL MUSEUM chief place of worship. for thebeach ifyouvisitasit’sstillthecity’s Tourists are welcome,butdon’tbedressed elaborately decorated grey marblecolumns. sis, colourful,recently renovated muralsand iconosta- an especiallyfine,intricately carved is an imposing, late-19th-century edifice,with The city’smain STS CHURCH CYRIL&METHODIUS Sights InformationCentre Tourist Museums Burgas TOURIST INFORMATION tours. arrange and that canbookdomesticandinternationalairtickets 42)Helpfulagency .bg; HotelPlaza,bulAlekoBogoridi Agency Blue SkyTravel TRAVEL AGENCIES Post office POST Bank Cooperative lers cheques andhave ATMs are thatchangecards. Banks cashandtravel- Bogoridi. found alongulAleksandrovska andulAleko Numerous foreign exchange offices canbe MONEY CityInfoGuide Burgas offering informationonmuseums inandaround offering Burgas. some hotel receptions. informationcentre and Copies are availableatthe tourist informationonthecityandsurrounds. well asbackground with informationonlocalhotels,restaurants andclubs,as guidepublishedinEnglishandGerman, glossy quarterly leaflets onBurgasandthe wider region. Botev.below ulHristo Ithasplentyofbrochures and staff,attheentrancetounderpass English-speaking h central placetocheck your emails. h 9am-6.30pm Mon-Fri) Modernofficewithhelpful, 9am-6.30pm Mon-Fri) 24hr; 2lvperhr)Thissubterraneanoutletisthemost

(ul Ferdinandova) (ulTsar Petâr 2) Unicredit Bulbank Unicredit (cnr bul Aleko Bogoridi & ul Slavyanska; &ulSlavyanska; (cnrbulAlekoBogoridi Archaeological Museum Archaeological SOUTHERNCOAST ••Burgas (www.burgasmuseums.net) Website church

(ul Aleksandrovska) . (www.cityinfoguide.net)Free, ( (ul Vûzhrazhdane; % ( 840 809;bluesky@infotel %

825 772; ul Aprilov; 825 772;ulAprilov; (ul Aleksandrovska) and h Raffeisen Raffeisen

( 8am-5pm) Central Central % 843

presents a series ofpresents aseries old-fashioned –butstill to 6pm Sat Jun–mid-Sep, 9am-5pm Mon-Fri mid-Sep–May) 9am-5pm Mon-Fri to 6pmSatJun–mid-Sep, 2/1.20 lv; while the basement holds mineral samples holdsmineral samples while the basement occupythe groundfloor, terflies andbeetles but- and geology. of Exhibits rocks,seashells, informative –displaysonlocalflora,fauna Fotinov 20;adult/under12yr2/1lv; The NATURAL SCIENCE MUSEUM Everything islabelled in Bulgarian. ing thelocalweaving andfishing industries. quisite jewellery,aswelldisplayscover- period furniture, regional costumesandex- Sep–May) This MUSEUM ETHNOGRAPHICAL jewellery. silver side thecity,includingpottery, clayidolsand a Neolithicsite andaRomannecropolisout- displays recently uneartheddiscoveries from fin of room aThracianchieftain. Aseparate the remarkably woodencof- wellpreserved Thracianjewelleryand the 5thcenturyBC, fromNeolithic flinttools,awoodencanoe the Romanera. Artefacts onshow include local findsrangingfromtheStoneAge upto mid-Sep–May) 5pm Mon-Fri h

„ „ „ „ „ Top Five BeachesFor… butlesssoelsewhere.major resorts, fatalities every year. strong currents atplayandthere are several ings ontheBlackSea–there are often very topayattention tothesewarn- important swim betweentheflags. Itisextremely tourists whoignore thewarningsanddon’t popular beaches; theyusuallyrescue afew andbetween 8amand6pmattheresorts Every dayduringsummer,lifeguards work LIFE’S ABEACH 10am-7pm Mon-Fri, to 6pm Sat Jun–mid-Sep, 9am- to6pmSatJun–mid-Sep, 10am-7pm Mon-Fri, A low-key hideaway:Tsarevo Alow-key ( p226 ) 24-hourfun:SunnyBeach Safe, Primorsko( shallowwater: p225 ) Urbanswimming:Varna ( p242 ) Water sports: Albena ( p249 ) Natural ScienceMuseum museum (Slânchev Bryag; p235 ) Topless bathingisacceptableatthe h houses acollectionthatincludes houses 9am-noon &1-6pmMon-Sat,closedSatmid-

( % 844 423; ul Slavyanska 69;adult/child 844 423;ulSlavyanska houses acollectionof houses ( %

h 843 239;ulKonstantin 10am-7pm Mon-Fri, 10am-7pm Mon-Fri, 215

BLACK SEA COAST COAST SEA BLACK BLACK SEA COAST illuminated at night. still amajor focalpointof the city;it’seven lar monumentsaround thecountry,andis in much better shape than manyothersimi- troops, andrejoicing It’s Bulgarianpeasants. featuring Soviet soldiers inactionagainstNazi Russian soldier,sculptedby asaluting panels slender columnsurmountedcomprising atall, ering concrete memorialtotheRedArmy, over sentinel Standing isthistow- plTroikata ARMYSOVIET MONUMENT duck. ferruginous rarer species such asthesquaccoheronand andanimalsfromthelocality,including world. Upstairs there’s acollectionof stuffed from aroundBulgariaandtherest of the 216 Bookshop (100m); Chiplakoff (200m) To Hotel Centre (8km);Sozopol(31km) To PodaConservation 4 1 3 2 Stefano (100m); BURGAS StamboliyskiAleksan Station (1.8km)

31 Sv K To Penguin Zapad Bus

bul San

Sheynov

lim Botev Hristo SOUTHERN COAST ••Burgas o der ent O K

n

y V

a

hridski asil Levski

z B Iv Botev Hristo

Sheyn 33 AC

a Han ovo oris I

n

I Sh Ferdinandova

v Ale

a k

Kr S sa

n

n T A d ish er

ro

S v sa le sk V um a liv dic m a r A k zo sa nit a 13 a

n 3 s 7 v nd en s a

Train Station e

I Troikata

T A r V s

a prilo

r P r A University

e pl

tâ

e S

Burgas t ef

r Karam v

lik a

n

S

ta

i m

bo To Pomorie(18km); lo 5 v 6 Nesebâr (37km); Varna (134km); (114km);

Ivan Basev (385km)

itev 34

Ale

Svoboda k

sa

M Kamak n H

d

ro an v

s Aprilov k pl a A

25 sp 9 26 a General Gurko 36 ru h

39 37

Georgi Kir Georgi B

Vûzh S

razhd Sk

imeon imeon 18 obe

Armenian Church ane 2

lev M Vûzhrazh 14 I

Sv Hach kov

itro

pl Tsaritsa

S Han Asparu

Yoanna dane

p la

Knyaz v o ya

L 12 lit S e 16 Ler ns

rm mont ov ka 11

o im

Al nto

v Kon h

eon stan tin Battenberg Fotinov

superior beaches atthenearbyresorts, or itcan’tcompareAlthough withthefar BEACH here towards the beach. from theterraces, andsteps leaddownfrom There are viewsover somespectacular thesea promenading teenagers andyoung families. frombench-warmingeveryone pensioners to andispopularwith warm summerevening Bogoridi, it’sarelaxing placetowanderon a the prideof Burgas. Attheendof bulAleko abstract sculptures andplentyof cafés–is bustsofbeds, fountains, Bulgarianworthies, grassy haven –filledwithmanicured flower- coast,this Stretching lazilyalongtheBlackSea MARITIME PARK G en 20

Ale

10 e ral G 24

G ko Bogori S

e Simeon Tsar An v K

Dr Nider u

1 org tim r I k iril i M o

i Sh Hospital (300m);

To PolyclinicIII

Airport (30km)

17 K

I

n eto

y di a

a Sredna Gora

g g

in 4

y d un a ii

St

ov S efan

0.2miles 0 0300 m

la Rilska

v K

ya ar

22 ad

n

s z

k ha a E Bula k 21 za rh

ir Y

19 O

Morsk o

bo s

rish if

a 15 te

30 Pe T

s

27 a tk r

38 S o

im K

e

o 28 a

n ra

Knyaz Al I v

elo

23

D lonelyplanet.com 8

v em o kra

29 ts Battenber iya Maritime Dimitâr Dimov Vodenitsata (100m) Park g D Beach Bar(50m); To Barcode 32 Maritime Beach Park 35 around the city centre. Park locations Summer Theatre inMaritime andvarious atthe theevening main festival, withshowsduring ally attendedclassicalmusic festival. Book yourstayatlonelyplanet.com/hotels small midrange hotels have opened,but these Inrecent slow todevelop. been years, afew train outagain,so thecity’shotel scenehas for longer thanit takes to get thenextbusor Few foreign touristshangaroundin Burgas Sleeping gusto. with gas isStNicholas(SvetiNikolai),whosedaycelebrated St Nicholas’Day Festival Folklore International in the Park. Maritime Held country andoffers newtalentsachancetoperform. fromaroundthe up-and-coming popular-musicacts Song Festival Sea Burgas Festival Music Emil Chakarov Flora FlowerExhibition Festivals &Events but nobody speaks English. Klub Morski windsurfers. Boardsmayberented fromthe coast: notgreat forswimming,butOK often waves windsandhigh high alongthis and watched over bylifeguards. There are the beach iskept cleanbyregular sweepers and acoupleof restaurants, and,insummer, further onthere are somesmartbeach bars byoldmen,but boys andafishing station asadivingplatformbyteenagepier, used the southernend,withitslongconcrete on ahotsummerday.It’sbitgrubbyat Burgas beach stillattractsplentyof locals withVarna’seven urbanstretch of sand, coast’s biannual flower Sea show. Sts Cyril&Methodius Soviet ArmyMonument...... Natural ScienceMuseum...... Ethnographical Museum...... Archaeological Museum...... SIGHTS &ACTIVITIES Unicredit Bulbank...... Turkish Consulate...... Tourist InformationCentre...... Raffeisen Bank...... Post Office...... Internet Club...... Helikon Bookshop...... Central CooperativeBank...... Blue SkyTravelAgency...... (see22) Bel CantoBookshop...... INFORMATION Church...... atthenorthernendof thebeach, (6December)ThepatronsaintofBur- (April & September) TheBlack &September) (April (July &August) Showcases (July 13 12 11 10 14 (earlyJuly)Internation- 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 (lateAugust)Burgas’ A2 B3 B2 C3 B3 D2 A3 B3 B4 C3 A2 B4 C4 B2 SOUTHERNCOAST ••Burgas New Shanghai...... Monte Christo...... Pub&Restaurant...... Evropa...... BMS...... TS Travel...... Hotel Primorets...... SLEEPING EATING Hotel Plaza...... Hotel Luxor...... Hotel Fors...... Hotel Elite...... Hotel Bulgaria...... Hotel Bulair...... Guesthouse Fotinov...... Dimant...... Pri Lipite...... Battenberg 2;s/d42/46lv; 1; perpersonfrom10lv; central Burgas, thecheaper although rooms rooms, theElite offers pretty goodvaluefor priced for the location. the mostatmospheric choice, but reasonably andminibar.clean rooms,allwith TV Not the heartof thecity,Fotinov offers plainbut in theshopsonabusyroadright in between .com; ulKonstantinFotinov22;s/d50/60lv; Guesthouse Fotinov MIDRANGE room. attic don’t have air-con. Avoid thecramped a many with views. sea still abargain andallroomshave balconies, airabout it’s it.However, out, half-forgotten days of thePeople’s Republic,andhasaworn- isadrableftoverbut thehotel itself fromthe bottom endof theMaritime Park isawinner, private roomsandcanalso book hotels. this English-speakingagency offers fairlybasic Sun) dation options,mostly centrally located. Dimant agency hasagoodrange of accommo- from 10/20lv; Dimant BUDGET bathroom and TV. allhotelsUnless offer otherwise, stated private and private roomsare probablythebestdeal. ahead insummer. Budget optionsare scarce often tobook fillupquicklyandit’sessential Hotel Elite Hotel Hotel Primorets Hotel Travel TS ) Convenient forthebusandtrainstations, Well placedandwithcleancomfy

29 28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19 18 17 16 15 ( 30 % D3 D3 D3 B3 B4 C4 D4 C3 C4 C3 C3 B3 C4 B3 D3 D4

h ( 840 779;fax843748;ulTsar Simeon15;s/d %

( % 8am-10pm) TRANSPORT ENTERTAINMENT Yug BusStation...... N¹³k¹l¹ Tur¹zm...... NRG Travel...... Left-Luggage Office...... Karat-S...... (see 37) Etap-Grup...... (see 18) Biomet...... (see 18) Summer Theatre...... Kino Trakiya...... Burgas OperaHouse...... Alibi...... Theatre...... Adriana BoudevskaDrama /fax 845060;www.tstravel.net;ulBulair

( 845 780; ul Morska 35;r45-50lv; 845 780;ulMorska

% ( h % p 841 417;fax843137;ulKnyazAl 9am-6pm Mon-Fri, to2pmSat& 9am-6pm Mon-Fri, 0896002864; www.hotelfotinov Inthecitycentre, the ) Thelocationatthe a Squeezed Squeezed ) 39 38 37 36 35 34 33 32 31

217 B4 D4 B4 B4 D1 B3 A3 D2 A4 BLACK SEA COAST COAST SEA BLACK BLACK SEA COAST Rooms are large andcontemporary instyle, tect whobuiltthecity’sgrandtrainstation. stored archi- mansion,designedbythesame family-run hotel occupiesanattractively re- minute walkwestof thecentre, thisfriendly, for the bus and train stations, this14-room for thebusandtrainstations, basic breakfast isincludedin the price. theless. There’s apizzeriadownstairs anda functional, butperfectly none- comfortable with decent-sizedroomsthatare blandand a trendy on-site restaurant. It’seasy tomiss quite asshowythepublicareas, andthere’s facilities. Roomsare not though comfortable, with amodernbusiness centre andconference tions, thePlazacaters tobusiness travellers, ziest placeintownandoneof thebestloca- 42;s/d/apt99/146/187lv; Aleko Bogoridi Plaza Hotel TOP END restaurant. Italian hotel alsohasabusinesscentre, gymandan three-star fare,comfy, fairlystandard butthe vaguely Egyptian-inspired place. Roomsare ther onfromHotel Bulair,theLuxorisa Bulair 27;s/d/apt85/95/125lv; fridges. Breakfast is included. and with theusualmodconsincludingTVs busy road.Roomsare neat,ifunspectacular, hotel occupies aconverted mansionona Bulair 7;rJul&Aug 65lv,Sep-Jun 55lv; downstairs. restaurant no lift,however. There’s apopularpizza have retained; there’sspiral staircases been and one(No25)hasabigterrace. Theoriginal Ferdinandova 88;s/dinclbreakfast €30/35; pa 48/58lv; 54/64lv,Oct-May Konstantin Fotinov17;s/dJun-Sep 218 Hotel Chiplakoff Hotel Fors Hotel Hotel Luxor Hotel Bulair Hotel time tovisit. greatly reduced crowds,thisisthebest with thecontinuallygoodweatherand room pricesdropbyupto50%,soalong season (May,June,September andOctober), andAugust). Duringtheshoulderson (July topayduringthehighsea- should expect ter (unless stated otherwise)are whatyou All accommodationpriceslisted inthischap- HOTEL PRICES OTENCAT • ugs SOUTHERN COAST ••Burgas ) Another fair-priced city-centre hotel,

( %

(

%

( % ( 846 294; www.plazahotel-bg.com; bul 846 294;www.plazahotel-bg.com; % 828 852;www.hotelfors-bg.com; ul

( % 846 232;www.hotelbulair.com; ul 847 670;www.luxor-bs.com; ul 829 325;www.chiplakoff.com; ul ai a a ) pa A littlefur- ) Very handy ) The snaz- ) A 10- overlooking the beach, ‘The Water Mill’isa tables anditalso tables beer.serves andstews. Theresausages are someoutdoor chain offering simplebutfillingfare such as midnight) time bars along the beach. drink, andthereevening are summer- several makepl Troikata anattractive stopforan The alfresco bars onthenorthern endof of pizza,kebabs kiosksselling andicecream. bul AlekoBogoridi,which alsohasitsshare for adrinkorquickbite canbefoundalong Maritime Park, whileotherinvitingplaces There’s ascattering of laid-back cafésin Eating &Drinking months. summer More realistic rates are offered outsidethe haveand theolderroomsdon’teven air-con. overpricedfantastically forwhat’sonoffer, centre. Therenovated roomsare OK,butit’s two restaurants, agym,poolandbusiness and hasthebestfacilitiesintown,including very’70s monolithiscertainly convenient ern endof thecity’smainpedestriandrag,this ais 21;s/d118/157lv,renovated 190/212lv; .com; ulAleksandrovska 14; mains7-18 lv; openbeyondthe that stays summer months. to beoneof therareit seems placesalonghere grilled fish, barbecues,steaks and andsalads, packed outwithlocals.Specialitiesinclude which isalways traditional wood-cabinaffair, from 6lv; menu. the fish andporksteakssalads, alsofigure on made pizzasinatraditionalbrickoven. Pasta, one of thebetter outlets,bakingthefreshly mood fora pizza,butifyou’re inthe toserve city seems h dishes. vegetarian sour chicken andporknoodles,aswell of alltheoldfavourites, and includingsweet uphuge portions restaurantChinese serves of thestreet, thisalwaysbustling, authentic mains from5lv; pied byacoupleof travel agencies. frontage –theground-level isoccu- though o Vodenitsata Evropa New Shanghai Bulgaria Hotel BMS 10am-1am)

(ul Aleksandrovska 20;mains2.50-4lv; (ul Aleksandrovska h Cheap, self-service, cafeteria-style Cheap,self-service,

( % ) Towering20storeys over thesouth- Pri Lipite Pri 10am-2am) Almost every restaurant Almostevery inthe h quattro staggione, 828 845; ul Aleksandrovska 59;mainsfrom6lv; 828 845;ulAleksandrovska

( h % 11am-midnight)

Book yourstayatlonelyplanet.com/hotels

( % ( noon-midnight)

% 0897988334; Maritime Park; mains 0897988334; Maritime ( % Standing on the seafront ontheseafront Standing 843 105; bul Aleko Bogoridi 61; 843 105;bulAlekoBogoridi 842 610;www.bulgaria-hotel 828 500;ulKnyazAIBattenberg Attheeastern end Easily thebest Easily then Evropa is h 10am- kavarma including stewed boar,roastlamb,chicken a huge menuof traditionalBulgariancuisine 1910 forthethenmayorof Burgas. Itoffers intheshadyset courtyardof builtin ahouse restaurant intown,‘UndertheLimeTrees’ is lonelyplanet.com Airlines October), departing at6.20am,and one way/return) day(April through every .bourgas-airport.com) Bulgaria Airlinks AIR Getting There&Away Kliment 2) Ohridski I 35) DramaTheatre Boudevska cated, findoutwhat’sonoffer at the Forsomethingabitmoreevening. sophisti- around 3lv) rebuilt atthetime of research. place attheSummerTheatre, which wasbeing dance anddramaperformancesoften take music.Live music, danceandLatino nights’, late) the more reliable is among thetrees of Maritime Park; among In andbarssummer, nightclubs materialise Entertainment and barsnacks.Pricierthan most, too. on thebeach, offering comfysofas, cocktails hipandartsybars of themore self-consciously pears. and withhoney cheese try themarinated ’s and lobster. appetizers: sometasty Italsodoes withpeppermintsauce, blueberries, salmon up excellentdishessuch asduckbreast with tions alongthispizza-pronestreet, serving 9-20 lv; curry andreal Britishtea, no less. mixed grills,steak-and-onion pie,chicken all-day English breakfasts (9lv),aswell offering totheseafront, a friendlyplaceclose homesick Britishexpatsandvisitors, thisis 8-22 lv; and reservations are advisable. own dairy).Itgets extremely busyatnight, comingfromtherestaurant’smilk andcheese dishes(withallthevarious yoghurt-based soup,aswell as in aclaypot)andveal-tail Kino Trakiya Kino Christo Monte Barcode BeachBar London Pub&Restaurant , withavariedprogrammeincluding‘retro orthe h

h (www.austrianairlines.bg) showsrecent Hollywoodfilmsevery (a traditional seasoned stew served stew served (atraditionalseasoned lunch &dinner) breakfast, lunch&dinner) Burgas OperaHouse Burgas .

(

( % SOUTHERNCOAST ••Burgas % withSofia (around€60/110 Burgas 826 006; bul Aleko Bogoridi 60;mains 826 006;bulAlekoBogoridi

842 481;ulTsar AsenI6;tickets ( Alibi % Oneof theclassier op- 0877260837; (

%

( %

(ul Tsar Simeon4a;mains fliesthree times 0897962262; 846 040;ulTsar Asen

( ( % %

Catering toCatering h 840 789;ulSv 870 248;www 24hr) h Austrian Austrian Adriana Adriana One 11pm- was built in 1902. Through the was built in1902.Through i English. in andmostdestinationsignsaretrain station lers willarrive orleave. It’sjustoutsidethe of ulAleksandrovska, iswhere mosttravel- to get there. Park. Take citybus4fromYugstation four orfive daily),inthe StrandzhaNature leave forMalko Târnovo (7lv,three hours, The historic TRAIN 2) Coaches depart from outsideitsoffice. dailydepartureshas several (35to40lv). hours). seven each day(35lv, twoandfivetween services runbe- both justoutsidethetrainstation, NRG Travel to hours).eight toSofia each day(20lv,seven services several kiosks outsidetheHotel Bulgaria. Bothrun Biomet (6 lv,twohours, about every two hours). (7 lv,2½hours, departs10.30am)andSliven hours, 30to40minutes), Zagora every Stara hours, 7.30amand9.15am),Varna (9lv,two leave oneto every 1½ hours. ( Central’ travellingMinibuses directly to‘Pomorie a dayasfarAhtopol(6lv,1½hours). 6amand8pm),butonlyfourtimesbetween oneto1½hours(4.60 lv,onehour,every 30 minutes 6amand7pm)Kiten between also gotoPrimorsko (5lv,onehour,every Bryag;4lv,45minutes).(Slânchev Buses (2.50 lv,40minutes) andSunnyBeach 6.40amand9.40pm),Nesebârutes between Sozopol (3.50lv,40minutes, 30min- every coast,including places alongtheBlackSea 40 minutes thedaytopopular throughout Yug busstation BUS Blue SkyTravel Agency ( p215 ). around ,oneof thehandiestbeing Thereand Warsaw. are anumberof agencies nects Burgas withLondonLuton,Budapest mer, Burgas between andVienna.a week Insum- , about 2km northwest of pl Troikata, buses , about2kmnorthwestof buses plTroikata, From the Coaches are toIstanbul frequent andcheap. travel day,buses Each toPlovdiv (17lv,four leave andminibuses Buses 30to every Two of themainintercity busoperators, ( %

Поморие 828 440) ( %

( Zapad busstation train station %

( 844 774) % N ı 02-960 3888;www.wizzair.com) and ş ı 845 722) kl ı

Tur Център Etap-Grup and ı , atthesouthernend

( zm % Karat-S

( % 845 022;ulIvanVazov) (

; 2lv,25minutes) % ( % 841 261;ulBulair) ticket windows ticket 20 521; ul 20 521;ulMaritsa

( 845 857) % 845 722) con- have 219

,

BLACK SEA COAST COAST SEA BLACK BLACK SEA COAST office 2.30pm Sat) a walkalong thesignposted, 2. 5km oculars (free of charge). somebirdswithbin- it ispossibletoobserve in the reserve. the 1950sandnowlive happily unmolested coypu, which escapedfromlocalfarms in cies, thepygmyshrew, aswellotters and includeEurope’ssmallestnative spe- outthewinter.breed orsee The15kindsof others are migratory,stoppingover onlyto year-round,Most birdscanbeseen while avocets, littleterns andred-breasted geese. including Dalmatianpelicans,reef herons, ting numerousscarceandendangered birds, the centre, lovers inspot- willdelight totheurbansprawl so close of Burgas. atwildlifeis anadmirable conservation effort Society fortheProtection of Birds(BSPB) and in 1998undertheauspicesof theBulgarian www.bspb-poda.de; admission1lv; around 67%of the country’s total. is hometosome255birdspecies,representing it’s thelargest wetlandsystem inBulgaria,and Burgas Comprisingover Lakes. 9500hectares, (Burgas). are These collectively knownasthe Mandrensko (Mandra) andBurgasko Pomoriysko (orPomorie),Atanasovsko, The fourlakes surroundingBurgas are LAKES BURGAS included). not unlimited kilometres andinsurance(petrol various modelsfrom€48perday,including Travel TS ( wheels, If youneed p217 ) offers Getting Around the three hours) andSliven (5.40lv, 1½ hours). (8.50lv, (7.50 lv,three hours), Zagora Stara to six hours). and there are toPlovdiv seven (13.60lv,five hours),and Sofia toeight (15.70lv,seven windows tickets atthe while same-day canbebought tickets fordomesticandinternational services, ( 220 h International tickets are alsoavailable at Express trainsrunfromBurgas toKazanlâk trainstravel Burgas dailybetween Seven To really admire thebirdlife go on upclose, In the From the roof of the conservation centre, From theroof of theconservation The 8am-6pm) Bureau Bureau Rila

OTENCAT • ugsLks SOUTHERN COAST ••BurgasLakes ( h Poda Conservation Centre Poda Conservation

( Poda Protected h inside the station. 6am-10.45pm) on the right youcanbuyadvance on theright 24hr) ( % ontheleft.The БУРГАСКИ 845 242; isoutside the station. h h , which surrounds 8am-4pm Mon-Fri, to 8am-4pm Mon-Fri, 8am-6pm)

( % left-luggage left-luggage

056-850 540; ЕЗЕРА nature trail nature opened

849 255) www.pomonet.bg/bourgaslakes. Centre. More informationisalsoavailable at accommodation andgoodtransportlinks,it superb beaches, genial atmosphere, plentiful is oneof Withtwo thecoast’sreal highlights. old towncrammedontoanarrowpeninsula, bl Demokratsiya. bul along from opposite thePolyclinicIIIhospital (about 5lvoneway),orcatch bus5,17or18 on theroadtoSozopol. It’saccessiblebytaxi posted ontheleft,about8kmsouthof Burgas and bird-nesting areas. tions of lookouts,walkingtrails, accessroads and English) of each lake, aswelltheloca- is excellent.Itprovides maps(inBulgarian from theHelikon Bookshop( p213 ) inBurgas, the contact details, A guideisrecommended andcostsextra. For but aminimumof sixpassengers isrequired. around thislake costsabout5lvperperson, AprilandOctober.tween A1½-hour themisbe- the yearbutbesttimetosee Bulgaria. Itishometopelicansthroughout Lake 15 lv per group. which willcostanextra or German-speaking), recommended thatyouget aguide(English- leaflet inEnglish available fromthecentre. It’s hours tocomplete andthere’s anexplanatory (admission upto6people10lv) . wasthephilosopher andastronomersettlers our of the godApollo. Oneof early these called theirhome Pontica,inhon- byGreek colonists fromMiletus,who BC area already populated byThraciansin611 coast, foundedinan Bulgarian BlackSea on theSozopol istheoldestsettlement History it’s definitely worth a stopover. with pricesstillmuch lowerthaninNesebâr, popular withinternational visitors. However, more itisbecomingever asNesebâr, cialised notquiteAlthough ascrowdedandcommer- makes forexploringthearea. anexcellentbase resort apopularseaside and has longbeen % SOZOPOL Ancient Sozopol, withitscharming, cobbled The conservation centre ispoorlysign- The conservation The ofEast Burgas, the28-sq-km 0550 /pop4800 (or Lake Vaya) (orLake isthelargest lake in sea in Burgas, or the Poda Conservation inBurgas, orthePodaConservation Bourgas Lakes СОЗОПОЛ conservation office conservation map(4lv),available . Ittakes about three lonelyplanet.com Burgasko Burgasko (

boat trip % 056-

lonelyplanet.com Ivan Island To Sveti (31km) To Burgas 4 6 1 3 2 5 SOZOPOL (Off Limits) of Sozopol EATING SLEEPING SIGHTS &ACTIVITIES INFORMATION snaa...... B1 C5 Ksantana...... C1 Havana Club...... Di ValliBistro...... D1 B4 Sasha Khristov'sPrivateRooms...... D4 Hotel VillaList...... C4 Hotel SvetiNikola...... C4 Hotel Poseidon...... B4 Hotel Parnasse...... C2 Hotel Orka...... C4 Hotel Durna...... B2 Hotel Coral...... Ani Dimitrova'sRooms...... B4 Sveti ZossimChapel...... A3 C2 Sailing Boats...... Ethnographic Museum...... B2 Church ofSvetiGeorgi...... B2 Church ofSvetaBogoroditsa...... B3 C6 Archaeological Museum...... Apollonia Necropolis...... B3 United BulgarianBank...... B2 Post Office...... B4 Internet Club...... Naval Base Port AC

R Harbour e Fishing pu SOUTHERNCOAST ••Sozopol

b 9 lik K an r aybre sk zhn a a 30 5

Indpl Han ustrialna

Kulata 24 3 Amphitheatre 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 22 21 20 Apolonia Ribarska

9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 A

polo Kra Lyulin y 10 nia bre zh 2

31 na

rprySo...... B3 B3 Property Shop...... Bus Station...... TRANSPORT C2 B2 Gallery Bissera...... Art GalleryLaskaridi...... SHOPPING C2 B2 Cinema Apoloniya...... Art ClubMichel...... ENTERTAINMENT C5 B2 Restaurant Paradise...... B4 Old Sailor...... Leo &Lucia......

S B ta 1 Republ

ra A

C naksim

kans

h

P i

er Beach Town

6 23

k

lan no and a

Kiril i M Vap NI

âr

M

in pl Harmanite G

or

Morsk

tsarov

etodii laru 22 Windmill 11 a e a Milet 26

M

7 s

Feniks

R 28

e 14

p o u

blika 18 r n

s k s a ki S

A Chapel Sv Nedelya polo nia k a

16 li 8

Pe 29 O tk 27 de o V 12 s o Yani Popov Lazuren Albatro a iv s oda 15

B

Pârvi M Pârvi ryag Mayak 25 Ropotam

31 30 29 28 27 26 25 24 23

Lozengrad o Drava a

13 Vyatârn ai Melnitsa 21 V Harmanite âln Hristo Botev ob or Bay 0.2miles 0 0300 m Ode

Beach Harmanite B u

4 sa re ve 20 stnik Primorsko (21km)

19 River (17.5km); B

To Ropotamo

o ru na 17 B LACK S EA D

221 BLACK SEA COAST COAST SEA BLACK BLACK SEA COAST 11pm) United Bulgarian Bank Bulgarian United Post office Club Internet the newtown’s main square. along theoldtown’smainstreets, andaround Many foreign exchange canbefound offices Information peninsula isa naval base. called Harmanite. Onthe western side of the South of isthenewtown,often thebusstation their historicalandculturalsignificance. ings are listed bythe Ministryof Culture for built onstonefoundations;180of build- these streets linedwithsturdywoodendwellings north isacollectionof narrowcobblestone divided intotwoareas. Theoldtowntothe Sozopol is31kmsoutheastof Burgas andis Orientation among themore numerous foreign visitors. being ally take off,withRussiansandGermans resort, notuntilthe1990sdiditre- although nist era,thetownwaspromoted asaholiday andGreeks. Duringthecommu- eral decadesbefore beingresettled byTurks, Turks. Thetownremained emptyforsev- toavoid potential retaliation bythe (1877–78), mostcitizensof Sozopolfledto village. fishing and forcenturieswaslittlemore thanatiny 969. UnderTurkish rule,Sozopol declined, to theFirst BulgarianEmpire (681–1018)in by theByzantinesin759andfinallyreverting Tervelline, fallingtoKhan in 705,recaptured onthefront Greek itfounditself city,though gained someof asacivilised itsformerstatus (Cityof Salvation),thetownre- booty. as ofbronze statue Apollowastaken toRome of thetownwasdestroyedandfamous Apolloniawassacked, most and in72BC asacommercialpower, lost itsimportance thecityhadlong gion inthe1stcenturyBC, beganexpandingintothere- day PomorieandBurgas. Bythetime cities, enlarging itsterritory tocover modern- with neighbouring ThraciantribesandGreek tiles, pottery andcopper,amongotherthings, tex-Archons, flourishedbytradingwine,salt, 222 At theendof the Russo-Turkish War Under theByzantineEmpire, andrenamed Apollonia, ruledbyanelected Councilof OTENCAT • ooo SOUTHERN COAST ••Sozopol (ulApolonia; (ul Republikanska; per hr (ulRepublikanska; 2 lv; h (ulApolonia4) 7am-8.30pm) h 9am- 10pm) in the13thcentury, onthefoundationsof an Itwasbuilt gardens opposite thebusstation. Anaksimandâr 13;admission1lv; the 15th-century ontheruinsofStanding anearlierchurch, CHURCHES of most interest. isprobably itself thehistorichouse though graphs of Sozopol.It’sworthaquicklook, knacks, aswelladisplayof oldphoto- knick- costumes, jewelleryandhousehold andholdsanexhibitionofhouse provincial h museum Scarcely bothered by thepassingtourists,this MUSEUMETHNOGRAPHIC (opposite ). Beach at theApollonianecropolis,onHarmanite and terracotta figurinesof actors unearthed tableware vases, imported fromGreece BC space, includingsomepainted 5th-century- amphorae andpottery take upmostof the intothetown’spast.Anchors,some insight artefacts anddryEnglish texts atleastgive you given Sozopol’slongandrich history,butthe closed Sat&Sunwinter) ( lane runningdowntotheport,this concrete inascruffy Housed buildingona ARCHAEOLOGICAL MUSEUM Sights o sailors. of earlier church, tohonourthepatron saint code (no shorts). from foreigners, andtoenforcethedress collect the1lv‘donation’foradmittance that thecustodianshere are ratherkeen to Dragon over forewarned theentrance. Be with afinepaintingof StGeorge andthe Sun) 1 lv; around the walls. with bunches of grapesandnumerousicons apulpitcarved exquisite woodeniconostasis, turesque intown.Thechurch an contains with agiantfigtree, isoneof themostpic- onacourtyard modest woodenbuilding,set at thetimebyOttomanrulers, andthe was builtbelowstreet aswasrequired level, % The The 8am-6pm) isanothercolourful,icon-filled church, 22 226;ul Han Krum2;admission3lv; h is asmallworkingchurch intheshady ZossimChapel Sveti Church of Sveti Georgi Church ofSveti 9am-1pm &3-8pmMon-Sat,7am-1pm

( % occupiesatypicaloldwooden 22 748; ul Kiril & Metodii 34;admission1lv; &Metodii 22 748;ulKiril Church of Sveta Bogoroditsa Church ofSveta isalittledisappointing

(admission free; h

(ul Apolonia;admission lonelyplanet.com 10am-1pm &2-6pm) h 8am-5pm, h museum 6am- (ul

are continuingonthesite of theancient incongruously, archaeological excavations nets andbeach bars. Atthesouthernend, offers awater slide,paddleboats,volleyball long wavesthough The1km- canbequite high. The town’stwo beaches are attractive, BEACHES Book yourstayatlonelyplanet.com/hotels Book ahead in summer. good-sized rooms andalarge apartment. end of theSozopol peninsula. Itcomprises in theoldtownfaces theartgalleryatvery Venets 17;rfrom25lv) Rooms Private Sasha Khristov’s BUDGET much anywhere inthe old town. Republikanska inthenewtownand pretty places offering rooms.Look forsignsalong Sozopol hasanenormousnumberof Sleeping Museum. modern often thesummerat staged through towns, aswell art exhibitions. music atvariousvenues intheoldandnew features allsortsof jazz,popandalternative coverage. coast,receiving nationalTV Sea It of alongtheBlack themostpopularevents oflight Sozopol’sculturalcalendarandone held inthefirst halfof isthehigh- September, The Festivals &Events to numbers.passenger Nikola ning similarexcursions, includingthe 40/25 lv).There are anumberof boats run- (adult/childas welldaytripstoNesebâr insummer(adult/childnight around8/5lv), aroundthepeninsulaevery ramic cruises’ Sailingboats Activities restaurants and bars. offer numberof thesame beachside cafés, it’s smaller,gets very crowded,anddoesn’t of but sand, curve isanotherpleasant Beach) it fromtheroad.The limits tothepublic,butyoucanlookdownon havesarcophagi uncovered. been It’soff- Apollonia necropolis Live music,dancingandothershowsare Apollonia Arts Festival Apollonia Arts Harmanite Beach Harmanite

( % amphitheatre 0889521621) moored intheportoffer ‘pano- Thislovely old familyhome , where anumber of stone ;

prices canvaryaccording neartheArchaeological iswideandclean Town Beach (www.apollonia.dir.bg)

SOUTHERNCOAST ••Sozopol ( % (orNorthern 0888759174; ul Sveti Sveti , 5;rJul&Aug 116-125lv,s/dSep-Jun from37/58lv; the mainsquare, hassmallbut thePoseidon this isaneat,family-runhotel notfarfrom ul Kiril & Metodii; rfrom70lv) &Metodii; ul Kiril fast 50/66lv; a fresh-looking placewith arange of rooms a large homerunbythe andcomfortable Aug 90/120lv,Sep-Jun from60/100lv; and spa centre. decked tones,andthere’s outinbright asauna apt 175lv; ul Lazuren Bryag3;rwith/withoutseaviewfrom 110/70lv, has aspaand a nightclub. and spaciousrooms,allwithbalconies. Italso the Coralisastylish complexoffering bright Perched overlooking oncliffs thetown beach, Coral Hotel TOP END throughout the year. which include breakfast, varydramatically quently fullybooked insummer. Therates, hotel isunderstandably very popular,andfre- smartroomsandgreatthe sea, facilities,this as rocks. It’s inaquiet,private spotperched onthe balconies.able rooms,allwithsea-facing modern hotel butcomfort- withstandard just northof Harmanite thisisabright, Bay, nikola.com; ulBoruna1;r90lv; peninsula. the views,overlookingsea thesouthernsideof and well-appointed place,withgorgeous proper inSozopol’s oldtown.It’sasmart a bargain, especiallyout of season. rooms,manywithbalconies.It’s comfortable Sep-Jun from40lv; Poseidon Hotel MIDRANGE balconies, TVs and fridges. the beach. Roomsare plainbutclean,with dresser’s signreading Ani’. ‘Friseur and have private showers. Lookforthehair- uptofourpeople basic butcleanroomssleep friendly, butnon-English-speaking Ani.The 12a; r30-40lv) Hotel Parnasse Hotel List Villa Hotel Nikola Sveti Hotel Hotel Durna Hotel Orka Hotel Ani Dimitrova’s Rooms Ani Dimitrova’s ) With a superb setting overlookingWith asuperbsetting a a ( ) % Next totheHotel Coral,this is ( Typical private-room setup inTypical private-room setup ( ) %

% ( In thecentre of thenewtown, % ( 26 266;ulLazuren Bryag5;s/dJul&

a %

23 977; ul Pârvi Mai 2;d/trinclbreak- Mai 23 977;ulPârvi ( 24 134; ul Pârvi Mai 2a;rJul&Aug 60lv, Mai 24 134;ulPârvi % 0888705023; www.hotel-durna.com; ) /fax 22235;www.hotellist-bg.com; ul In the new town, just off In thenewtown,justoff

24 412; www.parnasse-bg.com; 24 412;www.parnasse-bg.com; ( % Thisistheonlyhotel ( % 23 333;www.hotel-sveti a 22 753;ulAnaksimandâr Ontheseafront ) pais 223

) BLACK SEA COAST COAST SEA BLACK BLACK SEA COAST as grilled sea bass as grilledsea (18 lv). gnocchi, aswellgrills,steaks andfish such fare,all thestandard pizzaand such aspasta, up beach, restaurant thisbusyItalian serves view of Sveti IvanIslandfromthecourtyard traditional fish abird’s-eye restaurant afford about 3lv) 7-20 lv; h mains 7-30lv; lined with stalls selling theusual arrayof selling lined with stalls In summer,thestreets intheoldtownare Shopping films onan outdoor screen. h the tiny ClubMichel Art Entertainment with asmallswimmingpool for customers. fromtheotherspizzas, distinguishes itself Club reasonably pricedsteaks, fish andsoup. eatingarea andserves off-street has araised, Paradise Restaurant out.much butacouplestand the same, cafés, restaurants andbars. They’re allpretty alongside Harmanite ispacked with Beach, easy tomiss,withasignonlyinCyrillic. the topandbottomof thesteps andcanbe balcony. Therestaurant canbeentered atboth caviar sautéed sauce in Cointreau. tos, lambchops, grilledfish andscallopswith of French cuisinesuch andItalian asrisot- viewsandanexcellentmenu wonderful sea thismodishplaceoffers‘The Doctor’sHouse’, alternatives. the steaks, chicken filletsandomelettes are among just someof thefeatured menuitems, while think of. crabs, bluefishandsharkare Mussels, restaurant offering allthefishydishesyoucan h views. spectacular are large withsome andtraditionalaffairs intownaretaurants onulMorksiSkali,and strung outalongtheportarea. Thebestres- reasonably pricedrestaurantsand several are isthelocalspeciality, Fish, naturallyenough, Eating 224 Di Valli Bistro Old Sailor The pedestrianised section of section ulRopotamo, The pedestrianised Ksantana Leo &Lucia lunch &dinner) lunch &dinner) Apr-Oct) Apr-Oct)

(mains 4-8lv; OTENCAT • ooaoNtr eev SOUTHERN COAST ••RopotamoNature Reserve h haslive while musicmostevenings, Cinema Apoloniya 10am-midnight) shows modernEnglish-language (

% ( h %

( %

0888225385; ulKraybrezhna 3;mains7-25lv; ( The split-level terraces Thesplit-level of this % h

10am-midnight) 22 454; ul Morski Skali 7;mains8-15lv; Skali 22 454;ulMorski Marine-themed harbourside ( % 0878642824; ulChernoMore 1;mains 0883352622; ul Apolonia 39; tickets 0883352622; ulApolonia39;tickets lunch &dinner)

(mains 4-5lv; 0888982265; ul Morski Skali 35; Skali 0888982265; ulMorski Overlooking thetown Overlooking

(ul Apolonia; tickets 5lv; (ul Apolonia;tickets Alsoknownas , specialisingin h lunch &dinner) Havana Kiril &Metodii) Kiril and about once an hour in the low season. and about onceanhourinthelowseason. minutes 6amand9pminsummer, between Burgas (2.10lv,40minutes) 30 aboutevery leave theoldandnewtowns.Buses tween for make arrangements afew days ahead. Sozopol. and pottery, aswellsouvenir booksabout overnight – Ahtopol service. and downthesoutherncoastaspartof the Plovdiv, andanotheroneortwotravel up gotoSofiabuses daily,oneortwo departfor town’s mainsquare. Three orfourprivate arrive anddepartfromspotsaroundthenew Haskovo. and Sofia times adayforShumen, Zagora, Stara leaveminutes). Publicbuses uptothree (1.40 lv,20minutes) andKiten (1.80lv,30 Ahtopol (2.50lv,onehour),viaPrimorsko thisroute forabout the service price.same Quicker also andmore minibuses comfortable The smallpublic Getting There&Away ics, aswellsome antique oddments. a similarrange of localpaintingsandceram- an oldwoodenbarn behindthecinema,offers souvenirs tobefound. buttheretourist tat, are somebetter quality and carp. Fishing is illegal. such assnakes andturtles,mullet alsoprotects some 257speciesofreserve birds, rare lily.The florasuch astheendemicsand the largest dunes in Bulgaria,aswell sand fragile landscapes of extensive marshes and in1940toprotect wasestablished This reserve НАЦОНАЛЕН ROPOTAMO NATURERESERVE ( included). Intheoldtown,try unlimited kilometres andinsurance(petrolnot rental fromabout€40to€45perday,including square, pl Harmanite, which canarrange car travel agencies aroundthenewtown’smain acar,therenew town.Ifyouneed are several one onulRepublikanska,themainroadin acab,get around thebusstop.Ifyoudoneed tohireno need oneof thepriceycabsfrom Sozopol iseasytoget aroundonfootandthere’s Getting Around РОПОТАМО % Larger andmoreLarger private buses comfortable Only acoupleof adaygodirectly buses to 22 305;ulApolonia) Gallery Bissera Gallery sells contemporary art,jewellery sells . In summer, you’ll need to to . Insummer,you’llneed bus station

РЕЗЕРВАТ

(ul Apolonia52) Art Gallery Laskaridi Gallery Art

(ul HanKrum) lonelyplanet.com Property Shop Shop Property , set upin , set

is be- (ul

but mostvisitors comefora and picnicspots,someshort fauna andnaturallandscapesare provided. planations (inEnglish)aboutthelocalflora, wander alongshort can stopandadmire and someof thereserve, Burgasroad between andPrimorsko, visitors Book yourstayatlonelyplanet.com/hotels Treti Mart 82;s/d/tr60/80/110 lv; Treti Mart Mincheva of five daysormore. call Ifit’sclosed, summer manywill demandaminimumstay in ing tothelocationandfacilities.However, 35 lv) The Sleeping square. the ul ChernoMore, which headssoutheastfrom south tothebeach. Thebestshopsare along (the mainroadintotown),it’sashort walk souvenir but and tacky stalls, little else. stands meanwhile, iscrammedwithtakeaway outofing yourself planes.Thetowncentre, .skydivebulgaria.com) tiny airport, shallow atlowtide. OperatingatPrimorsko’s thewater(one hour,10lv),although isvery skiing (10minutes, 40lv)andpaddleboating the usualwater sportsare available, such asjet- the long,crowdedbeach isquite attractive and thanresortsdeveloped tothenorth,although mainly withBulgarianfamilies.Itisfarless resort 52kmsoutheastof Burgas andpopular isabusy Primorsko (meaning‘bythesea’) % PRIMORSKO Sozopol. beyond bridge, foundaround10kmor15minutes and get attheprominent,well-signposted off take anybusorminibussouthof Sozopol, the parklandentrancebypublictransport, perperson8/10lv) trip 3 lv; major entrancetoa River theRopotamo Primorsko isthe crosses snakes that live hereabouts.) as Snake Island,after theindigenous water Bulgaria’s onlywildcacti.(It’salsoknown liths andtinySveti Tomaisland,which hosts Thracian mega- alsoencompasses The reserve At several well-signposted placesalongthe At several Spektar Palace From thetownsquare, alongbulTreti Mart Where Sozopoland themainroadbetween 0550 /pop3100 h organises roomsatrates thatvaryaccord- Demin Agency dawn-dusk)

( % SkyDive Bulgaria SkyDive 0883318835) ПРИМОРСКО ( istheplacetogoforthrow-

. There are acoupleof cafés % (

% alongtheriver. Toget to 33 529;www.spektar-palace.com; ul parkland 32 870;busstation;perperson25- walking trails walking for assistance. as ( (admission free, parking (admission free, parking

%

boat ride SOUTHERNCOAST ••Primorsko 0899868984; www ) Closer tothe Closer hiking trails hiking where ex-

(40/70min Denka Denka , with unfussy, airy rooms, a sauna andagood with unfussy,airyrooms,asauna these services pass through, in either direction, ineitherdirection, passthrough, services these or Haskovo andAhtopolorKiten, butmanyof Primorsko Burgas, onthe waybetween Sofia stopregularly35 minutes). Also,buses at Tsarevo (3 lv,30minutes) andSozopol(3lv, adayto buses 8am and11.30pm)several are toAhtopol(3.50lv,45minutes, twobuses 10 minutes, 30minutes). every There roughly leaves. Fromhere, there are to Kiten buses (1 lv, centre, iswhere allpublictransportarrives and Primorsko’s 1kmfromthetown busstation, Getting There&Away steaksthough are also available. of mostlyfishdishessuch asgrilledmackerel, abigmenu modern, upscaleoptions,serving mains 5-20lv; stewed porkribsand breaded shark. as wellsomelessobviousdishes such as doing theusuallineinsteaks, grillsandsalads, h such andchicken asmoussaka and rice. ted andtuckinto basicdishes outwithtables, or inanoldfishing boatalongsidethat’sfit- lunch. Youcansitonthemainwoodenterrace this isagreat placetograb aquick,cheap h place to look. rants here, too:ulChernoMore isthebest tors, butthere isahandfulof decentrestau- fare tobestandard formostvisi- town seem Kebabs, pizzasandburgers around fromstalls Eating is offered of days forstays seven or more. (one hour,2lv)andfree pick-upfromBurgas on-site restaurant. Bikes are available forrent €21/31; 29;r/aptinclbreakfast Jul&Aug €40/60,Sep-Jun from Mart summer. in the actionsosomeroomsmaybequite noisy inthethickofpizzeria downstairs. It’sright option withmodern,cleanroomsandagood ul ChernoMore 46;d60lv; ms hotels. most the towncentre meansit’salotquieter than alittleoutof including asmallpool.Being best hotels intown,withexcellentfacilities, thanthebeach,bus station thisisoneof the Restaurant Chaika Restaurant Kavaka Bistro Silva Sunarita Hotel Vera Prima Hotel 10am-midnight) breakfast, lunch&dinner) a

( ) % Another welcomingcentralhotel h

0889835070; ulChernoMore; mains4-10lv; (Primorsko Beach;mainsfrom2.50lv; (Primorsko 8am-midnight) Traditional tavern-style place ( % (

%

33 222; www.sunarita.com; ulTreti33 222;www.sunarita.com; a ( % 33 488;[email protected]; Set right onthebeach, right Set ) Adecenttowncentre 32 990;ulChernoMore 40; Oneof themore

225 BLACK SEA COAST COAST SEA BLACK BLACK SEA COAST 60/100 lv; all with balconies and most with sea views. all withbalconies andmost withsea attractiveern complexthat has light, rooms, hotel, this isasmaller,mod- the DodoBeach .com; r/aptinclbreakfast 70/128lv; the summer months. arranged. Pricesfallbyabout athirdoutside and yachtrant, gymandsauna, trips canbe views costmarginally more. There’s arestau- with arange withsea of rooms;those bright of private beach, thisisafresh-looking hotel pocket-sized marinaandwithitsownscrap from 60/100lv; so check afew out first. clean, butnotallhave air-con, fans, oreven and gym.Theroomsare and simple,bright with facilitiesincludingasmallpool,sauna from thebeaches, theEosisafriendlyhotel alittlefurther walk fromthebusstop,though Complex Eos Hotel Sleeping &Eating and hasplentyof beachside cafés. to thesouthissheltered, idealforswimming all possiblefuture development. the hillsinbackgroundthankfullyhinder and prettiest coast,and along theBlackSea bay,oneofhorseshoe-shaped thecleanest bars. and ul Atliman,which islinedwithrestaurants two beaches; thebiggest concentrationison hotels are dottedthe alongtheroads between centre assuch, soallshops, restaurants and vious historyhere today.There’s notown inthearea,settlement butthere islittleob- ofindicated evidence ThracianandRoman ing itsoncehiddencharms. Excavations have cially Czechs andScandinavians, discover- increasing numberof foreign tourists,espe- complexes risingupinrecent years andan quickly,withnumeroushoteldeveloping little resort of Kiten, 5kmtothesouth,is notasbustlingPrimorsko,Although the % KITEN Burgas. and Plovdiv andSliven Zagora, viaSozopol to Stara adayalsogotoSofia, travel buses andseveral 6amand7pm).Aboutbetween private seven daily toBurgas 30minutes (5lv,onehour,every travellate Inaddition,buses intheevening. 226 The northern Hotel Marina Hotel Continental Hotel 0550 /pop1020 OTENCAT • ie SOUTHERN COAST ••Kiten as КИТЕН pai )

Conveniently located ashort ( %

( %

Atliman Beach Atliman ( % /fax 36 984; Kiten Marina; r/apt Marina; /fax 36984;Kiten 36 865;ulPetrova niva ) 36 131;www.continental9000 Overlooking Kiten’s Overlooking pas isalonga Morski Beach Morski Opposite )

7; r/apt

speaking staffandlotsofbrochures, leaflets speaking and maps. officewithEnglish- 10am-noonSat &Sun)Friendly Mon-Fri, .info; ul Mikhail Gerdzhikov; Gerdzhikov; .info; ulMikhail spot for the Bulgarian royal family. Called spot fortheBulgarianroyalfamily.Called elegant littletown,onceapopularholiday ting outintotheBlackSea, Tsarevo isaquiet, Spread lazilyover twosmallpeninsulasjut- % TSAREVO will alsostopinKiten topick up passengers. travellingand minibuses toorfromAhtopol hours)eight leave theday.Allbuses throughout to 25lvto28lv,seven Sofia Zagora; (viaStara Plovdiv (15lvto18lv,fourfive hours) and Sozopol (3.50lv,40minutes). Direct to buses one hour,hourly)travel viaPrimorsko and toBurgasand Ahtopol.Dailybuses (5.50lv, at thejunctionof theroads toPrimorsko isatthetopendof The busstation ulStrandzha, Getting There&Away salads. and try ideal for everyone. obligatory full-board arrangement won’tbe theseemingly facilities intown,although glass box hassomeof thebestroomsand With superbviewsover thecoast,thisbig Urdoviza 8;s/d/trinclfullboardfrom140/190/285lv; nightclub. and It alsohasaterrace restaurant, garden est include the of Other sights inter-across theBlack Sea. Gardens of ulHan Asparuh are thepeaceful the rockyheadlandatend Overlooking Sights InformationCentre Tourist ul Han Asparuh. mainstreet,found alongthepedestrianised internetThe postoffice, centre andcafésare Orientation &Information Tsarevo’s neighbours. and feels more like areal townthansomeof atmospherepeninsula, hasacalm,affluent again in1991.Thecentre, onthenorthern a Soviet in1950,anditreverted botanist) once communists thenrenamed itMichurin (after (‘royal place’)inhonourof Tsar BorisIII;the Vasiliko until1934,itwasrenamed Tsarevo All thehotels listed have restaurants; Dodo Beach 0550 /pop6300 Eos Restaurant Eos Restaurant , offering dramaticpanoramicviews ЦАРЕВО

( % Church of Sveti TsarChurch ofSveti Boris-Mikhail Book yourstayatlonelyplanet.com/hotels (mains 2-3lv) 36 294; www.dodo-beach.com; ul 36 294;www.dodo-beach.com; h ( 8am-noon &1-5pm % 52 162;www.tzarevo forcheap grills as Sea

) a dishes, whilefresh fishisonthemenuat cheap andchicken-and-chips salads type from the bus station intotownthatcanfrom thebusstation r 15-20lv; couple of bars. small butpicturesque scrapof witha sand on thenorthernsideof theheadland.It’sa in 1810above bysteps thebeach, accessed and thetiny Botev) (ul Hristo Book yourstayatlonelyplanet.com/hotels eight hours,eight 11.20am and 11.30pm). and there are toSofia twodailybuses (25lv, 6am and8pmviaKitentween andPrimorsko, 30 minutes every to onehourbe- run roughly centre. toBurgas Minibuses (6 lv,50minutes) Gerdzhikov, about2kmwestof Mikhail the Tsarevo’s isatthetopof busstation ul Getting There&Away h the harbourside h meals cost extra. nearby anditlooksalittleoutof place. All including aspa,butthere’s nothingelse package-tour groups.Ithastopfacilities, holiday complexpopularwithScandinavian on thesouthernpeninsula,thisisahuge 90/130 lv; balconies. with quiet location,offering good-sizedrooms there’s anoutdoorpool and restaurant. have balconiesandsparklingbathrooms, value. Thelarge, roomsall comfortable this very moderncomplexoffers superb 40/44/76 lv; Asparuh 10;s/d/aptJul&Aug 54/64/120lv,Sep-Jun from excursions. and English. Italsoarranges carandbike rental arrange private rooms,butnobody speaks Diskos Melany Sleeping &Eating the giantSerenity hotel. Bay cret cove, asit’salsooccupiedby though, has Tsarevo’s best headland, reached byscramblingover rocks, the apartments andholidayhomes,although sula isof lessinterest, dominated bymodern The restaurant of the Diana Hotel Zebra Hotel Across thewidebay,southernpenin- ) Serenity Bay Serenity 7am-midnight) breakfast, lunch&dinner) Another fairlynewblockinacentralbut ais h pais ,

( 24hr)

( % dedicated totheformerking, %

( Church oftheHolyTrinity . ( % % 54 855; ul Hristo Botev 2;r/apt55/100lv; Botev 54 855;ulHristo 55 111;www.hotel-zebra.com; ulHan Ribarska Sreshta Ribarska ) An agency ontheroad Dominating thebestbeach 52 460; ul Mikhail Gerdzhikov 18; Gerdzhikov 52 460;ulMikhail 55 300;[email protected]; d/apt beach Near the Sea Gardens, Near theSea ) Hotel Diana Hotel is agoodplacefor . Sadly,thisisnose- SOUTHERNCOAST ••Ahtopol

(mains 2.50-5lv; (mains 4-10 lv;

, built com; ul Preobrazhenska 7;r/ste€33/46; com; ulPreobrazhenska oe Srnza aue ak etbihd in established 1995. The 1161sqkmof rollinghillsprotect Park, Nature Strandzha mote In Bulgaria’ssoutheastern corneristhere- % ПРИРОДЕН STRANDZHA NATUREPARK totravelneed inlandto Malko Târnovo. Turkish border. TocrossintoTurkey, you 30 minutes), thetinyvillage ontheclosed one of (1.50lv, which continuestoRezevo go southtoSinemorets (1lv,10minutes), Primorsko andSozopol, whilefourbuses ( adaydepartfromthe Four buses Getting There&Away restaurants. available. are various excursions andwindsurfinglessons smart centraloptionwithairyrooms.Itruns and a supermarket. with great views,aswellpools,agym sea Eskada offers stylishrooms,some bright, pais .com; s/dJul&Aug 56/86lv,Sep-Jun from40/48lv; loud. so thecomfyroomsaren’tfaçade, though quite multicolouredup toitsnamewithabright, 7;s/d/tr39/59/69lv; .com; ulZelenika House Coloured Sleeping &Eating and thenheadnorthwestalong any laneway. roadforabout 300m, wards themaincoastal from thebusstopalongulSveti Nikolato- east of this.Tofindthebeach, walksouthwest and administrationbuildingsare about500m where thepostoffice thebusstops,though years. coming ter of theplacemaychange dramaticallyin planned fortheresort, sothewholecharac- with roomfor500yachts, iscurrently being landscape. an€80millionmarina, However, and belowsomehills,sofew buildingsblotthe The beach is about800mfromthetowncentre Ahtopol stillhasaquiet,remote airabout it. An agreeable placetoenjoysomesunandsea, % AHTOPOL % All theabove hotels have theirown LolaGarden Hotel Beach Eskada Hotel The town‘centre’ aroundthepark isbased 05952 0550 /pop1500 0889998847) АХТОПОЛ ) On the seafront promenade, Ontheseafront for Burgas (6lv,1½hours) via ( %

ПАРКСТРАНДЖА 0887561258; www.colours.ahtopol

( ( % % 62 020;www.lolagarden. 62 035;www.hoteleskada pa pai bus station ) Lives 227 ) A

BLACK SEA COAST COAST SEA BLACK BLACK SEA COAST yahoo.com; buses leavebuses forMalko Târnovo (6.70lv, last largely undiscovered hideaway, although (Si-ne- Sinemorets % SINEMORETS day tripsto the park. Ahtopol andKiten are convenient for bases is infrequent. Ifyouhave aprivate vehicle, but transporttoothervillages inthepark three hours, fourorfive aday)viaBulgari, the contact displays about thepark.Formore details, Ethnographical Museum ( town inthesouthwest.The Malko Târnovo, aneconomicallydepressed pressed for time. ifyou’retrips (€57)aroundthemainsights good sourceof information;italsooffers day The website www.discoverstrandja.com isa ness the you visitinearlyJune,make sure youwit- beach stretchesably themostundeveloped of sandy Burgas. whatare Theparkalsocontains prob- available attheHelikon Bookshop ( p213 ) in Nature Park Strandzha centre of thepark,are inthecolourful detailed treks thecoastand (about20km)between short hikes (1kmto8kmlong),andlonger sparsely populated andrelatively flat.Several and suspicious border-patrol guards. this is anarea ofTurkish border: smugglers tothe anddon’tstraytooclose port, though, the area isnoteasywithoutprivate trans- saved fromexcessive Visiting development. and fornowtheparkappears tohave been quickly torestore Strandzha’sprotection, struction tocontinue. Parliament moved void, allowingpreviously illegalhotel con- Court declared thepark’sprotected status rage inJuly2007whenBulgaria’sSupreme buttherebeing developed, waspublicout- ous unexcavated Byzantine fortresses. of (sixare endangered) andvari- 70% of foundinBulgaria),65species those 40 speciesof fish, 261typesof birds(almost ing vastforests of aswell oakandbeech, the country’smostdiverse vegetation, includ- 228 % The parkisidealfor The park’secotourismpotential isslowly From the Zapad bus station inBurgas, bus station From theZapad The administrative centre of theparkis 0550 /pop300 2998; [email protected]) ETA OS • Pmre CENTRAL COAST ••Pomorie along the Bulgarian Black Sea coast. If coast.If alongtheBulgarianBlackSea

fire-dancing festival fire-dancing ul Janko Maslinov 1, ul JankoMaslinov Târnovo) Malko park office СИНЕМОРЕЦ mor

( ( % % -ets) is the Black Sea’s -ets) istheBlackSea’s map(1:70,000;4lv), hiking 2126) /fax 2963;strandjapark@ ( p23 ) inBulgari. History Museum History contain some contain because it’s because andthe .

charming southbeach, thismassive place venture. rates Weekly are available. such anout-of-place cellent, butthisseems walk-in guestsare welcome. Facilities are ex- caters mainlytopackage tourists,although €52/67; court, gymandrestaurant on site. enettes. It’sgoodvalue,andthere’s atennis hotel are apartmentsfitted withtinykitch- breakfast €40/60; outside the summer months. two balconies.Pricesare aboutathirdless the apartmentsare spaciousandcomewith fairlysimplerooms; modern placehaslight, ul Butamya;d/aptinclbreakfast from€30/60; Hotel Atlas Sleeping &Eating water. clean crowds andenjoypristinewhite sand bestplacestoescapethe of theBlackSea’s countryside. surrounding Nature Park and forvisitingthenearbyStrandzha superb base ally slow-pacedexistence remains, andit’sa atmosphere of remote village life andagener- enormous hotel onthevillage’s bestbeach, the Despitedevelopers’ thepresence sights. of an itfirmlyinthe ment alongthecoastlinehasset thattherelentless paceofit seems develop- choked with odorous seaweed. Pomorie ischoked withodorous seaweed. thewater is while thebeach isserviceable, modern towncentre hasalazy charm, but There, thesimilaritiesend.The however, by fire in1906wasalmost as picturesque. a narrowpeninsula,anduntilitwas ravaged Like neighbouring Nesebâr, Pomorie sitson % POMORIE CENTRAL COAST Sinemorets. in (1 lv,15minutes). There are notaxis of toSinemorets thefourdailyminibuses travel toAhtopolandchange there forone toFrom furtherupthecoastyou’llneed Transport to/fromSinemorets isvery poor. Getting There&Away Bella Vista BeachClub Bella Vista Arthotel Asti The two 0596 /pop14,600 pas ( % beaches ПОМОРИЕ pa

66 200;www.hotelatlas-sinemoretz.com; ( % Book yourstayatlonelyplanet.com/hotels ) hiking Overlooking Sinemorets’Overlooking 65 560;www.asti-bg.com; s/d incl are excellent–thisisone ) All 26roomsatthisfresh ( % and 66 138;r/aptinclfullboard bird-watching a ) This inthe dating from 1765. buggies grammes are available atanumber of hotels. apy andcountlessothertreatments andpro- sa treatments. spa lakes,mous foritssalt therapeuticmudand andBurgas.Nesebâr Thetownisalso fa- a relatively cheap fromwhich tovisit base tirely byforeign bypassed tourists, butit’s very much aBulgarianresort, almosten- Book yourstayatlonelyplanet.com/hotels Targovska 5;rincl breakfast 60lv; kettles. Breakfast is4 lv extra. and balconies andcome withfridges, TVs restaurant Allroomshave andbarattached. isoneof thenewerhotels,town, Zeus witha 9; s/d/apt50/60/100lv; ably bespaceavailable. –justturnup,andthere’ll prob- reservations take atmospheric. Itdoesn’t but it’scertainly transport thelocation’snonetooconvenient, fairly basic,andunlessyouhave yourown tiny monastery rents outa few rooms.They’re If you’re lookingforsomethingdifferent, this windows. their signs for onthisroadhavehouses accommodation from around10lvperperson, andmany ul KnyazBorisI,offering private rooms andfurtheralong near themainbusstation Pensioners holdingcardboardsignsgather Sleeping &Eating you canhire alongthebeachfrontare stalls where several ideal for Church isthe wooden houses, of town,withitsfew cobblestone streets and park inthetowncentre, whileintheolderpart washed worth alookintowntoo,includingthewhite- herestay (see below ). There are afew churches ered frescoes. It’salsopossible to insaintly quaint, icon-filled church andabelltowercov- inprettysmall complexset gardenswitha Monastery is ing towardsthemainbusstation, On adustyroadabout2kmoutof town,head- Sights &Activities Massages, mudbaths, hydrother- saunas, St George Centre St George Monastery Georgi Sveti It’s often windyatthebeach, makingit Zeus Hotel Zeus

(ul HanKubrat1; (30 min/1hr 15/25 lv) Sveta BogoroditsaChurch Sveta

windsurfing svobodni stai (ul Knyaz Boris I) (ul KnyazBoris

( % scooters 22 770; www.zeus-pm.bg; ul ulRakovski 22 770;www.zeus-pm.bg; a ( % h (perhr10lv) )

(30min/1hr 5/10lv) Located inthecentre of (ul Knyaz Boris I;r8-15lv; (ul KnyazBoris 25 180;[email protected]; ul . Builtin1856,it’sa . 8.30am-12.30pm &4-10pm) Preobrazhenie Gospodne Preobrazhenie ( Свободни ais CENTRALCOAST ••Nesebâr , intheshady , whilethere

and Sveti Georgi Georgi Sveti ) стаи Breezy golf ) in p , ) h surprisingly numerous,albeit mostlyruined, crown.Famous forits Bulgarian BlackSea (Ne- card Nesebâr narrow, artificial isthmus, pretty-as-a-post- of Burgas, connected tothemainlandbya % NESEBÂR at Pomorie’ssmallcentral bus station. (1.80lv,30minutes), stopping Sunny Beach leave fromBurgas (2lv,30minutes) and ( marked ‘PomorieCentral’ Sliven, Varna and Zagora. Stara travel hours),eight andseveral toPlovdiv, gotoSofia to dailybuses (26lv,seven eight or seven Fromthisstation, main busstation. Bryag)invariably(Slânchev stoponlyatthe Burgas and/orSunny Beach andNesebâr the town centre. northeast tothebeach and100msouthto town hall.Fromthelatter, it’sabout200m isinfrontof andthecentralstation the taxi), town centre (andaccessiblebylocalbus1or isabout 3kmoutsidethe main busstation There are inPomorie:the twobusstations Getting There&Away chicken and fish dishes. Restaurant Preobrazhenie GospodneChurch, including (with multilingualmenus)are foundnearthe lined withrestaurants, whilebetter options beachfront promenade,ulKraybrezhna, is and grills,butthere’s noEnglish menu.The simplefare such assoups,salads café serving 3-4 lv; treatments. therapeutic club andaspacentre thatoffers numerous Most roomshave views,andthere’s sea anight- of thepeninsula,thishotel isthebestintown. onarockyoutcropthesoutheastern tip Set ulYavorov/ih-pomorie; 3;dinclbreakfast 90lv; visitors. disabled including thepool,isgeared of totheneeds facing balconies,andthewholecomplex, room andrestaurant. Allroomshave sea- gym,massage price, includingapool,sauna, ing somesurprisinglygoodfacilitiesforthe complexinaquietlocation,offer-seafront On a small,rockyisland37kmnortheast Every oneto1½hours, dailyminibuses Opposite Interhotel Pomorie, Pomorie Interhotel The regular buses and minibuses between between The regular andminibuses buses 0554 /pop10,200 lunch &dinner) h lunch &dinner) НЕСЕБЪР , which offers grilledpork, se

(ul Knyaz Boris I;mains4-10lv; (ul KnyazBoris isawelcominggarden ( -bar) isthejewelin % 22 440;www.pomorie.com Поморие Pri Slavi Pri pais

Център (mains

229

) ) BLACK SEA COAST COAST SEA BLACK BLACK SEA COAST 230 0 200 m NESEBÂR 0 0.1 miles ETA OS • Nsbr CENTRAL COAST ••Nesebâr A B C D E F

INFORMATION SLEEPING Biochim Commercial Bank...... 1 D3 Hotel ...... 18 C3 Internet Club...... (see 24) Hotel St Sofia...... 19 D1 1 Post Office...... 2 C3 Hotel Toni...... 20 D1 6 Prince Cyril Hotel...... 21 D2 Kra yb SIGHTS & ACTIVITIES Rony Hotel...... 22 B3 rezhn a Angel Divers...... 3 C4 Royal Palace Hotel...... 23 C3 19 Archaeological Museum...... 4 B3 White House Hotel...... 24 C3 20

Archangels Michael & Gabriel's a k Church...... 5 D2 s eptun S n N 17 ad a of the Merciful Virgin.....6 D1 a ruh Emo la na Byzantine Baths...... 7 D2 Slavy pa 26 Christ Pantokrator Church...... 8 C3 21 Church of St ...... 9 C3 Hem Han As 12 Ethnographical Museum...... 10 E3 u s

St John Aliturgetos Church...... 11 C4 ka Neptun B L A C K 2 Sveta Bogoroditsa Church...... 12 D2

yans Sveta Paraskeva Church...... 13 D2 Venera a 5 13 tsk 28 S E A i Sveta Sofia Church...... 14 D2 Slav ropoli lo e Hemus Mit Sveti Spas Church...... 15 D3 h Sveti Stefan Church...... 16 C4 A en II 14

Sveti Todor Church...... 17 E1 7 Ivan As 23 avski s 15 u en II lka m Rusa 9 30 T Vrach 29 ervel He ezhna Ivan As Mesembria 35 ka 10 Kraybr 1 polits 32 3 31 Mitro 8 nder Alexa n a 34 Iv 27 ria 2 arska Mesemb

Town Rib

Gate ENTERTAINMENT r Simeon r 18 4 22 24 Cinema...... 32 D3

To Hotel Menabria (100m); Men Tsa MD Tour (150m); a 16 SHOPPING Hotel Vigo (200m); 33 Nesebâr New Town (400m); EATING Christ Pantokrator Church...... (see 8)

Xtreme Club (400m); 25 11 Bistro Flagman...... 25 C4 Sveta Paraskeva Church...... (see 13) lonelyplanet.com South Beach (1km); Mehana Pri Shopite...... 26 E2 Sveti Todor Church...... (see 17) La Bomba (1km); Old Nesebâr...... 27 D3 4 Hotel Bilyana Beach (1.5km); Hotel Crystal Beach (2km); Restaurant Honolulu...... 28 E2 TRANSPORT Zlatna Diona (2km); Harbour Zlatnoto Runo...... 29 E3 Bus Station...... 33 B4 Sunny Beach (Slânchev Bryag; 3km); Trolleybus to Sunny Beach Burgas (37km) DRINKING (Slânchev Bryag) Mona Lisa...... 30 D3 (summer only)...... 34 B3 3 Tequila Bar...... 31 B3 Water Taxis to Sunny Beach.....35 B3 centre of commercial,strategic andreli- Mesembria regained itsformergloryasa beautiful town,andalsohasahandfulof in- Unesco asaWorldHeritage site, isa Nesebâr Designated by ers season. duringthehigh siege fromtourgroupsandsouvenir sell- heavily andisvirtuallyunder commercialised become churches,medieval ithasinevitably lonelyplanet.com town on the mainland by a narrow causeway town on the mainlandbya narrowcauseway long and 300m wide. It’sconnected tothenew The oldtownis on arockyoutcrop,850m Orientation tourism. on almostentirely dayssurvives tury, andthese tive tradingtownfrom theearly20thcen- later tobeanac- byBurgas, ceased Nesebâr remain byVarna today.Overshadowed and chants builtgrand villas here, someof which prospered,turies, Nesebâr andwealthymer- ofNational Revival the18thand19th cen- the cityagainstpirates. DuringtheBulgarian fortifications were strengthened todefend of aGreekas theseat bishop,andexisting year. same fell the in1453;theTurkstookNesebâr Byzantine stewardship whenConstantinople It wasoneof thelastcitiesstillunder (681–1018), butremained largely unscathed. Byzantium andtheFirst BulgarianEmpire backandforthbetween centuries, itpassed was renamed over Nesebâr; thefollowing After theBulgar invasionin812,thetown erected andthefortificationsextended. grandchurches6th centuries,several were andduringthe5th gious importance, centre gradually declined. asamajor thecity’sstatus though trading al- cepted theRomaninvaders in72BC, (Sozopol), thepopulaceof Mesembria ac- ago. Toavoid thesorryfate of Apollonia around 2000years rose oflevel theBlackSea gates andtowers were submerged after the mostof although theirtemples, in 512BC, came thethrivingtradingportof Mesembria It wasGreek colonistswhofoundedwhatbe- History water sport on hand, too. across thebay,youhave conceivable every Bryag)just (Slânchev and withSunnyBeach has plentyof decenthotels intheoldtown, teresting Unlike museums. Sozopol,Nesebâr Under ByzantinerulefromAD395, Under Ottoman rule, Nesebâr continued Under Ottomanrule,Nesebâr CENTRALCOAST ••Nesebâr telephone centre. by theVenetians. three Itcontained naves and about 1257, whenthechurch wasransacked chiefNesebâr’s ecclesiasticalcentre until theBishop’sencompassed palace. It remained 9th centuryaspart of ahuge complexthat vast, three-nave basilicawas rebuilt inthe Dating asfarbackthe5thcentury, this also knownastheOldMetropolitan Church. the ruinsof the free. is hoursdaily duringdaylight andadmission whereExcept indicated, each church isopen façades decorated withgreen ceramicdiscs. arches resting onthevertical pilasters, the and red brick,which are bystripedblind offset design are stripsof thehorizontal white stone Characteristic of styleof theNesebâr church and chapels, butmostare nowinruins. wasoncehometoaboutNesebâr 80churches CHURCHES available. plus oneortwoof are theothersights, also tickets, validfortheArchaeological Museum Cheaperand theArchaeological Museum. Spas Church, theEthnographicalMuseum gives accesstoSveti Stefan Church, Sveti sold onlyattheArchaeological Museum, A multiticket (adult/child 10/5lv),apparently Sights Post office Club Internet Biochim CommercialBank missions, so shop around. travellers cheques butcharge different com- eign exchange office. Many of change these Every tobeafor- orthirdshop seems second Information Vlas, the oldtownis in the old town. areoverlooking butallthesights SouthBeach, town hasthenewestandbiggest hotels, several hr 2.50 lv) has anATM thatacceptsmajor credit cards. The onlybankintownthatchangestravellerscheques. Also yr-round,11am-7.45pmSat&SunApr-Oct) 7.45pm Mon-Fri fied bytheGreeks andByzantines.Thenew walls, builtbytheThraciansandlater forti- the3000-year-old through that goes fortress No visitorcanhelpbutbeimpressed by Probably thebestavailable mapfeaturing publishedby Pure Bulgaria. (ul Mesembria; (ulMesembria; (WhiteHouseHotel,ulTsar Simeon2;per Nesebâr, SunnyBeach andSveti Sveta SofiaChurch Sveta h (ul Mesembria; (ulMesembria; 8am-8pm Tue-Sat) Hasa (ul Mitropolitska)

h 8.30am- 231

, BLACK SEA COAST COAST SEA BLACK BLACK SEA COAST basilica, renowned foritsrare andimpres- years later. It’sarelatively large, three-nave in the11thcenturyandreconstructed 500 intown,originallybuilt the bestpreserved h tury, it’sdecorated withgreen ceramicdiscs 16th-century andthe gilded16th-century iconostasis is ongoing.Also of note are the elaborate andrestorationas wellnumerous saints, ings depictscenes fromthelife of theVirgin entire interior. TheByzantine-style paint- and 18thcenturies,which cover virtuallythe sive the16th muralsdatingfrom between inside. viewed muralscanbecomparatively well-preserved rule, ithadtobebuiltbelowstreet Some level. like allchurches duringOttoman established is asmall,single-nave church builtin1609; h still ongoing nearby. archaeologists inthe1920s.Excavations are itwasonlyrediscoveredlowed bythesea, by abandonedcoast; eventually andpartlyswal- built asaresponse topirate raidsalongthe century. Thefortifiedtoweralongsideitwas century; itbecameamonastery inthe14th overlooking dates backtothe6th thesea, pied byan art gallery. 14th and17thcenturies.It’salsonowoccu- muralsfromthe some of thebest-preserved was builtinthe10thcenturyandfeatures here in summer. quake in1913.Concertsare sometimesheld church wasmostlydestroyedbyanearth- and dedicated toStJohn the theUnbeliever, Ribarska. Builtinabout themid-14thcentury cessible downsomesteps fromtheendof ul wasthe Nesebâr as acommercial art gallery. ancient solarsymbol.Thechurch isnowused the eastern endisthefriezeof swastikas,an with asturdybelltower. Anunusualfeature at and intricate red brickpatterns, andistopped Church struction isthewell-preserved cafés andartists’ street stalls. centrepiece of abusyplazasurrounded by and widewindows.Todaytheruinsform boasted aspaciousinterior walls withhigh 232 The The Sveti Stefan Church Stefan Sveti SpasChurch Sveti Probably themostbeautifulchurch inold Typical of thecharacteristic con- Nesebâr 9am-6pm Mon-Fri, 9am-1pm&1.30-5pmSatSun) 9am-6pm Mon-Fri, 10am-1.30pm & 2-5pm Mon-Fri, 10am-1.30pmSat&Sun) 10am-1.30pm &2-5pmMon-Fri, ETA OS • Nsbr CENTRAL COAST ••Nesebâr

(ul Mesembria) Basilica of the Merciful Virgin Basilica oftheMerciful Church ofStJohntheBaptist . Builtinthemid-14thcen- St John Aliturgetos Church St JohnAliturgetos

(ul Aheloi;adult/child2.50/1.50lv;

(ul Ribarska; adult/child4/2lv; (ul Ribarska; Christ Pantokrator Christ (ul Mitropolitska)

(ul Kraybrezhna)

, ac- is ,

back tothe 13th century. decades duringthe13thand14thcentu- 6pm Sat&Sun) 2; adult/child4/2lv; The ARCHAEOLOGICAL MUSEUM (admission 1lv) icons,there’senough asmall murals,andifyou saintly typically colourfulinterior issplashedwith the entranceforbare-armed women.)The tors are welcome. (Shawls are provided at church intownandmodestly dressed visi- Church tively plain,19th-century pied byyetanotherartgallery.Therela- Thebuildingisnowoccu- and oneapse. Church century architecture isthe opening hours. Afineexampleof 13th- and isnowanartgallerywithirregular (ul Neptun) known about theorigins of but isusuallykept locked up.Very littleis ries. Itremains inrelatively goodcondition, Hemus) the day in summer. multilingual guidedtourgroupsthroughout a rapid successionofthe church large, sees 18th-century pulpit.Trytocomeearly,as labels are inBulgarian and German. costumes anddisplays aboutweaving. All structed inabout 1840),itfeatures regional building (con- Bulgarian National Revival 1pm &2-6pmMon-Sat) ( by thetourgroupsisthissmall Ignored bytheshopaholicsandforgotten MUSEUMETHNOGRAPHICAL image of the Virgin. merous churches, includinga13th-century religious icons recovered nu- fromNesebâr’s holdsacollectionofenness. Thebasement supporting asozzled Silenus,godof drunk- bronze jugdepictingDionysus,godof wine, while Hellenistic humouris onshowa Thracian goldjewelleryandancientanchors, OtherexhibitsincludeGreek pottery, BC. craft andfertility, fromthe2ndcentury image of statuette Hecate, goddessof witch- ground floor,aswellanunusualtriple- and Roman-eratombstonesonthe % The 46 012; ul Mesembria 28;adult/child2/1lv; 46 012;ulMesembria Archaeological Museum Archaeological wasbuiltover of thecourse afew

(ul Slavyanska) (ul Hemus) Archangels Michael & Gabriel’s Church &Gabriel’s Archangels Michael , which has been partiallyrestored, which hasbeen hasafair collection of Hellenistic attached, withexamplesgoing h , which hasonlyonenave . Insideatypical wooden 9am-7pm Mon-Fri, 9am-1pm&1.30- 9am-7pm Mon-Fri, istheonlyfunctioning (

% Sveta BogoroditsaSveta still lonelyplanet.com 46 012; ul Mesembria 46 012;ulMesembria Sveta Paraskeva Paraskeva Sveta Sveti TodorChurch Sveti church museum haven’t seen museum h 10am- (ul

40 lv) half-day yacht cruises (adult/child yacht including cruises half-day town, runsallkindsof excursions, including region’s biggest andbestspas,renowned for to lookatnow,initsdaythiswasoneof the Byzantine vated remains of thisoncehuge 6th-century Church of Sveti Spasare thepartlyexca- present justbehind groundlevel the Below BYZANTINE BATHS Book yourstayatlonelyplanet.com/hotels are thebestoption forbudget travellers – supply faroutstrips demand.Private rooms by inthesummer months, butoutof season tion intheoldtown canbehardtocome Unless youbook inadvance,accommoda- Sleeping to (adult/child €45/25). /child includinglunch €30/20)anddaytrips (adult safaris jeep lunch €22/12),half-day MD Tour Tours outlet onthebeach atSveti Vlas ( p236 ). open-water courses for€245.Ithasanother Sozopol)for€90andfour-daydiving (off company offering singledives for€45,wreck at theferry port,isaPADI-certified diving h Angel Divers Activities coast, are an alternative option. Bryag),justafew(Slânchev kilometres up the tion. Thelonger shores sandy of SunnyBeach should, hopefully,prevent furtherconstruc- protectedofficially dunesatthefarend sand giant hotel complexes,several the although lv) sports are available, including over thelastfew years. Alltheusualwater somemajor developments thathasseen sand South Beach Around1.5kmwestofweed. theoldtownis rocky andthewater isoften choked withsea- some localsandvisitors, butthey’re smalland coast of theoldtown,which are popularwith There are afew scrappy beaches aroundthe BEACHES 812. AD Krum’sinvasionin destroyed duringKhan ‘cured hislegs’here in680.Thebaths were IVdroppedbyandEmperor Constantine its curative waters; allegedly theByzantine and 9am-6pm May-Sep) , water-skiing water-skiing pedalos

( %

baths , alongandwellmanaged stretch of

43 439; ul Christo Kudev 17) Kudev 43 439;ulChristo ( % (1hr 10lv) complex. Though notmuch complex. Though 0889427355; www.angel-divers.com; (10min 15lv) , located ina small booth . Thebeach islinedwith , windsurfing windsurfing CENTRALCOAST ••Nesebâr jet-skiing , inthenew (1hr 10 (10min

The onlyreal budget optionintheoldtown, gests advance reservations of asmuchgests as one advancereservations so isregularly full in summer(whenitsug- Hotel Toniisverythe sea, reasonably priced, lv, Sep-Jun 40lv; -13.8k.com; ulTsar-13.8k.com; Simeon2;rlow/highseason50/70lv; Prices rise Prices rise in August. andfridge. views. Allroomshavesea aTV of theMerciful Virgin, withsomewonderful Attractive three-star hotel facingtheBasilica ul Kraybrezhna 24b;d/aptinclbreakfast 85/120 lv; and summer garden on-site. only onesingle).There’s agoodrestaurant there’s (though access, withfridges andTVs unfussy rooms,includingsomewith disabled tive hotels intheoldtown,offering elegantbut baths complex,thisis among themore attrac- pa 19;s/dinclbreakfast from80/110lv; .com; ulMitropolitska ceilings. sloping cramped, top-floor fan-onlyroomswiththeir con; check afew outfirst andtrytoavoid the andfridge, butnotallwithair-all withTV this isafriendlyplacewithvarietyof rooms, on aquiet,cobbled,souvenir stall–free lane, 9;rinclbreakfastabv.bg; 70lv; ulSlavyanska on thegroundfloor. Breakfast is5lvextra. Nesebâr. Theoldtown’sonlyinternet caféis and usuallyabalcony,offering goodvaluefor fridge if alittlecramped,andallfeature TV, pai chatty hostis very helpful. month). Roomsare simplebutclean,andthe Toni Hotel MIDRANGE simple, butabargain for beach bums. an unnamedlanejustoff themainroad.Pretty option here. It’sanoldermotel-style blockon thisistheonlyborderlinebudget South Beach, 50/80 lv; do have balconies. haverooms don’teven they fans,although excellent butit’sagrottyoldplace,and which meansit’soften full.Thelocation’s Mesembria Hotel BUDGET off the bus. ladies offering tourists aroomortwomeet Hotel StSofia Hotel Royal Palace Hotel Hotel Cyril Prince HouseHotel White CrystalBeach Hotel ) Overlooking theruinsof Overlooking theByzantine a

) ( ) Roomshere are neatandclean, % Set backfromthewestern endofSet a 42 403;ulKraybrezhna 20;rJul&Aug 60

( ( ) % % Inagreat spotoverlooking

( ( 0899102770; ul Ribarska 6;r40lv) 0899102770; ulRibarska 45 061; www.stsofiahotel.hit.bg; 45 061;www.stsofiahotel.hit.bg; ( % % ( % % 46 491;www.nessebarpalace 46 615;offulIvanVazov; r/apt 42 215;princecyril_hotel@ 42 488;www.white-house a Located ) a 233

)

BLACK SEA COAST COAST SEA BLACK BLACK SEA COAST to town are great. buttheviewsback be abitbusy,traffic-wise, can the roadjunctiontowardsSunnyBeach an oldwoodenwindmill.Thelocation,near the Menabria isamodernhotel builtaround other sideof theisthmusfromoldtown, villa withadozen rooms–someof which theRonyisanold-stylewoodenMuseum, or twoon a hot day. ant place tojustsitbackwith aBurgasko beer steaks are andsalads also available. It’sapleas- heavy grilledchicken, menu,though pork just outsidethetown wallsoffering afish- dinner) and theusual Bulgarian specialities. tures andsoups pizza,salads grilledfish,pasta, the beachfront places.TheEnglish menufea- cheery restaurant offering better valuethan the‘GoldenDune’isacheap andBeach, 3-7 lv; side cafésnearthe bus station. tiful, andthecheapest placesare theharbour- resorts. Freshly fishis,naturally,plen- caught twice whatyou’llpayawayfromthecoastal passing touristtrade,andpricesare roughly restaurants are inNesebâr geared towardsthe todiscoverIt willcomeasnosurprise thatall Eating pools, aspacentre, billiardroom and gym. rooms andtop-classfacilitiesincludingfour new complexwithlarge, tastefully furnished Vigoisavast town onthewaytoSouthBeach, pais Vazov 9;rJul&Aug from180lv,s/dSep-Jun from 60/90lv; cilities, includingaspacentre and gym. It’s alittleoverpriced, ithasgoodfa- though views. and suites, allwithbalconiesandsea onthebeachcomplex right with135rooms 92/122 lv; .com; SouthBeach;s/dJul&Aug 170/180lv,Sep-Jun from ul IvanVazov 2;s/d/apt100/120/240lv; Menabria Hotel TOP END summer. in cent restaurant, too. It booksupquickly have views–andade- terraces andsea €23/39; €50/87,mid-Sep–May 1; r/steinclbreakfast Jun–mid-Sep 234 Hotel BilyanaBeach Hotel Rony Hotel Bistro Flagman Vigo Hotel Zlatna Diona ETA OS • Nsbr CENTRAL COAST ••Nesebâr h One of harbourside restaurants several a 7am-midnight) pais ) Right behindtheArchaeological Right

( ( ) % %

Around 200mwestof theold ( % ( % (harbourside; mains6-12lv; 44 002; www.hotelrony.com; ul Chayka 44 002;www.hotelrony.com;ulChayka 43 282;www.hotel-vigo.com; ulIvan 0878345001; offulIvanVazov; mains 46 745; www.hotelmenabria.com; 46 745;www.hotelmenabria.com; Near theHotel Crystal ( % ) Shimmering, glassy 46 645;www.bilyanabeach as h ) On the lunch & has anoutdoorterrace andabigmenuof late) Mona Lisa Drinking fresh fish,includingsquid and octopus. is alively, arange sociable placetosample of restaurant butthissea-facing Waikiki Beach, mains 10-20lv; with and pumpkinstuffed stewed mussels. dishes, such asoctopuswithblueberrysauce lamb andrabbit plus someinventive seafood avariedmenu,includingroast serves Fleece’ southeastern endof thepeninsula,‘Golden h fajitas and burritos. Mexican food,includingreasonable at stabs dishes. Italsooffers anunexpected menuof popular placeforbarbecues,grillsandfish offeringof great views,thisisa seating sea mains 8-12lv; and some vegetarian options. kinds of freshly fish plus grills,steaks caught ing placewithgreat food,includingnumerous twisted, 300-year-old figtree, thisisawelcom- traditional, tavern-style courtyardarounda Neptun 12;mains7-12lv; lined with hundreds allkinds of selling stalls ket, street withalmost every of theoldtown canresembleNesebâr onehuge open-airmar- Shopping St John Aliturgetos Church. larly take placeintheopen-airtheatre below free live musicand danceperformancesregu- cinema Bryag).There’s(Slânchev asummer-only livelier nightlife, headtonearbySunnyBeach music andDJpartiesduringthesummer. For is apopulartouristhaunt,offering regular live h including There isahandful of clubsinthenewtown, Entertainment place foradrink.Open summer only. expensive,sula, thisisanunusual,ifslightly thenorthernsideofbing aboutoff thepenin- evenings. the andgetscocktails, regularly packed outin Old Nesebâr o Restaurant Honolulu Restaurant Zlatnoto Runo Tequila Bar 8am-late) lunch &dinner) Facing Sveti SpasChurch, thisplace

( %

( Mehana Pri Shopite Shopite Pri Mehana Xtreme Club Xtreme , while La Bomba, on South Beach, Bomba,onSouthBeach, , whileLa % 445 714; ul Mesembria 20; tickets 5lv) 20;tickets 445 714;ulMesembria h h (

h 0886677577; ul Mitropolitska; 0886677577; ulMitropolitska; ( 9am-midnight) % ( lunch &dinner) Overlooking the sea onthe thesea Overlooking Book yourstayatlonelyplanet.com/hotels % noon-late) 0898833225; ulIvanAlexander11; 45 602; ul Rusalka 6;mains8-20lv; 45 602;ulRusalka ( h

%

( % 11am-midnight) 0897844867; ulHanKrum11; On apontoonbob- It’salongwayfrom 45 505;ulIvanAsenII22; With twotiers ( % 0888061163; ul Set ina Set h , and 9am- different, afew of thetown’smanychurches anywhere Ifyou’re else. after somethingabit it’sfarbetter toshopbut price-wise almost paintings. Therange onoffer isimpressive, watchesoff toembroideries,pottery and of fromcheeky t-shirtsandknock- touristtat, Book yourstayatlonelyplanet.com/hotels that you’re inacountry called Bulgaria. is theplace tocome. notice Youwon’teven able, no-worriesresort this totopupyourtan, abound. Ifyou’re justlooking foradepend- ing, andmultilingual restaurants andpubs imaginable activityfromminigolftoparasail- beach isoneof Bulgaria’sfinest,withevery pers thananyotherresort inthe country.The that attractsmore international sunworship- costas coast’shyperactive answertotheSpanish Sea the istheBlack SunnyBeach naff-sounding resort,Bulgaria’s biggest andbrassiestseaside % СЛЪНЧЕВ SUNNY BEACH(SLÂNCHEVBRYAG) 10am tween and 9pm. about 20minutes every the busstation be- which leaves fromanobvious spotnorthof (15lv), on thetrolleybus(2lv)orwater taxi daily). hours, several (28 lv,seven Varna daily)andSofia (8lv,twohours, seven Burgas (2.50lv,40minutes, 30minutes), every (0.80lv,10minutes, 15minutes), every Beach therebus station, are tonearbySunny buses the mainlandisfornewtown.From outside thecitywalls.Thestopbefore thison small square attheendof just thecauseway, isonthe transport, andthetown’sbusstation tions bothupanddownthecoastbypublic isexcellentlyconnectedNesebâr todestina- Getting There&Away ings andthe odd sculpture. gallery conversion, withmostlymodernpaint- andviewsof the mainly seascapes old town. theworksofart gallery,selling localpainters, church converted hasbeen intoacommercial pottery. studio such ascontemporary paintings, printsand shop, witharange of better-quality keepsakes asanartgalleryandsouvenir now serves hoursshops, opendaylight in summer only. now operate asmore upmarket souvenir Christ Pantokrator Church Christ To get to Sunny Beach, youcanalsojump To get toSunnyBeach, Church Paraskeva Sveta TodorChurch Sveti 0554 , with several kilometres, withseveral of beach sandy

БРЯГ

(ul Neptun)

(ul Hemus)

(ul Mesembria) (ul Mesembria) This tinychurch CENTRAL COAST •• Sunny Beach (Slânchev Bryag) CENTRALCOAST ••SunnyBeach(Slânchev Another art This /child allday28/16lv,3-7pm20/10lv; resort, here staying soalmosteveryone will apackage holiday isessentially Sunny Beach Sleeping lv). (139 Turkey (50lv)andtwo-daytripstoIstanbul trips wine-tasting range of excursions such as all offeringnear thebusstation, asimilar There are agencies onthemainroad several Tours end of thebeach. Tickets are soldat the door. place intheHotel Majestic atthefarnorthern of folkmusic,dancingandacrobatics take game 10lv) cluding range of otherratherexpensive diversions, in- 10 lv) sailing sports are available onthebeach, such as offers Numerous water asimilarsetup. Beach, h ( Thesmaller Sunny Beach. utes, makes pick-upsat10signedstopsaround chutes. Afree 15min- minibus,running every of theresort withavarietyof pools,slidesand huge new water parkonthesouthernoutskirts Paradise Organised watery funisonhandat Activities are sold at bookstalls. of andSwedishnewspapers English,German elsewhere aroundtheresort. Day-oldcopies foreign exchange are offices uphere set and internet agency andtravel agencies. Dozensof apostoffice, atelephonestalls, centre withan this road,there are plentifulATMs, market the busyVarna–Burgas road.Along coastal isThe mainthoroughfare of SunnyBeach Orientation &Information in Western . restaurant pricesare towhatyou’dpay close cost asmuch as3lvonthebeachfront, and bargain break youenvisioned:bottlesof water Bulgaria, soaholidayhere notbethe might This isprobably themostexpensive placein connections are goodifyouwanttoexplore. butpublictransportthan nearbyNesebâr, people stirfromthesunbedstogoanyfurther % 10am-7pm) Sunny Beach canfeel abitinsularandfew Sunny Beach and 26 235; www.aquapark.bg; adult/child26/14lv; 26 235;www.aquapark.bg;

(solo/tandem 45/80lv)

bungee trampolines . In summer, weekly . Insummer,weekly ( jet-skiing % 51 543; www.aquaparadise-bg.com; adult 51 543;www.aquaparadise-bg.com; , onthewestern sideof Sunny (65lv),daytripstoEdirne,

(15 minabout50lv) , banana boats (25 lv)

ah cruises yacht Action Aquapark Action shows h and , aswella 10am-7pm) minigolf (tickets 25lv) (tickets

(per person (57lv), Aqua 235 para- (per

, a

BLACK SEA COAST COAST SEA BLACK BLACK SEA COAST rooms andlotsof on-site diversions, includ- centre offering of large, SunnyBeach bright €72/106; Kuban; mainsaround 12-30lv; mocked-up ranch-style setting. ing uplotsof steaks, and grillsina sausages jointserv- Popular ‘WildWest Barbecue’ 5pm a 20%discountbetween and 7pm. and bigscreens showingSkySports.There’s a menuof pizzas,steaks, piesandcurries, aimed particularlyatBritish tourists,with a typicallyboisterous restaurant andpub beachfront facingtheGlarusHotel, thisis elsewhere. branches charge twotothree timesmore thanattheir such asMcDonald’sandHappy &Grill Bar normallyuniformchainsAnnoyingly, even of which employtoutstohasslepassers-by. the placeispacked withrestaurants, most of pizzafor2lvoraburger for5lv,and front where slice youcanpickupasoggy alongthebeach-numerous foodstalls the mostexpensive inBulgaria. There are are among inSunnyBeach Restaurants Eating pler style. Offers goodvalueout of season. the large roomshave furnished insim- been an eccentric‘LouisXIVonSafari’theme,but The garishpublicareas appeartobefollowing imaginableamenity,includingaspa.ing every pais s/dJul&Aug 220/250lv,Sep-Jun from80/100lv; -group.net; season. high spa. Prices dropbymore than50%outside ing indoorandoutdoorpools,agym from the beach. cheapest hotels, someway willbetwo-star ous pricesinmanyof theresort’s hotels; the thatcanbookroomsatvari- the busstation station; s/dfromaround50/60lv) of about€6to€7perperson per stay. Most hotels charge anadditional‘resort fee’ can bookhotel rooms,butrates varywildly. at home. There are afew travel agencies that here,stay anagent it’sbesttobookthrough independent travellers, soifyoureally wantto resorts,coastal thisistheleastuser-friendly for arranged intheirhomecountries.Ofallthe be onaprebooked, often all-inclusive deal 236 Victoria Palace Hotel Victoria Sunny Express Chilli Peppers Fat Cat Hotel Globus Hotel ETA OS • SeiVa CENTRAL COAST ••SvetiVlas pais (mains around10-20lv; ) Colossal beachfront Colossal hotel offer- ( %

(pedestrian thoroughfare nearHotel(pedestrian ( % 22 018;s/dinclhalf-boardJul&Aug ) Big seafront hotel inthe Big seafront 24 570;[email protected]; bus

( % Helpful agency at h 25 490;www.victoria h 8.30am-midnight) 24hr) On the rented alongthebeach fromstalls (20lvper ideal wayof getting canbe around. These are uncrowdedandflat,soscooters are an 9am and11pm.Thestreets aroundtheresort bered routes 15to20minutes every between (2lv)shuttle alongthreeTrolleybuses num- Getting Around Zagora. Stara toPlovdiv and there are dailyservices several hourforSofiaevery hours), and (28lv,seven departroughly buses From thebusstation, stop alongthemainroadoutsidestation. the Hotel Svejest. fromBurgas Minibuses themainroad,about100mupfrom just off Vlas (0.90lv, 30 minutes). utes), Pomorie (1.80lv,30minutes) andSveti toVarnabuses (8lv,twohours, 30min- every youcanalsogetall goviaNesebâr; frequent 30minutesutes, every roughly insummer) toBurgasroad. Citybuses (2.50lv,45min- themain isjustoff The centralbusstation Getting There&Away traditional Bulgarian grills. steaks dominatingthemenualongsidemore in steaks, withsirloin,T-bone andgammon naturallyenough, Hotel, thisplacespecialises, dinner) gateway to Bulgaria. point, makingSveti Vlasaninternational The marinaalso has anewbordercheck- an upmarket hotel andrestaurant complex. 300 yachts, wascompleted here, alongwith Bulgaria’s first private marina,withspacefor ment complexisshooting up,andin2007 you look,anewmultistorey hotel orapart- of itshistorytoday.Instead, everywhere 14th century,butthere are few obvious signs of of thepatronsaint cattlefarmers inthe itwasrenamed inhonour called itLarisa, bytheThracians,whoOriginally settled coast. resort ontheBlackSea developments Bryag), Sveti Vlasisoneof thelatest holiday (Slânchev Just 5kmnorthof SunnyBeach % SVETI VLAS at€30 start per day. including insuranceandunlimited kilometres, ( cies onthemainroad,including hour). There are anumber of carrental agen- % Most buses and minibuses use the station thestation use andminibuses Most buses 0554 /pop3000 Steakhouse Watermill Watermill Steakhouse 71 082) On the beach just past the Neptun Beach On thebeach justpasttheNeptunBeach opposite the Mariner Hotel; rates, СВЕТИ Book yourstayatlonelyplanet.com/hotels (mains from12lv;

ВЛАС Sunny Trans h lunch &

speaking agency nearthebusstopthatcan 3; rperperson17-20lv) so uphillfromthebeach. Here you’llfinda volves aroundthebusstop,250mor 10 lv; ul Tsar Simeon,islinedwithcafés,smallshops and snackbars, Themainroad, butlittleelse. cheappost office, bankandseveral restaurants Book yourstayatlonelyplanet.com/hotels minutes, 30minutes) every runningbetween Bryag; 0.90lv,25 (Slânchev Sunny Beach In summer,there are frequent from buses Getting There& Away of fresh fish. and lots dishes such asporkwithfigsauce scale, OldMilloffers aclassy menufeaturing the menu.It’sgoodvaluefor Sveti Vlas. withpizzas, omelettesto eat, andgrillson of similarplacestograbaquickbite several lunch &dinner) expect for this price. rooms andallthetop-endfacilitiesyou’d withlarge,the topplacetostay, luxurious new marinacomplex,thisfive-star hotel is breakfast €150/160/360; but large rooms,alloffering views. sea isasparklingnewhotel withbland Berlin from 38/50lv; r inclbreakfast Jul&Aug 110lv,s/dinclbreakfast Sep-Jun artwork. gaudy a bitkitschy, withfour-poster bedsand someofoption, though theapartmentsare isadecent stop andthebeach, theLaguna thebusdown theunnamedlanebetween Aug 90/138lv,Sep-Jun from57/80lv; excursions and car rental. arrange private roomsintown,aswell Kometa-2 Sleeping &Eating row of upscalerestaurants, bars and shops. a new marinacomplex,which encompasses (10 mins40lv) some water sportsavailable, including (for now).Thewater isshallow andthere are it’smercifullyuncrowded with SunnyBeach hastooffer, butcompared best theBlackSea and several internet centres. The ‘centre’ of Sveti Vlas, such asitis,re- Old Mill Old Mill Dinevi Palace Marina Hotel Berlin Hotel Laguna Hotel Café TeyaCafé of sandy The narrowcurve h lunch &dinner) ( % . The beach is bisected by the snazzy . Thebeach bythesnazzy isbisected ( %

as (ul Tsar Simeon;mains4-5lv; Close tothebusstop,thisisone Close 68 112; www.kometa2.com; ul Vasil Levski 68 112;www.kometa2.com;ulVasil Levski 0885546326; Marina Dinevi; mainsfrom Dinevi; 0885546326; Marina (

% ( % ) 68 875;www.hotelberlin-bg.com; Helpful butnon-English- Set backfromthebeach, Set pais 69 016;r/aptinclbreakfast Jul& At theotherendof the ( % NORTHERN COAST ••Varna NORTHERN as 33 333;s/d/aptincl beach ) Part of the the of Part h ) Halfway isn’t the isn’tthe breakfast, jet-skiing

Bulgaria’s thirdcityandmaritimecapital, commercial centre until fallingtoAlexander city of Odessos, which thrived asamajor in thearea, settled foundingthe tombs nearVarna. from In585 BC, at Varna Necropolis, anarea of about100 have found been dating toabout 4000BC Remnants of anancientThraciancivilisation History a date with Mina Harker. onthe sail set it wasfromVarna thatBramStoker’s Dracula formation onlocalwineries, see p66 . ( Balchik p251 ) andDobrich ( p277 Pyasâtsi; ). Forin- p247 ), andthecharming townsof ( Konstantin p246 ) andGoldenSands(Zlatni trips tonearbybeach resorts such asSveti the cityalsomakes forday anidealbase whileand Bulgaria’sonlynaval museum, artgalleries,adolphinarium cluding several has anumberof lessobviousattractions, in- touting holidayhomesto British visitors. agent tobeanestate shop-front nowseems tural andrestaurant other scene–whileevery chaeological aswellalively museum, cul- largest Romanbaths complexanditsbestar- place. Inthecitycentre you’llfindBulgaria’s a definite swagger air of about the affluent a propertyboominrecent years andthere’s growing Bulgariancities,ithasexperienced lounge on.Oneof themostdynamicandfast- park toambleroundandalengthybeach to modern,withanenormous yet thoroughly to whileawayafew days,packed withhistory resort, andseaside it’sanappealingplace base harmonious combinationof portcity,naval ofdefinite theregion. highlight Astrange yet coast,anda townontheBlackSea mopolitan Varna isbyfarthemostinteresting and cos- % VARNA NORTHERN COAST minutes) 9am hourlybetween and 8pm. (15lv,20 the marina,boatsgotoNesebâr from Sofia hours), (28lv,eight whilefrom Also insummer,there are twodailyservices the resort before reaching thecentralsquare. tous route, withanumberof stopsaround make Buses acircui- 6.45am andmidnight. Horror fanswillnodoubtremember that crush,VarnaAway fromthecapitalist 052 /pop330,000 ВАРНА , bound for Whitby and boundforWhitbyand

237 BLACK SEA COAST COAST SEA BLACK BLACK SEA COAST allowed its allies Britain and France to sell andFrance tosell allowed its alliesBritain (1853–56),after which Turkey byBritish troopsasaportduringthe used a northernbastion of theirempire. It was tured bytheTurksin1393 andturnedinto rule duringtheMiddleAges, andwascap- ternated ByzantineandBulgarian between First BulgarianEmpire (681–1018).Ital- word for‘water’) duringtheperiodof the name of Varna (possiblyderived fromthe as akey portcity,andgaineditsmodern 586, thecityrecovered undertheByzantines during the2nd century AD. quered inOdessos thearea up abase andset regional untiltheRomanscon- importance the Great. Thecitydidn’treally regain any 238 Hospital 4 1 City 3 2 VARNA Ransacked bytheinvadingAvarsRansacked inAD

Rus

T

s Devnya

e a Debâr COAST ••VarnaNORTHERN

r

ib

Pe ro Vladislav Market

tko Airport (10.5km);Dobrich(51km);

d K

To BusStation(1.5km);Chatsna

Vare

o 4 12

6

z

Vo

pl Mitropolit nchi lo

39

61 Mladost Station(1.7km); k d AC

Simeon uy yv 38

oda 58

General Kolev Sofia (469km) 56 60 34 Station

Train

52

L Nezavisimost u

dv

ig Z Sâborni

am

e

n Bratya Shkorpil ho 43

f Zlat

37

Ase

D pl arov 63

Slaveikov eb Tsar Sim

pl Petko n Tsar Simeon I âr 13 25 31

Gabrovo eo

36 n I Ma

Panagyurisht 5 Sheinovo ria 42

P

rim L An M

28

uis tim

S e u 27

I

o liv sa

Ohrid a

r

s n la

ki it 26

P 45 Kny sa

64

r S

h

e ip Administration k

s a

la P r

v es la v a 10 B 40

Building Maritime z

Boris I

P Port of Varna

etâr T

sa

r V

od E en Kny A

27 M

nc s

Y ar e

B

az n Hall h u

16 in ra 14 City

8 ev li

Koloni t

2 D 17 y

Sa A

rin a

Ha 21 leksan M

n n o

K 20 v il ru ad

S m Kliment Ohridski

8 Noemvri te

A

i

H n

M az fa y n K

D 62 o o n

d 29

18 uk

19

a d alin n v

ov O i

o n e Varna wasbuilt,providing adirect route ingly compact. Ulitsa Tsaringly compact. Ulitsa Simeon Ileads Despite itssize,the centre of Varna ispleas- Orientation going strong which hasbeen since.ever International Festival (see p242 ) in1926, ground wasenhancedbythefounding of the asthecountry’s summertimeplay- its status holidayresort,Bulgaria’s first seaside and and port.In1921,Varna as wasestablished Varna becameamajor shipbuildingcentre coast,and from theDanubetoBlackSea tre once more. Empire, makingVarna agreat tradingcen- theOttomantheir productsthroughout

ov s

A S

r B r m

l

i

v i P

Ekzarh

sp n 1 Yosif

aten i r 49

In 1866, a railway between Ruse and Ruse In 1866,arailwaybetween Gra ts im

pl

a O T a sar ru p o

Shish alc rs

ma f Ig Ly 23

n h b Odr ki P

in ub

he 3 erg 24

35 n K Koloni n en K n o atiev y sk lk az

ara a

B B 7 a M

AS Pu AS o 11

47 b r ve

a

a is 50

k

44 Ra

I Br lov

Primorsk e

22

32 d at

Ts

shkin

o

Primorski d

y

Planetarium n a ar

a M a

Copernicus i iy O

Park a

41

15

s

i

la

v

33 o d

bo

i

S n ov

Kraybrezhna aleya d

55 lavy

ite

9 i Beach a l n Ste k 0.2miles 0 0300 m sa fa n K a

rad 30

54 z h a To SvetiKonstantin(9km); 48 59 46 Golden Sands(Zlatni Terrarium Varna(1.2km); B LACK lonelyplanet.com 53 51 Dolphinarium (1.7km) S EA Pyasâtsi; 18km) D To Zoopark(1km); Pier 57 lonelyplanet.com history, culture, cuisine and language. Stocks English-language novelsand booksonBulgarian Simeon; Penguin Bookshop BOOKSHOPS Information Konstantin. Sveti Albena, GoldenSands(ZlatniPyasâtsi) and Handily, italsoincludessmallermapsof the cityandatbustrain stations. from anyof foundthroughout thebookstalls by DominoinEnglish (withared cover), can buythe wantingmoreyou findyourself you detail, widely available athotels andrestaurants; if A excellentfree touristmapof thecityis MAPS Primorski Park and the sea. I, runseastandthennortheasttowards other broadpedestrianmall,ulKnyazBoris tion andairport.FromplNezavisimost, an- Varenchik, which leadstothemainbussta- theatres,several and turnsintobulVladislav cathedral thattowers over themarket and heads northwest,passing thedomineering From thissquare, ashort thoroughfare intoplNezavisimost.from thetrainstation Telephone Centre...... (see4) Municipal TouristInformation Main PostOffice...... SIGHTS &ACTIVITIES St MichaeltheArchangel St AnastasiosOrthodox Cathedral oftheAssumption Artin...... Archaeological Museum...... Aquarium...... Tourist Service...... (see24) tNkliCuc...... MrBaba...... St NikolaiChurch...... INFORMATION Penguin Bookshop...... Centre...... Laundrette...... Internet Doom...... Frag...... (see 60) Biochim CommercialBank...... (see4) Balkan Tourism...... Church...... Church...... Roman ...... Roman Baths...... National NavalMuseum...... History Museum...... Ethnographic Museum...... oftheVirgin...... United BulgarianBank...... Unicredit Bulbank...... h 9am-7pm Mon-Fri, 10am-6.30pmSat&Sun) 9am-7pm Mon-Fri, Varna NORTHERN COAST ••Varna NORTHERN ( % map(1:10,000),published 623 380; pl Mitropolitska 623 380;plMitropolitska 19 EATING 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 20 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 A2 B2 A1 C1 B2 C2 C2 C3 B3 B4 C3 B4 B3 A2 C1 B1 C3 B2 C2 B2 Varna Centrefor SLEEPING Voennomorski Club...... Victorina...... Three DolphinsHotel...... Morsko Konche...... Happy Bar&Grill...... Happy Bar&Grill...... Dom NaArkitekta...... Yo HoHostel...... Panorama Hotel...... Isak...... Hotel Relax...... Hotel Odessos...... Hotel Elegance...... Hotel Capitol...... Hotel Astra...... Hotel Antik...... Grand HotelMusalaPalace...... Flag Hostel...... City Mark...... Cherno MoreHotel...... Astra Tour...... (see34) Varna CityArtGallery...... ContemporaryArt...... Church...... St SarkisArmenianApostolic and clubreviews. Italsoincludesahandy map. tourist information onthecityandregion, plushotel,restaurant available atsomehotelreception desks,withusefulgeneral provides cashadvancesandhas an ATM. Near themainpostoffice. Changestravellerscheques, Main postoffice Main POST Bank Bulgarian United Bulbank Unicredit Biochim CommercialBank and ATMs aroundthecity centre. There are numerousforeign exchange offices MONEY Varna CityInfoGuide MEDIA Laundrette LAUNDRY Doom Internet Frag ACCESSINTERNET an ATM thataccepts major credit cards. cheques, providescashadvancesoverthecounter andhas café inthesamebuildingasVarna Opera House. St Nikolai Church. branchesaroundtown,justbehindthe central ofseveral Offers a drop-and-collect service atveryreasonable service adrop-and-collect Offers rates. (plNezavisimost;perhr2lv)Subterraneaninternet 464 44 43 42 41 40 39 38 37 36 35 34 33 32 31 30 29 28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 4B3 C4 A2 B2 C2 B2 A2 A2 A3 B3 C3 A4 C2 C2 B3 D1 C1 B3 B2 B2 B2 C2 C1 C1 B2 (ul Opalchenska 23; (ul Opalchenska (ul27Yuli 13;perhr2lv)Themost (ulSâborni 36) TRANSPORT SHOPPING ENTERTAINMENT DRINKING Rila Bureau...... Valentina...... Capricorn Gallery...... Blaga Blagoeva...... Varna OperaHouse...... Summer Theatre...... Theatre...... Stoyan BachvarovDramatic Open-Air Theatre...... Mustang Cinema...... Festival Hall...... Exit...... Copacabana...... Bulgaran Cinema...... 4aspik...... O'Neill's IrishPub...... (see24) A-Lounge Beach...... Trops Kâshta...... Tambuktu...... Pri Yafata...... (see24) Pri Monahinite...... Prestol...... Orient TurkishRestaurant...... (bulSlivnitsa)Changestravellers Free quarterly glossybooklet, Free quarterly (ul Knyaz Boris I) (ulKnyazBoris (bulVladislavVarenchik) h 8.30am-8.30pm) 50 49 48 47 46 45 63 62 61 60 59 58 57 56 55 54 53 52 51

239 D2 A2 C2 D3 D2 A2 D2 A2 C2 A1 A2 D2 A2 C4 C2 D2 C3 D2 B3 BLACK SEA COAST COAST SEA BLACK BLACK SEA COAST Simeon; and 1886bythearchitect Kunev, Gencho rental carsandbook excursions. accommodationand 4)Canorganiseprivate ul AMalinov nating The bestof itskind inBulgaria,Varna’s fasci- MUSEUM ARCHAEOLOGICAL throne. bishop’s stained-glass windowsandintricately carved Note themurals(painted in1950),colourful MemorialNevski Church ( p91 ) inSofia. insizeonlytotheAleksander city, second church isamuch-cherished symbolof the bre, blockyappearanceof itsmainbody,the golden oniondomes,which thesom- alleviate pendence fromOttomanrule. Toppedwith in celebrationof thecountry’s recent inde- this large Standing ablocknorthof plNezavisimost, VIRGIN CATHEDRAL OFTHEASSUMPTION Sights don’t do it! and you’re sure toendupoutof pocket, so it’sillegaltochangesay, moneyonthestreet who lurkaroundplNezavisimost. to Needless Bulgaria forblack-market moneychangers, VarnaHouse. appears tobethelastrefuge in areas such asthemarket behindtheOpera Pickpockets abound, sobewaryincrowded which are more likely theirmeters. touse places, a cabonthestreets awayfromthese before gettingtariffs inor,better still,pickup socheckat thebusandtrainstations, the ers are pronetorippingoffforeign visitors Like elsewhere driv- alongthecoast,sometaxi Dangers &Annoyances Service Tourist Tourism Balkan TRAVEL AGENCIES Information Centre Tourist Municipal TOURIST INFORMATION Telephone centre TELEPHONE 240 and mapsbooklets for sale. up inthemiddleofstreet, afew offering free brochures off ul Knyaz Boris I; off ulKnyazBoris the mainpost office. and organisesexcursions rooms. private 33; OTENCAT • an COAST ••VarnaNORTHERN h Archaeological Museum Archaeological h 6am-10pm) cathedral 9am-7pm Mon-Fri, to 2pm Sat) Rents cars to2pmSat)Rents 9am-7pm Mon-Fri, ( ( % h % (ulSâborni36; 612 225;ChernoMore Hotel,bul 9am-7pm Mon-Fri) Glasscabinset 9am-7pm Mon-Fri) 618 051; www.balkantourism.bg; 618 051;www.balkantourism.bg; was built between 1880 wasbuiltbetween

( % 225 435; pl Mitropolitska 225 435;plMitropolitska h

( % 7am-11pm) Inside 681 011; ul Maria 681 011;ulMaria ( % 654 518; original complex(estimated tohave 7000 been onlyasmallpartofin Europe,although the the largest inBulgariaandthethirdbiggest Nov-Mar) 10am-5pmMon-Fri Apr-Oct, Krum;adult/child4/2lv; 030; ulKhan ruinsof the preserved inVarnaOne unmissable sight isthewell- THERMAE ROMAN comprehensive collection of coins. icons datingbacktothe14thcenturyanda city’s school graduates for AD 221. plaque listing,inGreek, thenamesof allthe well astouching oddmentssuch asamarble and Hellenistic as tombstonesandstatues, jewellery, Roman-erasurgical implements in theworld.Otherroomscontain Thracian to betheoldestworked goldfoundanywhere 4km westof thecity,representing whatissaid Varna tothepublic), about Necropolis(closed gles, necklacesandearringsunearthedatthe Lake. Varna submerged Mesolithic around settlements with pottery andflinttoolsfromthenow- are placed inchronological off order,starting exhibits originate fromtheVarna area and ing some100,000objects in39rooms.All Built in1602, it’soneof theoldestchurches Graf Ignatiev) The beautiful CHURCHES for a quick look. are butyoucanleanover closed, thefence posted onthelitter-filled site. Thegrounds foundation walls,andnoexplanations are There’s otherthansome nothingmuch tosee complex, builtaroundthe4thcentury AD. Primorski) distinguish them fromthe the Roman The ruinsdescribedpreviously are termed where slaves kept thewhole thing operating. intothefurnace,room. Youcanalsopeer other thansigns indicating thenameof each abandoned only100 years later. the late 2ndcentury ADandwere probably sq metres) Thebaths stillstands. date from RMN BATHS ROMAN 10am-5pm Tue-Sat Nov-Mar) Luisa 41;adult/child8/2lv; There isnoinformationinsidethecomplex Upstairs are galleriesfullof several religious The highlights areThe highlights the6500-year-old ban- , another,much smallerablutions overlooks theRomanThermae. thermae St Anastasios Orthodox Church St AnastasiosOrthodox isahuge place,display- h ( for‘baths’) to (Latin Roman Thermae 10am-5pm Tue-Sun Apr-Oct, 10am-5pm Tue-Sun Apr-Oct, h Roman Baths . Theruinsare lonelyplanet.com 10am-5pm Tue-Sun (

%

(bul 681

(ul a barrelled woodenceilingandawonderful lonelyplanet.com is itself an intriguingpart ofis itself thecity’s his- 3;adult/child4/2lv; ul 8Noemvri Varna’s ivy-covered Watching over theruinsof theRoman baths, HISTORY MUSEUM are furnishedin period style. jewellery, andthefourroomson 2ndfloor floor hasanimpressive range of costumesand the late 19thandearly20thcenturies.The1st about weaving, wine-makingandfishing from lection of agriculturalimplementsanddisplays acol- country’s best.Thegroundfloorcontains 10am-5pmTue-Sat Nov-Mar) Sun Apr-Oct, ul 22;adult/student4/2lv; in 1860, Varna’s revival-era mansionbuilt inadelightful Housed MUSEUMETHNOGRAPHIC icons. wooden is smallandbadlylitbutthere are somefine Varna’scontained first school. Thechurch were given inBulgarian.Thebuildingalso cant asthefirst placewhere religious services founded in1865andishistoricallysignifi- for youif he’s around. but thecustodianwillbehappytoopenitup collection of naive icons.It’snormallyclosed, (ul HanAsparuh15) and isapopularvenue for weddings. is worthavisitforitsmurals.It’salwaysbusy, strandedalongthemodernmall, which seems throne. bishop’s in thecityandfeatures anintricately carved St Michael the Archangel Church StMichael The elegant The quaint admitted atdifferent times. Larger baths,suchastheoneinOdessos,hada read, eatandpickupmaleprostitutes. Allclasseswere allowed,thoughmenandwomenwere life. They were businessdeals,eavesdrop aplacetosocialise,make onthelatest gossip,snooze, Roman civilisation.Far frombeingsimplyaplacetowashup,thebathswere ofcivic anintegral part to themore bearabletemperature ofthe ( opposite ). Aplungeinthehotwater ofthe before scrapingitoffwithastrigil, examplesofwhichare onshowintheArchaeological Museum would thenrubthemselves downwithoilandsweatforawhileinthe hall, where wrestling tookplace,often andotherathleticactivities accompaniedbymusic. Bathers and thevast allself-respectingLike Roman cities,Odessoswasgracedwiththevery bestpublicbathingfacilities, ROMAN BATHING hypocaust system that provided underfloor heatingandhotwater.hypocaust system thatprovided underfloor The remains oftheseshallowpoolscanstillbeseeninVarna’s Thermae, aswellthefurnaceand thermae wasbuiltin1842andfeatures St Sarkis ArmenianApostolicChurch St Sarkis St NikolaiChurch NORTHERN COAST ••Varna NORTHERN Ethnographic Museum Museum History here –of symbolofthefruits–andengineering were skill avisible,powerful h 10am-5pm Tue-Sun)

h (ul Knyaz Boris I) (ul KnyazBoris is oneof the (ul 27Yuli) 10am-5pm Tue- (

( % %

632 677; 630 588; 630 588; tepidarium, was caldarium ,

to the country’s seagoing history from the historyfromthe to thecountry’sseagoing world, in 1977. first single-handedaround the Bulgariantosail Coroli, inglassistheyacht grounds, whileencased helicopters rustingquietlyinthe canbeseen little labelling inEnglish. Anchors, artilleryand there’s cluding anenormoustorpedo,although naval insigniaanddisplaysonthe isacollectionof itself uniforms,modelships, building the gate). Insidethemustymuseum revered toopen relic staff (askthemuseum in 1912.It’spossibletoclamberaround this War duringtheFirst Balkan Turkish cruiser h entranceisthe seum day. Embeddedinconcrete outsidethemu- Russo-Turkish War(1877–78)tothepresent h Naval Museum The onlyoneof itskindinBulgaria, the NATIONAL NAVAL MUSEUM Grand Hotel Palace).Musala a bedroomfromtheHotel London(nowthe and lawyer’soffice. There’s alsoareplica of ahatshop,toyshop‘Uncle Mityu’sCafé’, onthe1stfloor,including shops andoffices into thereplicas of long-gone 1920sand’30s ing andbrewing. More imaginationhasgone trades andhandicraftssuch asprinting,weav- holdsanexhibitiononlocal the basement photographs of thecityfrom1920s,while in 1990.Displaysonthegroundfloorinclude before onitspresentRevolution, taking role ofunder thecommunists,aMuseum the becameahotel, aprisonand, subsequently Embassy,it tory. Builtin1851astheBelgian finishingoffwithadipintheicy 11am-5pm Tue, Thu&Sat) 10am-6pm Mon-Sat) wouldfollow.They wouldthenmove on in which Georgi Georgiev became the inwhich becamethe Georgi Georgiev (

% 632 018; bul Primorski 2;adult/child2/1lv; 632 018;bulPrimorski sudatorium offers anintroduction warship Druzki palaestra, , which torpedoed a a , which torpedoed (a kind ofsauna) (akind orexercise frigidarium (admission 1lv;

Druzki, National National

241

. in- Cor Cor BLACK SEA COAST COAST SEA BLACK BLACK SEA COAST ad scorpions. and collection of creepy crawliessuch asspiders 528; adult/child1/0.70lv; place featuring arange of animals,including of regions, itskindintheBalkan itpresents see see what’s new. Pick upthe change tothenext. names fromoneseason operate atothertimesof theyear;manyalso and restaurants –onlyahandful of which of Varna’s nightlife, linedwithclubs,bars we’ve here. used Insummer,it’sthecentre aleya or commonly referred toeitheras Plazhna butmoreknown asaleyaGeorgi Georgiev lane,officially isthelongcoastal though, the beachgoing Themain attraction, set. lar withrheumatic pensioners thanwith pools water couple of tiny,outdoor, steaming beach volleyball players. There are alsoa popular withlocalsunbathers, paddlers and city’s long, beach,sandy which ishugely Steps fromPrimorski Park leaddowntothe BEACH tricks. acrobatic 3.30pm) of dolphinsperforming various 45-minute shows(at10.30am,noonand 20/14 lv; concrete ( About 200mfurthernorth,the bearandbirdskepta solitary infilthycages. all insmallconcrete enclosures. There’s also lions, , monkeys, goatsandacamel, labelling. lection of butthere’s seashells noEnglish depths. There’sthe BlackSea’s alsoacol- and conger aswellsomedenizensof eels piranhas filledwithseahorses, with tanks Deco building,it’sanold -fashioned place h ( on. going in summer,andthere’s alwayssomething ing familiesandoldladiesknittinglace of itskindinEurope. It’sfullof promenad- tobethelargestfor about 8km,and issaid green spaceoverlooking stretches thesea in1878,thislargeEstablished andattractive PRIMORSKI PARK 242 % % Another 500mfurthernorthistheugly Further intotheparkis In the northern section, the In thenorthernsection, 9am-8pm) 222 586; adult/child 2/1 lv, foreign-language lecture 24 lv; 24lv; 222 586;adult/child2/1lv,foreign-language lecture 302 571;adult/child2/1.50lv; OTENCAT • an COAST ••VarnaNORTHERN h Kraybrezhna aleya Kraybrezhna Dolphinarium , although these are these , although more popu- Tue-Sun) . Housed inapowder-blue. Housed Art Summer Seaside Guide . Apparently theonlyone h 8am-8pm)

( % , which isthename h 302 199;adult/child isadispiriting 9am-10pm) Zoopark Terrarium Varna Aquarium 23) to (p213) mineral- (

hasa % 302

Sun) I65;admissionfree; 238; ulKnyazBoris the Boris Georgiev ArtGallery,featuresthe BorisGeorgiev two osyncratic modern art. tickets are welladvertised beforehand inVarna Programmes andinformationaboutbuying the massive Park) Primorski are heldat the years) andchoral, jazzandfolkmusic.Events Competition(heldineven-numberedBallet cluding opera,thebiennialInternational the festival features in- events, outstanding (www.varnasummerfest.org) renowned May andOctober,VarnaBetween hoststhe Festivals &Events known local artists. shows thelatest workof someof thebest- in acharming oldmansionnearby,which Mon-Fri) years). (odd-numbered tions such astheInternational PrintBiennial David Peretz. Italsohoststemporary exhibi- including worksbyVladimirDimitrov and floors of 19th-and20th-centuryBulgarianart, admission free; Gallery Varna CityArt ART GALLERIES Isak suburb. don’t endupinsome out-of-the-way around 12lvper person, butmake sure you to greetstation newarrivals.Pricestend tobe sioners withspare roomswait aroundthetrain Private roomsare plentifulinVarna, andpen- BUDGET find backpacker hostels. still theonlyplaceoncoastwhere you’ll have appeared inrecent years, and Varna is newmidrange hotelssummer months. Several more central) placesget very busyduringthe thebettermodation, although (oratleast,the Varna hasnoshortage of certainly accom- Sleeping Festival Culture Greek the and early September. Film Festival AnnualInternational and Sofia. TheFestival Hall alsohoststhe Artin Artin Other special events aroundthecityinclude Other specialevents The isanothergallerywithacollectionof idi-

Songs aboutVarna Competition ( % isanequallyinteresting private gallery Varna Centre for Contemporary Art forContemporary Varna Centre ( 602 318;www.accommodatebg.com; trainstation; r % andinsomeof theninehallsin Varna Summer International FestivalVarna SummerInternational 614 833; ul Knyaz Boris I57; 614 833;ulKnyazBoris h Festival Hall 10am-6pm Tue-Sun) Book yourstayatlonelyplanet.com/hotels Open-Air Theatre (

% , bothheld in March. . Established in1926,. Established 243 141; ul Lyuben Karavelov 1; 243 141;ulLyubenKaravelov

( % 621 331;ulSlivnitsa) h , alsoknownas inlate August and the h 10am-6pm Tue-

( % 9.30am-7pm 228 385; (

% Days of 603 .

On aquietsidestreet nearthe trainstation, The ‘Naval Club’isapalebluebuildingfac- bul KnyazBorisI.It’safriendlyplacewith central hostel, located onasidestreet justoff abv.bg; 27;s/d42/51lv,renovated 51/60lv; ulGabrovo .com; bulSlivnitsa33;s/dunrenovated 45/56lv, rrenovated lv, aptfrom35lv; offer private rooms around town. neighbouring agencies insidethetrainstation, Tour Astra per person12-14lv; Book yourstayatlonelyplanet.com/hotels rooms are cleanand smartlyfurnished, bright, strangely bare foyer,butthe newly renovated ‘casino’signanddark and ticing, withitstacky eyesore inthecitycentre maynotlook soen- from 80lv; fridges. and renovated onescomewithair-conditioning only the though value. Allroomshave aTV, offersthis small,homelyguesthouse fair bargain by Varna standards. but perfectly cleanandcosyroomsthatare a cheery familyhotel withacollectionof simple a Astra Hotel MIDRANGE around private houses the centre. ommended forrenting good-qualityroomsin 22 lv) good andit’s a bargain. Warsaw Pact atmosphere. Still,thelocation’s and dated furnishings, givingitakindof retro, with unsmiling,monosyllabicreception staff it’sanold-fashionedrooms. However, place, ing thecathedral,offering smallbutcomfy Varenchik 2;swithfan 21lv,s/dwithair-con31/42lv; day trips. offered, andthemanagement alsoorganises room. Free internet, breakfast andpickupsare four dormrooms,twodoublesandonesingle inabrand-newlocationwith opera house, place foundjustdownthestreet fromthe i .yohohostel.com; ulRuse23;dm/s/dinclbreakfast €11/14/14; facilities. kitchen three six-bed dorms,modernbathroomsand young, international partyatmosphere and 1st fl,ulSheinovo2;dminclbreakfast €10) Flag Hostel Voennomorski Club Voennomorski Yo HoHostel Cherno More Hotel Cherno More DolphinsHotel Three Victorina ) ) Shiver yourtimbers atthispirate-themed Notfarfromthecentre, theAstra isa Right by the train station and highly rec- andhighly bythetrainstation Right pa

(

% (

( % %

h 605 861;trainstation;rperpersonfrom12 ( %

630 524; ul Opalchenska 9;s/d40/60lv; 630 524;ulOpalchenska h 603 541;ulTsar SimeonI36;rperperson ( ) Thisgigantic,socialist-era % 7am-9pm Mon-Fri, to7pmSat&Sun) 7am-9pm Mon-Fri, 0897408115; www.varnahostel.com; 0897408115; www.varnahostel.com; 7am-9pm Mon-Sat,to6pmSun)

( 0887601691, 0887933340;www %

( % ( % 612 235;www.chernomorebg 600 911;three_dolphins@ 617 965;bulVladislav NORTHERN COAST ••Varna NORTHERN Varna’s most and a a , )

) hotel withasmallcol- justoff bulSlivnitsa, panoramic views. sea andmanyofand sauna, thelarge rooms have hotel withgoodfacilities includingagym isn’t ideal,butinside thisisachic, modern The locationona grubby andbusymainroad 31;s/d/stefrom110/170/230 lv; bul Primorski included. is ‘city view’roomsare much quieter. Breakfast view’ roomshave balconies, but thecheaper Onlythepricier‘sea and forsightseeing. the price,butit’sconvenient forthebeach with smallish andratheraverage roomsfor Park, theOdessos isan olderestablishment in town,opposite theentrancetoPrimorski pa Slivnitsa 1;s/dwithfan85/106lv,air-con110/125lv; Odessos Hotel TOP END back of the courtyard. reception forHotel Relaxislocated atthevery for theoriginal.Don’tbesidetracked – the known topoach orturnawayguestslooking courtyard,whichhotel hasbeen inthe same There’s witharival however, an oddsetup, andmodernbathrooms. all withfridges, TV lection of homelyroomsof sizes, differing 22;r60lv; Stefan Karadzha recommended. are small andpopularplace,soadvancebookings décor scheme canbeabitoverwhelming. It’sa thescarlet-and-silversized rooms,though an attractive, modernoptionwithsomefair- heartofpedestrianised thecity, CityMark is Nezavisimost; s/d/apt59/79/140lv; entrance. the Watch outforthehuge mirrorjustinside large andtheapartmentscomewithsaunas. roomsareplace isalittlepricey,though thisrelatively tothetrainstation, Close new 24;s/d/aptinclbreakfast €30/50/70; .com; ulGabrovo minibars, andmany have balconies. and are simplebutclean;allcomewithTVs the roadfromplNezavisimost. The18rooms pai 10;s/dwithfan50/58lv,d/steair-con68/90lv; ul Ohrid included. is Varna. are friendlyandhelpful.Breakfast Staff all withbalconiesoffering bird’s-eyeviewsof Panorama Hotel Relax Hotel City Mark Elegance Hotel Antik Hotel ) Enjoying thebestlocationof anyhotel ) A neat,family-runhotel justdown

(

% ( ( % % ( % 655 546;www.citymark-hotel.com; pl

632 157;www.galia-online.com/antik;

( 640 300;www.odessos-bg.com; bul ( % % 607 847;www.hotelrelax1.com; ul ai 687 300;www.panoramabg.com; 631 657;www.elegance-hotel ) Centrally located Centrally a ) Right inthe Right pai 243 a

) ) BLACK SEA COAST COAST SEA BLACK BLACK SEA COAST as wellsome inventive creations of its varieties,menu featuring allthestandard cheap andcheerful pizzaplacewithabig 33; mains4-10 lv; blueberries. and own: the‘exotic’ pizza comeswithbananas 4-10 lv; beer or two. on themenuandit’sarestful placeforacold cats. Theusualgrills,steaks are andsalads a private, leafycourtyardpopularwithlocal buildingwith wooden NationalRevival–style & dinner) by some bushes. shieldedterrace fromthetraffic ispleasantly Despite beingonabusyroad,theoutdoor shish kebabs, vineleaves. andstuffed tabouleh dishesTurkish andMiddleEastern such as updelicious best, thishalalplaceserves 1; mains4-5lv; by themetre’ forthe and fishare onthemenu,alongwith‘sausage attractive Porkskewers beachfront setting. cheap inan grillsandsalads enade serving h point atwhatever takes your fancy. and beans,chicken just chops andmoussaka; place forcheap, simplefoodsuch assausage wide self- canteen chain istheideal service 10.30pm) Trops Kâshta Eating is top-notch. elegantly furnished, andtheoverall service the publicareas, butroomsare spaciousand There’s atouch of rococogaudiness about London, which originallyopenedin1912. hotel isthissuperbconversion of theHotel 170/205; 3;s/d/steinclbreakfast from€150/ palace.bg; ulMusala bath. and décor scheme. Apartmentshave bothshower rooms doneoutinamuted pink-and-cream its pricerange, withachoice of good-sized the four-star isamongthebestin Capitol friendly andlocated inaquietpartof town, 40;s/d/apt€75/85/115; Karavelov 244 Grand Hotel Musala Palace Musala Grand Hotel Capitol Hotel Pri YafataPri Morsko Konche Dom naArkitekta Prestol Orient Turkish Restaurant Turkish Orient 10am-1am) OTENCAT • an COAST ••VarnaNORTHERN

pai h This branch of thedependablenation- ‘The Architect’s isafineold House’ ( % 8am-11.30pm)

h

( (ul Knyaz Boris I;mains3-4lv; (ul KnyazBoris % Busy place on the seaside prom- Busy placeontheseaside 600 807;Kraybrezhna aleya;mains3-8lv; lunch &dinner) ( h 609 914;Cherno More Hotel,bulSlivnitsa % ( ) Varna’s grandestandoldest % (ul Musala 10;mains4-8lv; (ul Musala noon-midnight) 688 000;www.capitol.bg;ulPetko 600 418;plNezavisimost;mains very The ‘Seahorse’ isaThe ‘Seahorse’ ( Anotherof Varna’s

( %

hungry. % pai 664 100;www.musala 602 380;ulTsaribrod Folksy place h ) Stylish, h 8.30am- lunch 5-10 lv; along the seaside promenade that stay open promenadethatstay along theseaside a 17th-centuryOttomanadmiral,itfeatures end of thebeach, neartheport.Named after this wooden-hulledventure strandedatthe elty ship restaurants hascometoVarna, with h there’s live musicin the evenings. and manyotherdishesare onthemenu,and bass,lobster, prawns freshly fish.Sea caught upavastassortmentof restaurant, serving year-round, Tambuktu isachain seafood 8-20 lv; andhasanextensivegood salads wine list. pork andothermeatyofferings. Italsodoes Place’) isaclassyplaceforroastlamb,grilled of alittlechurch, PriMonahinite (‘AttheNuns’ mains 8-14lv; on bul Slivnitsa. to theatmosphere. There’s anotherbranch add danceroutines,certainly spontaneous whooccasionallylaunch intowaitstaff, ers theday,andfriendly throughout of grills,steaks pullsincustom- andsalads central location.Theuncomplicated menu branches aroundthecity,includingatthis now nationwide,chain restaurant hasfour and soups.There’s live music night. every knuckle, chicken cuisine, withdishes such asstewed pork offering goodqualitytraditionalBulgarian also food. serves Sports coverage togowithyour Guinness.It themed puboffers regular live musicandSky vast ChernoMore Hotel complex,this Irish- bul Slivnitsa33; bars. coffee areSlivnitsa hometosmarter and cocktail In thecitycentre, ulKnyazBorisIandbul Aquarium andaroundtheSummer Theatre. in Primorski Park, near theentranceto year tothenext.There are cafés alsoseveral sunshine andmanychange namesfromone only have abriefexistence inthesummer beach onKraybrezhna most aleya,although Some of the trendiest bars are foundalongthe Drinking bass,trout dishes such assea and bluefish. a priceybutheartymenuof fish andsteak O’Neill’s Irish Pub O’Neill’s Irish Tambuktu o Mr Baba Happy Bar&Grill 8am-midnight) h h 8am-2am) 9am-2am) Pri Monahinite Monahinite Pri ( h % ( h % 11am-midnight) 614 629; off bul Primorski; mains12-30lv; 614 629;offbulPrimorski; The coast-longtrend fornov- Book yourstayatlonelyplanet.com/hotels 5pm-3am) 610 864;Kraybrezhna aleya;mains Varna’s home-grown, and One of thefew restaurants

( kavarma % ( % 606 338;plNezavisimost;mains 614 586;ChernoMore Hotel, ( % Downstairs inthe Set in the courtyard inthecourtyard Set 611 830; bul Primorski 47; 47; 611 830;bulPrimorski andlotsof salads

800297; Nezavisimost) along Kraybrezhna aleya. are justafew of themanysummertime clubs cocktail cocktail in hand. has afew smallpoolstolollaroundinwitha and,apparently,nights fashionshows. Iteven bar offering live music,DJs,beach-party h lonelyplanet.com latest offerings regarded from thehighly 10.30am-5.30pm Sun) .com; bulVladislavVarenchik 34; high. quite sculptures pricesare bylocalartists,though interesting paintingsand littlegallerysells 1; clothes. and ing fruitandvegetables, books,souvenirs sell- the parkbehindOperaHouse, Church, whilethere’s adailymarket in Assumption of theVirgin andStNikolai artists are of soldoutsidetheCathedral the Reproduction iconsandpaintingsbylocal including some international chains. I hasnumeroussmallfashionboutiques, The pedestrianstretch of ulKnyazBoris Shopping 4am) folk-pop, and places showing recent Hollywood movies. 4-5lv) Luisa 1;tickets Maria 4-5lv) tickets Summer Theatre atthetemporarymost summerevenings joining ticket office. Live musicisalsoplayed arerock concerts.Details available atthead- this theatre fromballetto hostseverything plete with mock ivy-covered Romanarches, September June.through stages dramaticplaysfrom the OperaHouse, Nezavisimost 1) Orchestra all yearexceptJuly and August. ances bytheVarna OperaandPhilharmonic (after Sofia’s)opera house hostsperform- Varna OperaHouse Entertainment h Mustang Cinema Mustang A-Lounge Beach Blaga Blagoeva Blaga Blagoeva Gallery Capricorn Open-Air Theatre DramaticTheatre Stoyan Bachvarov Exit 9pm-3am) , withafondnessfor’70sand’80smusic, 10.30am-7pm) h

( % 10pm-4am) and Bulgaria’s second-most important important Bulgaria’s second-most 645 050; Swanky, summer-only beachfront Thistheatre, located Copacabana Bulgaran Cinema (Primorski Park) (Primorski NORTHERN COAST ••Varna NORTHERN Just off plEkzarhYosif,this Just off Eponymous store the selling

(

( ( ( %

h %

% ( % ( , specialisinginBulgarian % % are twoof themore central 223 038;www.operavarna.bg; pl 10pm-6am) 0885190180; Kraybrezhna aleya; 600 613;www.blaga-blagoeva 612 803; Primorski Park) 612 803;Primorski 610 333;ulBratyaShkorpil33; 612 797; ul Sv Kliment Ohridski 612 797;ulSvKlimentOhridski (

% h . 0888281431; 10am-7.30pm Mon-Sat, ( ,

% 4aspik

next doorto 0899333477; bul ( %

615 301;pl ( % h Com- 0885 9pm- along a road that starts almostoppositealong aroadthat starts the between Varnabetween andSofia (one-way/return ul Knyaz Boris I15) ul KnyazBoris the Black Sea coast, includingDobrich (4lv, the Black Sea frequent go tosmallerplaces along minibuses Fromhere,opposite thebusstation. more lookforthesigninEnglish central busstation; Chatsna MladostStation the central bus station. butall departuresat thebusstation, are from atagenciescan bebought in town, aswell are operated byprivate Tickets buses. forthese Bryag) (Slânchev Sunny Beach and Nesebâr. resorts, allthecoastal through including southtoBurgas andbuses pass Zagora Stara Veliko Târnovo; toPlovdiv thebuses govia hours, 20 daily). hours, 20daily)andVeliko Târnovo (9lv,four (6 lv,1½hours, onedaily),Sofia (25lv,seven Plovdiv (19lv,sixhours, twodaily), minutes), (45lv,10hours, Istanbul twodaily), five daily),Dobrich 30 (4lv,onehour,every one hour,16daily),Burgas (9lv,twohours, (100 lv,26hours, (4lv, onedaily),Balchik hr/day 0.50/4lv) café anda place withacoupleof abasic newsstands, 2km northwestof thecitycentre. It’sadingy station Varna –the hastwobusstations BUS around €105/160)atleastonce day. every Agency Travel Airport International airport. the from Sofia. Fromthecentre, to bus409goes over Europe,aswellregular toand flights with scheduled andcharter fromall flights .varna-airport.bg) Varna’s international AIR Getting There&Away soaps andclothing.Italsohas a café. replica Samuraiswordsandsouvenirs tofancy overgoods onsale three floors, rangingfrom store, thisuglyblockhasaneclecticrange of 7pm Sun) dressescolourful evening and knitwear. local women’sfashiondesigner,including The second bus station inVarna busstation The second isthe andinternational services Long-distance toSofiaAll buses goviaShumen and The localagency forbookingsisthe Valentina

( % Thecitycentre’s maindepartment 448 349;bulVladislavVarenchik 158) (pl Nezavisimost; left luggageoffice left . From here, services gotoAthens . Fromhere, services isanincreasingly busyplace . Bulgaria ( % airport h 500 039)

10am-8pm Mon-Sat,to ( (

% ( h % , about 200m 573 416)

7am-10pm; per 573 323;www ( % central bus is about 612 588;

flies

Varna Varna 245 BLACK SEA COAST COAST SEA BLACK BLACK SEA COAST and centre isoneof thecheaper outlets, charging national section ofnational section theairport. parkland. Established in1946under theparkland. Established with hotels attractively spacedoutamongst beach resort about 9kmnortheast of Varna, Sveti isasmall,fairly sedate Konstantin % СВЕТИ SVETI KONSTANTIN kilometres. unlimited from €25perdayincludinginsurance and ( and Golden Sands. thetrainstation Boris I.Bus109runsbetween near themainpostoffice, andalongbulKnyaz designated spotsonbulVladislav Varenchik outside Sveti at Itcanbecaught Konstantin. cluding theDolphinarium)andalsostops inVarnabus station andPrimorski Park (in- thecentral 6am and11pm.Thisbuspasses 15minutes(Zlatni Pyasâtsi)every between which connectstheairportwithGoldenSands busforvisitors is409, and 41.Themostuseful sides of thecity,andlinked 1,22 bybuses The bus areand trainstations onopposite Getting Around trains. domestic andadvancetickets for international services h hours, nine daily). hours, fourdaily)andShumen (5.10lv,1½ daily),Plovdivhours, seven (15.20lv,six four hours, twodaily),Sofia (19lv,eight summer. (9lv, OtherdestinationsincludeRuse Moscow viaBucharest three in timesaweek rail networkandthere’s aconnectionto even & 1-9pm) Facilities includean listing departures andarrivalsinBulgarian. bished bookinghallandcomputer screens ern, well-ordered placewitharecently refur- The TRAIN (5lv, six daily)viaSunnyBeach 1¼ hours). utes (6lv,1½hours, toone hour)andNesebâr hourly), Burgas (9lv,twohours, 40min- every one hour,hourly),Kavarna (5lv,1½hours, 30minutes),one hour,every (4lv, Balchik 246 % Varna destinationonthe isanimportant The If you need arentalIf youneed car, 7am-7pm Mon-Fri, 8am-2pmSat) 7am-7pm Mon-Fri, 052 Avis 618 052; ul A Malinov 4; 618 052;ulAMalinov train station OTENCAT • vt osatn COAST ••SvetiKonstantin NORTHERN anda

Rila Bureau Rila ( %

КОНСТАНТИН 500 832) left-luggage left-luggage office

( % 630 414;plSlaveikov)

have attheinter- offices internet centre internet ( % h 632 347;ulPreslav 13; 9am-6pm) Hertz sells ticketssells for

( h Balkan Tourism Balkan inthecity ( 7.30am-8pm) h

( % isamod- 9am-noon 510 250) .

Sun am) Office Lane) Office fices, aswellthe (1:13,000). Konstantin Varna but nodedicated Domino’s mapsforsale; map of theresort onaboardatthebusstop, and hotels are poorlysignposted. There isa end of thebeach. There are nostreet names stop totheSunnyDayComplexatfar Another roadrunseastwardsfromthebus andtheGrandHotelthe postoffice Varna. between (which Lane) we’ve calledPostOffice the postofficeandunnamedlaneway thebusstopandbeach thatpasses between The centre of Sveti istheroad Konstantin Orientation &Information nightlife. raucous but thisisn’ttheplaceforwater sportsor scale hotels geared towardsyoungfamilies, health treatments. There are new,up- several mous foritstherapeuticmineralwaters and trade unionmembers, andtheresort isfa- of ‘rest and homes’forretired civilservants older holidaymakers; itstillhasanumber other resorts popularwith andhaslongbeen as Sveti It’slesscommercialthan Konstantin. but isnowmore commonlyknownsimply renamed Sveti andSveti Konstantin , name of Druzhba (Friendship), itwaslater beaches tend tobesmall andbordered by around 6lvto7 lveach. allthe However, to nongueststoo. Parasols andsunbedscost hotels, butthere are plentyof areas accessible stretches of appropriated bythevarious sand Much of the upintoprivate beach iscarved BEACH of Scientists Frederic Joliot-Curie. on thegroundfloorof theInternational House cinating display(withexplanationsin English) Sveti isfeatured Konstantin inasmallbutfas- the church andthe general of development was rebuilt in1912.More informationabout The church wasdestroyednotlongafter but Ottoman rulers duringtheearly18thcentury. below street inthestyledemandedby level This tiny SV KONSTANTIN &SVELENAMONASTERY Sights &Activities Scientists Frederic Joliot-Curie ( opposite ). ground floorof of theInternational House There are dozensof foreign exchange of- is just off Post Office Lane. Itwasbuilt Lane. PostOffice isjustoff map contains asmallmapof mapcontains Sveti . There’s an internet centre onthe church

(admission free; Biochim CommercialBank h lonelyplanet.com dawn-dusk, closed (Post

a narrow curve of beach. Ithasavarietyofa narrowcurve glass rotundaisafairlynewplace,occupying just westof thebusstopnevertheless offers remnant of anotherera,this’60stowerblock Tours or GoldenSands (Zlatni Pyasâtsi). want towindsurforjet-ski,headforAlbena are nowater sportsavailable here, soifyou jetties, breakwaters androckyoutcrops.There Book yourstayatlonelyplanet.com/hotels drop byalmost halfinMay and October. alley, tennis courtsandspa. Prices vary,and restaurantscluding several and bars, abowling and offering conceivable every amenity, in- plex thatincludes four otherassociated hotels lives uptoitsname,dominating ahuge com- with over 300 fresh-looking rooms,certainly .com; s/d210/280lv; and arestaurant on a mock-up ship. indoor andoutdoorpools,akids’ play area rooms,allwithbalconies, andtherebright are incl half-board190/250lv; .com; s/dlowseasoninclbreakfast 120/160lv,highseason a thirdoutsidethe summer months. therapeutic treatments. Pricesdropbyabout with balconies.Italsohasaspacentre offering this isasmarthotel withlarge airyrooms,all cluded parklandaround200mfromthebeach, .com; s/dinclbreakfast 80/120lv; leading downtowardsthe beachfront area. and there are gardens atthebackwithsteps marble. Theroomsare perfectly acceptable turing chunky chandeliers andlotsof grey facing themainroad,withpublicareas fea- here, thePanorama isanolderestablishment s/d 55/68lv; its ownpharmacyand cactus garden. treatments are available andthehotel has even a mineral-water pool,variousbalneological rooms. Ithas fortheneater modernised leva good value,andit’sdefinitely worththeextra ( Joliot-Curie HouseofScientistsFrederic International Sleeping Shumen (35lv) among others. andKaliakra(33 lv),Balchik (26lv)and Cape 541; fering arange of localtours. There are afew kiosksnearthebusstopof- pais % Grand Hotel Varna Grand Hotel BeachHotel Sirius Estreya PalaceEstreya Hotel Panorama Hotel h 361 161;fax187;s/d53/74lv,renovated 84/92lv; 10am-10pm) a ) Looking(andsounding)like a ) Among thecheaper options pais ( % runs daytripstoNesebâr (

% pais ( 361 025; www.panoramahotel.bg; 361 025;www.panoramahotel.bg;

( % % 361 491;www.grandhotelvarna 361 224;www.siriusbeach 361 312;www.hotelestreya as TheGrandHotel, ) NORTHERN COAST ••GoldenSands(ZlatniPyasâtsi) NORTHERN Beni Tur Nestledinse- ) Thisflashy )

( % 432

5 lv; lunch &dinner) was among theearliestpurpose-built resorts of beach 18km upthecoastfromVarna. It is infactanancient oneforthissuperbstretch butthename asSunnyBeach, equally astwee sound Golden Sands(ZlatniPyasâtsi)might % ЗЛАТНИ GOLDEN SANDS(ZLATNIPYASÂTSI) at kiosksnearthebusstop(15lv per day). want tohire acar,whilebicyclescanberented There are better dealstobehadinVarna ifyou Getting Around I in Varna. and thenortheastern endof ulKnyazBoris Varna toSveti viaulMaria Konstantin, Luisa directly 6amand11pm,bus8goes from tween and thebeach. Every 15to20minutes be- where it’s ashort walkdowntothehotels Hotel Panorama atSveti from Konstantin, 6amand11pm.Itstopsoutsidethe tween 15minutesSands (ZlatniPyasâtsi)every be- Bus 409travels fromVarna airporttoGolden Getting There&Away paella. and the specialityhere, includingtrout,turbot Hotel. Fishdishes,unsurprisingly,are shipatthesideofsailing theSiriusBeach catching restaurant, aboardagrounded set and pizza,inanattractive, setting. civilised food,includingpasta up goodqualityItalian clutch of excellentrestaurants, thisoneserves bratwurst and schnitzel. of fare fishdishes,grillsandGerman such as (spicy grilledmeatsausages) traditional Bulgariancuisinesuch as trees Themenufeatures andlittlefountains. restaurant inacourtyardplanted with set ning eastfromthebusstop,Marina isafolksy & dinner) self-caterers. for the busstopprobably offers thebest value coast. The pared withthebigger resorts furtherupthe prices tend tobefairlyreasonable com- tohotels, manyattached andKonstantin, There are plentyof restaurants around Sveti Eating Mehana Marina Marina Mehana Sirius Sirius Dolce Vita h 052 lunch &dinner) A few steps uptheunnamedlanerun- (Sirius BeachHotel;mains10-20lv; (Sirius ( Sparm Supermarket Certainly theresort’s mosteye- Certainly %

ПЯСЪЦИ 361 491;GrandHotelVarna; mainsfrom ( % One of thefive-star hotel’s 362 616;mains4-12lv; ,

aswelllots ( h h 24hr) kebabche h breakfast,

near

247 lunch BLACK SEA COAST COAST SEA BLACK BLACK SEA COAST The infrequent bus33 fromVarna to Kranevo ofAlbena roadfrom the start thewalking trail. about 500msouth alongtheVarna–starts hectare a wonderful,shady forest, partof the1320- an houronewayandwendsits through ings alongtheobvioustrail.Thewalk takes the signsto‘Kloster Aladja’andthemark- Economic &Investment andfollow Bank, the mainVarna–Albena roadoutsidethe head uptheroadpastpostoffice, cross created in the 13th century. leads tothethree-level remarkable place. Asignposted path(600m) ing tothemonastery’s murals,butit’sstilla somedamagehas caused tothecaves, includ- upto40mabovethe cliffside ground.Erosion astonishingcaves,these in which were carved again until 1928. until the18thcentury,butwasnotdiscovered bymonksfromtheHesychastwas used order the 13thand14thcenturies.Themonastery but whatremains todaywascreated during inhabited asfarbackthe5thcenturyBC, bizarre rock monastery; thecave wasprobably Tue-Sat Nov-Mar) ( A major localattractionisthe ALADZHA MONASTERY Sights a few metres upfromthe post office. along theresort, andthere’s aninternet centre centre are nearHotel Yavor, abouthalfway signs inEnglish. andtelephone Thepostoffice to get around,andthere are plentyof helpful trance fees. Theresort islong,narrowandeasy donothave/public busortaxi topayanyen- lv pervehicle, butvisitors arrivingbyprivate Driving aprivate carintotheresort costs3 Orientation &Information trips to sea. with anumberof operators runningvarious on thecoast.It’salsoagoodplacefordiving, of beach, sandy andsomeof thebestnightlife beds clustered along,orjustoff, a4kmstretch largest resort, coastal offering around15,000 really Todayit’sBulgaria’ssecond- tookoff. mass tourism(largely Bloc) fromtheoldEastern itwasn’tuntilthelatein 1957,though ’60sthat in Bulgaria,withthefirst hotel openinghere 248 % The road (3km) is steepish inpartsand The road(3km) is steepish Stairs andwalkwaysleadtoaround To walktothemonastery fromtheresort, 355 460;admission3lv; OTENCAT • odnSns(ltiPaâs) COAST ••GoldenSands(ZlatniPyasâtsi) NORTHERN Golden Sands ParkNature . Very littleisknownabout this h catacombs 9am-6pm Apr-Oct, to4pm 9am-6pm Apr-Oct, Aladzha Monastery . , probably

off Shabla,off 80kmnorth,cost150lv. Avari- cost 80lv,whiletwodives onaWWIIwreck dives, exploringthereefs just30moffshore, 766; [email protected]; the PADI-certified are outlets alongthebeach, including several and water slides,which isnear Hotel Sirena. centre tertainment a are offered by alleys, whileonthebeachfront, quickthrills andbowling to nonguests,withapool,sauna pummelled. get tents andhutsalongthebeach where youcan with manyvisitors, andthere are numerous Massages expensive andthere’s more choice inAlbena. are available onthebeach, butthey’re alittle usual water sports,such as various signedpointsaroundtheresort. The 40minutes)every toAquapolispicksupat cluding aminiclimbingwall.Aminibus(1lv, slides andotherkid-friendly attractions,in- water parkfeaturing lotsof different pools, .aquapolis.net; adult/child25/9lv; Near themainroad, Activities of the monastery. drops passengers outsidethefrontentrance many hotels here that youshouldbeable to thesummer.through there However, are so many of thehotels tend tobebooked solid will beonaprebooked package tour, and Virtually allvisitors inGolden Sands staying Sleeping and six-hourJeep safaris (50 lv). (65lvperpersonBalchik includinglunch) person includinglunch to andhotel), cruises (157lvper including two-daytripstoIstanbul Kempinski Hotel, runsawidevarietyof tours, (26lv). Cape (30 lvperperson), three-hour nade sell tours such astwo-hour Dozens of agencies alongtheespla- andstalls Tours including four-day scuba courses (€300). ety of otherdives andcourses isavailable, to Nesebâr (33 lv) and Balchik andKaliakra (33lv)andBalchik to Nesebâr lv perperson includinglunch) and ferris wheel ferris Diving Younger inthe kidswilldelight Hotel Palm hasasportscentre open Beach

(1hr about30lv)

is another popular activityandthere

(adult/child 5/3 lv) Travel Plus Travel bungee trampolines Book yourstayatlonelyplanet.com/hotels , withpaddlepools,toytrains Harry’s Diving Center Harry’s DivingCenter seem tobemore seem popular Aquapolis (

% h . 0898494578) h jet-skiing 10am-7pm) May-Oct) (

% fsig trips fishing (5min 10lv)

389 999;www yacht cruises children’s (15min 60lv)

,

near the is anew . Single bus trips (

% and (40 321

en-

-bg.com; rinclbreakfast 250lv; lv; ( in advance,visitthe (June are season forthehigh to August). find aroomsomewhere. Pricesgiven here Book yourstayatlonelyplanet.com/hotels thing from Bulgarian folk ensembles andthing from Bulgarianfolk ensembles often provide live entertainment, withevery- many insidehotels. andbars Restaurants with numerousvenues aroundtheresort, Golden Sandshas alively clubbingscene, Entertainment evening. every show of traditionalmusicanddancing kebabs andsteaks. There’s afree floor- meaty dishes,includingroastpork, lamb up hearty, barn nearHotel Astoria serving ous veggie dishes are on the menu. lamb shishkebabs, rabbitandvari- stuffed beach opposite Hotel Admiral.Porkstew, check outthisGeorgian restaurant onthe h dance show from 8.30pm. good valueat10lvandthere’s afree Indian The lunchis special(curry,riceandabeer) such aschicken kormaandlambvindaloo. dishes Ferris thislittleplaceserves wheel, h not quite as outrageous as in Albena. twice asmuch asinVarna, butpricesare Food anddrinkinGoldenSandscostabout Eating there’s anon-site nightclub and spa. have and balconies(manyfacingthesea), Thelargethe topplacestostay. roomsall gleamingly white, 300-roomhotel isoneof an enviablebeachfront location,thishuge, ground and restaurant. airy rooms,anoutdoorpool,kids’play- beach, butoffering great valuewithlarge, cheaper afairwaybackfromthe hotels, set .bg; s/dinclbreakfast 70/90lv; not available in advance. the summerwillbecheaper, but rates are of theresort’s hotels, Pricesoutside though. Itactsasanagent foronlysix to DSKBank. % h Gruzhinska Kuchnya Gruzhinska Taj Mahal Admiral Hotel Dana Palace Hotel Chiflika Chiflika If youhaven’t organised accommodation lunch &dinner) lunch &dinner) 355 683;Varna–Albena road; 8.30am-8.30pm) (mains 10-20lv; ( % For somethingabitdifferent,

Just off thebeach, nearthe ( 0886600030; mainsaround5-7lv; % , behind thebusstopnext

( 390 200;admiral@goldensands % ( % h 383 838;dana_palace@abv accommodation office

as per personJun-Aug 75-125 as 356 850;mains10-20lv; 24hr) NORTHERN COAST ••Albena NORTHERN Giant wooden ) ) One of the Occupying

car rental, including insurance. purpose-built resorts, going Albena has been One of coast’s thebiggest of theBlackSea % ALBENA Hotel; ous signedstops. that rumblesaroundtheresort, withnumer- tion istohopaboard thecute trolleybus(2lv) If you’re notkeen onwalking,theeasiestop- Getting Around of ulKnyazBorisI in Varna. along ulMaria andthenortheastern Luisa end the Varna canbecaught buses airport.These allthewayto entrance only,while409goes beach. Bus 9fromVarna stopsatthesouthern a 10-minute walktoanymajor hotel orthe Golden Sands,fromwhere it’snomore than Varna–Albena roadateach mainentranceto stopalongthemain11pm. Thebuses 10or15minutes 6amandevery between outside theHotel Zorainthe far north. & Investment 500mfurthernorth–and Bank at theaccommodationoffice andEconomic ofstart theroadtoAladzha Monastery, and south –neartheRivieraHotel complex,atthe the mostfrequently onesare used inthefar There are manyentrancestotheresort, but Getting There&Away are soldat the door. insummerandticketsnights (about 24lv) music andacrobatic shows take placemost northern endof thebeach. Touringdance, amphitheatre bytheyacht harbouratthe showsstaged attheopen-air tacky slightly more cultural,thebestyou’llget are the programme changes nightly. R&B, chill-out lounge andfolk-pop).The with very different andtechno, styles(house areas intown,withfourseparate nightspots Astera Casino&Hotel; DJs. international one of themostpopular. Italsoattracts (Thursdays) withRetroNight being night, venir PRplaysdifferent stalls, musiceach h Tom Jonestribute actson the bill. mariachi bands toElvisimpersonators and If you’re lookingforsomethingalittle Factory Arrogance Music PR Club Buses 109,209,309and409leaveBuses Varna 10.30pm-6am) 0579 h 9am-9pm) АЛБЕНА

( % On thebeach nearallthesou- charges from€43perdayfor h 0895500500; www.prclub-bg.com; Sixt Sixt 10pm-6am) ( %

(www.arroganceclub.com; 0888050511; Kempinski 0888050511; Kempinski One of thecoolest

249 BLACK SEA COAST COAST SEA BLACK BLACK SEA COAST the beach, including needs. their tosatisfysporty typeswill findenough ties inthecountry, andadventurous and Albena offers thebestrange of activi- Activities but welcomerespite from the crowds. rare plantandanimalspecies,isanunexpected programmes. upcoming and elsewhere aroundtheresort advertise kids (12lv).Posters onthecentre’s frontdoor 25 lv),aswell‘comedymagicshows’ for dance andfolkshows (tickets about 23lvto hosts regular performancesof touringmusic, makers awayfromthebeaches andclubs.It sort isalukewarm attempt toweanholiday- The Sights ings are available atwww.albena.bg. private/public bus or minibus. admission isfree foranyonetravelling bytaxi, Dobrudja and Kardam Hotels. area the isalongtheunnamedroadbetween calls.Themainshopping for long-distance has aninternetoffice centre andtelephones cash advancesonmajor credit cards.Thepost changepost office, travellers cheques andoffer at theadministrationbuildingopposite the andtheSCExpress Bank, Commercial Bank rates. Alongthemainroad,bothBiochim all over Albena,andmostoffer competitive There are dozensof foreign exchange offices attouristbooths. names) andmultilingualstaff streets noneof though (even thestreets have Bulgaria. There are plentyof mapsalongthe Albena isthemostorganised resort in Orientation &Information Bulgaria. in Bryag)asthemostexpensive(Slânchev place –AlbenarivalsSunnyBeach about everything side isthehorrendous pricescharged forjust day-makers fromacrossEurope. Thedown- water sports,it’shugely popularwithholi- 4km-long beach andshallow water idealfor Spread out over awidearea, andwithalovely, of theeponymousplaybyYordanYovkov. since 1969andisnamedafter theheroine 250 Reserve Resort informationandonlinehotel book- Entry totheresort byprivate carcosts3lv; All kindsof water sports are available on thesmall Away fromtheseafront, Cultural Centre Cultural OTENCAT • lea COAST ••Albena NORTHERN , aprotected forest that’shometo140 inthemiddleof there- jet-skiing

(10min 40 lv) Bolata , and offered atadozenorsocourtsallover (from around35lv) and therapies. therapy centre. Itoffers allsortsof massages booked bytouroperators. Independenttravel- on apackage tourandhotels are often block- visitingAlbenawillbe Practically everyone Sleeping out leafletsforthe latest tours. Numerous toutsalongthebeachfront hand three-hour trips offer awiderange of excursions, such as Most hotels andtravel agencies aroundAlbena Tours ( eral springsinBulgaria. The Equipment costs extra. the resort. Coaching costsfrom20lvperhour. where. Afour-day costs scubacourse 470 lv. wrecks and reefs Albena,Shabla off andelse- plus arange of multidaycourses, exploring packages (one/two/fourdives 69/110/180lv), offers Beach, atHotel Laguna based diving boating /day 15/50lv) the newer, more attractive onescomewith a shop. There’s achoice of large bungalows and en route tothebeach, andthere’s anon-site the centre, atrolleybusstopsoutside though shady patch of forest. It’salittleremote from this campinggroundisspread a outthrough 50-80 lv,villas140-180lv) road. Varna– Balchik and Bulgarianoutsidehomesalong themain look fortherelevant signsinEnglish, German the resort’s hotels. Ifyouwantaprivate room, noon) office worth checking outthehelpful October between places close and April. the resort’s www.albena.bg. Most hotels, see deals andtomake anonlinebookingatanyof summer andare very changeable; for thelatest something somewhere. Pricesfollowingare for determined youshould beable tostay, tofind priced roomshere insummer,butifyou’re lers maytherefore tofindacceptably struggle parasailing % If you arrive without a reservation, it’s If youarrive withoutareservation, Albena DivingCentre Albena boaststhelargest numberof min- Tennis Gorska Feya Gorska 62 305;HotelDobrudja) to Balchik (adult/child toBalchik 20/10lv)and , which canorganise roomsinmanyof

( %

(10min 10 lv)

(court hire day/evening 18/20lv) hire day/evening (court 62 920;busstation;perperson90-130lv;

, (10min 50lv) water-skiing fsig trips fishing ( % Book yourstayatlonelyplanet.com/hotels . 62 961;campsites10lv,bungalows Just behind the bus station, Justbehindthebusstation, (

% isthecountry’slargest , (adult/child 39/19lv).

surfing (10min 30lv) 0888980409;

(board hire perhr medical centre accommodation and ispopular h 9am-6pm) banana h bus 8am- ,

end of thebeach, thisall-inclusive complex (4 lv,45minutes) viaGolden Sands(Zlatni fromVarnabeach bytrolleybus.Minibuses the beach, andisconnected tothehotels and fast 91/140lv; there are tennis courtsandpoolstokeep andfridges, andpretty withTVs standard, modern thantheDobrudja. Theroomsare huge, centralhotel, rathermore though incl breakfast 170/180lv; vast concrete hive hasunexcitingbutdecent of notnearthebeach, Albena,though this fourand between people.eight and fridge. Thetwo-storey ‘villas’sleep TV Book yourstayatlonelyplanet.com/hotels Pyasâtsi; 2.50lv,20minutes) depart every The Getting There&Away dance shows in the evenings. meaty fare onthemenuandfree music and replica of atraditionaltavern, with lotsof & dinner) lore show’ from 8.30pm. a few fishdishes.Diners canenjoyafree ‘folk- of Bulgariangrillsandsteaks, and plussalads offersthe beachfront amenu promenade,Rai fish including omelettes, salads, and pizzas. cheaperslightly place, with avariedmenu dinner) the menusbefore sitting down. resorts),coastal soifmoney’sanissue, check inBulgaria(outsideacoupleofelse theother than youwouldpayinVarna oranywhere arePrices, though, twoorthree timesmore ing upavastvarietyof international dishes. Albena hasaprofusion of restaurants serv- Eating recommended. are package-tour groups,soadvancebookings the facilitiesyoucouldaskfor. by It’sused decorated roomsandallhas airy,brightly 210lv; inclusive occupied. you here (May November).through openlongerIt stays thanmosthotels around medical centre anda17th-floor restaurant. shops, aninternet café,nightclub, ing several rooms. Ithasgreat includ- amenities,though, Slaviansky Kât Rai Restaurant Bistro Dionisius Albena BeachClub Hotel Hotel Dobrudja Hotel bus station Atthenortherntipof thebeach isthis Behind theBoryanaHotel, thisisa Behind pais pais

( %

(mains 7-20lv;

( ( ( % % % 62 860) ( 62 103;mains8-20lv; % 62 976;mains5-12lv; 62 020;fax216;s/dinclbreak- ( pais % 62 869;fax045;d/apt ) isabout800mfrom Right inthecentre Right 62 802;fax715;rall- ) At thefarsouthern h NORTHERN COAST ••Balchik NORTHERN 9am-midnight) ) Another h h lunch & On lunch charges from70lvperday(oneday)or55 as well thebeach resorts to the south. as Dobrich ( p277 ) andKaliakra ( Cape p255 explore attractionsinthecountryside, such ), makesBalchik agreat fromwhich to base places to swim. ists forsunbathingandthere are plentyof concreteseveral bysometour- jettiesused of rubbleandboulders there –although are rest of thevery narrowshoreline consists made beach crammedwithparasols–the there’s onlyoneLilliputiansliver of human- Hotel, justeastof thecentre. Otherwise, 8.30am to6.30pm)isinfrontof theHelios The biggest, fenced-off patch of (open sand over.a coupleof tomuse smallmuseums kilometres downthecoast,andthere are gardens,acoupleofits stunningbotanical The mainattractionhere isthepalace,with winkingacrossthebayatnight. be seen from thelikes can of lights Albena,whose holiday spotthatfeels like aworldaway dled belowwhite-chalk it’salow-key cliffs, A small,pretty townandfishing porthud- the coast, isabreathBalchik of fresh air. sea % BALCHIK meters. their persuasion main roads,andmayneed touse petrol. excluding limited kilometres andinsurance,but per day(twotosixdays)includingun- rollerblades (one/twohours 5/9 lv). (onehour45lv)andeven 12 lv),golfbuggies hours/all day5/9/20lv),pedal-cars (onehour for rent alongthebeachfront (onehour/two cart at Other waystoget and aroundincludehorse 9amandmidnight. 20minutesevery between routes (2lv)putter alongtwoset Trolleybuses Getting Around Albena. and day travel Sofia hours) between (25lv,eight utes) 20minutes. every a Three orfourbuses 20 minutes) andforDobrich (4lv,45min- leaveminibuses (2lv, fromAlbenaforBalchik about8amand7.30pm,minutes between a spotknownasMakedonia Dom.Every 15 30 minutes 8amand7.30pmfrom between After thevast,artificialresorts furtherdown Although it’saneasydaytripfromVarna,Although Plenty of predatory drivers taxi linethe Albena Rent-a-Car 0579 /pop11,800 very negotiablerates, bicycles,available БАЛЧИК

( % /fax 62010;HotelDobrudja) 251

BLACK SEA COAST COAST SEA BLACK BLACK SEA COAST important mainstay of mainstay thelocaleconomy.The important tified thetown,andviticulture remained an god of wine. TheRomanscamelater andfor- the nametoDionysopolisinhonourof the (meaning ‘townof springs’), butlater changed initiallycalledtheplaceKrounoi century BC Greek traders here whosettled inthe6th History 252 14 Varna (47km) Gardens (3.2km); & Botanical To SummerPalace of QueenMarie 29km) Golden Sands To Albena(13km); (Zlanti Pyasâtsi;

4 1 3 2 5 BALCHIK

Geo M Geo

Va

Gardens (2.5km) Marie &Botanical Summer PalaceofQueen To DvataPetela(50m);

ilev Kara L zov iiue oAbn...... B3 B2 Minibuses toAlbena...... Bus Station...... B3 Old Boat...... Jay Jays...... (see 12) El Marinero...... (see 11) A3 B3 White House...... B3 Svoboda...... A3 Jay Jays...... A3 Hotel Mistral...... B3 Holiday BeachHotel...... Chaika...... SLEEPING B1 Ethnographical Complex...... A3 Ethnographic Museum...... A2 City HistoricalMuseum...... SIGHTS &ACTIVITIES B2 Unicredit Bulbank...... B3 Tourist InformationCentre...... Telephone Centre...... (see2) B3 SG Expressbank...... A2 Post Office...... B3 Internet Club...... INFORMATION TRANSPORT EATING OTENCAT • aci COAST ••Balchik NORTHERN

Vitosh

11 v

e

lo G

v a Pilska eo A

rg D i B

2 r

6 Z e

nko l P l Zahari Zogra visimost 7 Neza-

TownHall

e v tko

pl ski

Port New

Che v H Georgi Benko

10 vski r S r

rno Mor rno C

D

Al S Al

ta

m m Hristo Primorsk h bo liisk io i Botev er

irn f

n no

e iso

e ns

M Han Pu 8 Yavorov 15

17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 K Rai R Daskalov ore 16

4 ki

Emona As H s

9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 a B a paruh h

n O a kin

0.1miles c 0 0200 m

c ho

13 Cherno m hev

G e n

G G P o p o v u Kiro

5 M rta

ore Ch g Bialo More 17

9 er J Jo Ch

Rakovski erno M

or B no e

(54km) To Dobrich

B LACK Drava v 1 M Rakovsk ko pl Ribarski i Cape (30km) S EA

3 v

o

To Kavarna

r e

Ivailo Kaliakra (17km); 12 Mosque h Ferdinand of RomaniaforhisEnglish wife, wise of little help. out free basicmapsandoffers internetaccess,butisother- h Queen MarieQueen –agranddaughter of Queen this lovely Undoubtedly theprizeattractionof is Balchik BOTANICAL GARDENS SUMMER PALACE OFQUEENMARIE & Sights InformationCentre Tourist Club Internet Union, at money andsend/receive cashviaWestern andyoucanchangeopposite the busstation, branch of Unicredit BulbankwithanATM the mainsquare, plNezavisimost. There’s a andtelephoneThe postoffice centre are on Information in 1940for7000 ‘golden leva’. Romania; itwasliterally soldbacktoBulgaria (and therest of theregion) wasannexed by of grainfromthehinterlands. In1913,Balchik meaning ‘townof clay’)thrived ontheexport wave. (possibly times,Balchik Inmedieval century ADafter beingdestroyedbyatidal town wasrebuilt groundinthe6th onhigher throughout a series of aseries themed gardens,throughout 600 different speciesof floraare featured 1950s andrunby Sofia University. Around extensive children,Queen’s while behind are the den terraces, each representing oneof the dows, is a delight. ing, sunken bathandmulticoloured glass win- Turkish-style bathroom,withitsdomed ceil- Roman pottery andmammothbones.The lection of localarchaeological findssuch as plusacuriouscol- paintings bythequeen, originalfurnishings, includingoilcontain orsoroomson show unique. Thehalf-dozen and Islamicstylestoppedwithaminaret –is architecture –ablendof Bulgarian,Gothic relatively the villa,although modestseaside much younger Turkish lover here. ‘The QuietNest’andallegedly her entertained Marie, faith,calledit afollowerof theBahá’í wasthenpartofplation (Balchik Romania). Victoria –asaplaceof solitudeandcontem- h Beside thepalaceare sixformalgar-Beside Far thisisa from beingpalatial,size-wise 8am-8pm) 8am-8pm Apr-Oct, 9am-5pm Mon-Fri Nov-Mar) Hands Hands Nov-Mar) 9am-5pmMon-Fri 8am-8pm Apr-Oct, 9am-midnight) Locatedoffpl Ribarski. SG Expressbank SG Expressbank botanical gardens . Itwasbuiltin1924–26byKing palace (ul Primorska 29;perhr2.40lv; (ulPrimorska ( % 72 559;adult/under16yr10/2lv; ( (ul Cherno More) % 76 951; ul Primorska; 76 951;ulPrimorska; laidoutinthe lonelyplanet.com . ments from€30,while vate roomsfrom€12perperson andapart- Botev 4;admission2lv; Botev offers thebottlesonsale free though tastings, Bogoroditsa Sveta classical-style of the Gods’. avastarrayof cactiinthe‘Garden including Book yourstayatlonelyplanet.com/hotels .svoboda-tour.com; ulCherno More 13) ( front thatcanarrange accommodation. There are acoupleof agencies nearthesea- Sleeping it’savery(about 2.50lv)because steep walk. the grounds.Ifyou’re neartheport,take ataxi minutes andlookoutfortheclocktowerin walknorthonul Cherno Morestation, for20 church, originallybuiltin1866.Fromthebus restored 19th-centuryschoolroom anda ing, literature and education,alongwitha drydisplaysonpublish- Compound, houses also knownastheBulgarianNationalRevival hours. working ifit’slockedthe HistoricalMuseum during at staff ing. It’snotalwaysopen;contact as fishing,barrel-making andwoodcarv- relating totraditionaltradesandcraftssuch a collectionof localcostumesand displays builtin1860,itfeaturesful oldstonehouse sion 1lv; Ethnographic Museum War. Balkan the early1900s,andof the frontlineinthe has adisplayof photographs of thetownin pottery. Thelastroom coins andmedieval ofDionysus, aheadless statue Pan, Byzantine collection, includinganudemarbletorso of 1-5.30pm Mon-Fri) ( The three roomsof the OTHER SIGHTS the promenade. seafront gardens.Theotherentranceisoff botanical entrance here leadsintothetopendof the to dropyouoff atthe andsouvenir oraskthedriverbuses stalls, posite the palace –eitherlookforthetour southern coast,get offatthebusstopop- are remarkably expensive. % % Opposite the Historical Museum istheOpposite theHistoricalMuseum If you’re travelling here bybusfromthe The Also withinthecomplexare a 72 053; www.chaikabg.com; pl Ribarski 2) plRibarski 72 053;www.chaikabg.com; 72 177;ulVitosha3;admission1lv; h Ethnographical Complex 9am-noon &1-5.30pmMon-Fri) asmallbutdiversecontain . There’s a even h

9am-noon &1-5.30pmMon-Fri) ( % Svoboda dvorets 72 177;ulVitosha;admis- City Historical Museum City Historical andthetiny has self-contained has self-contained NORTHERN COAST ••Balchik NORTHERN

( %

( % (palace). The winery h . Inabeauti- 72 177; ul Hristo 72 177;ulHristo watermill offers pri- 74 707;www 9am-noon & , which Chapel of Chaika , a ,

and restaurant downstairs. simple rooms,onewithbunks.There’s abar British couple,Jay Jays hasahandfulof neat, run hotel ( above upfamiliarfare for ) serves ul Primorska 33;s/dfrom €15/18; ul Primorska safcn balconies. sea-facing large, tastefully furnished rooms,manywith Mistral isanupmarket, four-star placewith midnight) salads also serves and grills. shark filletandbluefish are all good,andit as anyforfresh fish.Thegrilled mackerel, looking theharbour,thisisasgood aplace With anattractive over- waterfront setting and variousfish dishes are served. the rocks.Pizzas,porkchops, chicken kebabs ona wooden pierperched overwith seating promenade, cheaper placesontheseafront midnight) peas. mushy ers fish andchips and,onFridaynights, with hungry touristssuch burg- asbaconandeggs, h of Mucho’. ‘Besame can tuckintoyourgrilledtrouttothestrains provide live too,soyou musicintheevenings, most offering fresh fishontheirmenus.Many palace islinedwithnumerousrestaurants, The waterfront theportand between Eating a 8b;s/dJul&Aug170/187lv,Sep-Jun 88/98lv; ul Primorska August. and byaround50%inJuly the front.Pricesrise There’s abusyrestaurantfridges at andTVs. rooms andthree studioapartments,allwith andbreezy placewith10double is abright 70/80/100 lv; the 1stflooris a plus. with great views.Theopen-airpoolon sea have most walk-outbalconieswithseating, the beach. Roomsare andspacious light Smart, modernhotel justacrosstheroadfrom 23;s/dfrom50/100lv; -beach.info; ulPrimorska book hotel rooms. apartments from€27perperson, andcanalso El Marinero Old Boat Dvata Petela Jay Jays Mistral Hotel House White Holiday BeachHotel Jay Jays 8am-midnight) ) One of thenewestwaterfront hotels, the The‘TwoCockerels’ isoneof the The excellent restaurant of the Hotel

( % (

pa ( % % 0887844953; ul Primorska 33;mains3-8.50lv; 0887844953; ulPrimorska

0887844953; [email protected]; 0887844953; [email protected]; ( 0887998996; mains6-15lv;

Therestaurant of theBritish- ( % ( % ( % % ) Situated on the seafront, this Situated ontheseafront, 0878704340; mains4-5lv; 71 130;mains8-25lv; 71 130; 73 951; ul Geo Milev 18;s/d/ste Milev 73 951;ulGeo ( %

www.hotelmistralbg.com; a 77 071;www.holiday ) Run byajolly h pas h h 8am-3am) 8am- 253 10am-

) BLACK SEA COAST COAST SEA BLACK BLACK SEA COAST ul ChernoMore, 1kmwalkfromthe asteep fest.com) venue forthe todayit’sfamous(inBulgaria)asthe though administrative townof littleinterest al- itself, Kavarna, 17kmeastof isasleepy Balchik, % here; askat thebusstation for times. noinformationisposted although bus station, /Shabla stopatthebusshelter opposite the travellingminibuses fromVarna toKavarna the supermarket. Note thatmore frequent call atthebusstoponulPrimorska, outside more conveniently, toAlbenaalso minibuses and twotoSofia (20lv,10hours). Rather adaytoKavarna buses eight (3lv,30minutes) minutes, 45minutes). every There are also (4 lv,onehour,hourly)andDobrich (4lv,45 (2 lv,20minutes, 30minutes), every Varna travelport. Minibuses toAlbena fromBalchik Balchik’s Getting There&Away particularly ings, anditdoes good salads. caviar andpeppersteaks are amongtheoffer- classier cuisine. Friedturbot,smoked salmon, Mistral ( p253 ) istheplacetogoforsome 254 KAVARNA and many unexplored sites. coming closetoshore whentheseais calm. Wealsohave anamazingarchaeological heritage, biodiversity. InKrapetsalonewehave numerousswallowsandstorks. You canseedolphins This isanecologically cleanregion, free ofindustry, with15kmofbeautifulbeach, andstillrich What are thearea’s bestdrawsfortravellers? Green, sustainable tourismistheonlyway.Ihopewecandevelop inourarea. sustainableprojects What’s thefuture for tourism intheregion? coastal dolphinsare indanger,too. If no measures are theywillsoonbegone. taken, say, andlocalbiodiversity isindanger. There are andour almostnofishleftinDurankulak Lake, thesituationfromRomanianborderdowntoVarnaUnfortunately, isbecomingcritical, I would How are allthenewbuildingdevelopments affecting theenvironment? becomemore expensive, hascertainly risingabout30to40%in2007. Local property developing real estate butthey’re projects torespect unlikely ourculturalandnaturalheritage. togetagoodreturnwith anexpectation inthenearfuture byre-selling. There are biginvestors vacationsandare indifferentfor short tothelocalenvironment.The assumptionisthat theybuy They thinkitwon’tnecessarilybringprosperitytoruralareas, asindividualbuyerscome mostly What dolocalsthinkaboutforeigners alongtheBlackSea? buyingupproperty herforviewsonthearea’s of the coast.Weasked current part developments.northern an active interest ofthis insustainabletourismandpromotingthewild,unspoilt attractions Margarita isatourismandbusinessconsultantwhomanagesVilla inKrapets. Kibela Shehas COASTAL CONCERNS 0570 /pop16,800 OTENCAT • aan COAST ••Kavarna NORTHERN ,

which attractsinternational actsevery bus station КАВАРНА Kaliakra RockFest Kaliakra

( % 74 069) is atthetopof

(www.kaliakrarock is worthaquicklookforitsicons,modern well assomerestaurants bythebusstop,in- ter optionsifyouwish to stay. isamongthebet- around 150mfromthesea, to visitors atthetime of research. ness for oysters – served in salads, pancakes, insalads, ness foroysters –served h cluding place justto lounge about. trolled bylifeguards, andit’sanagreeable beach,the harbourandsandy which ispa- the walk.Impressive watch white over cliffs ifyoudon’tfancy fromthebusstation buses from town,andcanbereached byhourly 18) (ul SavaGanchev mosque, andthe Museum History includethe old ladies.Other(possible)sights Judgement,painting of andchatty theLast way along,the find thepostoffice, banksandcafés.Half- iswheresouth fromthebusstation, you’ll to explore theKaliakra ( Cape opposite ). foranyonewishing also themostpracticalbase It’s June, anditssmallbeach enough. ispleasant There are acoupleof basicbeach bars, as The seafront isaround3kmorsodownhill The seafront Hotel Venera Hotel running ulDobrotitsa, The pedestrianised lunch &dinner) Moryashka Sreshta Moryashka

(

, which has aparticularfond- (ul Chirakman1) % , although neitherwere, although open Church of Sveti Georgi Church ofSveti Ethnographical Revival Complex Ethnographical Revival 84 878; ul Chaika 6;r18-24lv; 84 878;ulChaika (

% , housed inanold , housed 84 820;mains4-10lv; lonelyplanet.com (ul Rakovski)

p ) ,

НОС buses toVarnabuses (5lv,1¼hours). There are other fish dishes. with riceand lonelyplanet.com the above - ‘Do the right thingwithourcontent.’ the above -‘Dotheright theterms and conditionsonoursiteforalonger wayofsaying youknow,orresell it.See everyone site,mass emailitto only. Inotherwords, pleasedon’tuploadthischapterto apeer-to-peer Inreturn, wethinkit’sfair toaskyouuseitforpersonal,non-commercial purposes restricted. © LonelyPlanetPublications. iteasier foryoutouse,accessthischapterisnotdigitally Tomake The historyof thearea isexplainedinsome century dolphins. rare ideal spotstowatch numbers of increasingly areouts alongthecapeandnearRusalka birds. Mostof theyear,official look- 100 remote Bolata alsoprotects fragile The reserve wetlands at (upto500moffshore).protects theBlackSea inBulgariathatpartiallythe onlyreserve Reserve Nature Kaliakra and the reserve its attractions. Coast resorts. Kartografia’s by boatand/orbusfromthesouthernbeach Together it’sapopulardaytrip withBalchik, coastline), about13kmsoutheastof Kavarna. headland (thelongest alongtheBulgarian isa2km-long Cape Kaliakra (Beautiful) here. coast alongthe The borderwithRomaniaisclosed Shabla andKrapets. andoneortwotoRusalka a few each daytoBâlgarevo minibuses and hour toDobrich (4lv,onehour)andhourly 30 minutes), 30minutes onebusevery toan KLAR CAPE KALIAKRA Most of thecapeispartof the687-hectare Also in the reserve areAlso inthereserve theruinsof an8th- There are (3lv, toBalchik fourdailybuses mapprovides about details essential and

КАЛИАКРА citadel Taukliman caves au naturel , andsomeruinedchurches. NORTHERN COAST •• Kaliakra Cape COAST ••Kaliakra NORTHERN andover 300speciesof (Bay of (Bay Birds),about

Northern BlackSeaNorthern (admission 3lv; –aswellplentyof h 24hr) , .villakibela.com; rinclhalf-board€50-60; .villakibela.com; vate caristhebestwayto get here. reliably goanyfurtherthanBâlgarevo, sopri- walking tours and fishing trips. a welcominglittleplacethatalsoarranges the region. Try cal sites, makes for exploring anexcellentbase archaeologi- toseveral Durankulak, andclose theprotectedtween areas of Shabla Lakes and fauna andmarinelife of the Black Sea. tures adisplay(inEnglish) about theflora, Kavarna andKaliakra Thecentre Cape. fea- in Bâlgarevo village, abouthalfwaybetween to the (look forsignsto the museum). h atthe detail Public transportfromKavarna not does townof The tinyseaside Cape isdedicated tothewomen. Museum, andamonumentattheKaliakra History this legendcanbeseeninKavarna’s Cape.the Kaliakra Somedisplaysrelating to hands, threw themselves offacliffalong tied theirlonghairtogetherand,holding soldiers,at thehandsofOttoman ing alife ofslavery, dishonourorworse group of40beautifulyoungwomen,fear- inthe14thcentury,a vanced onKavarna According toalocalmyth,astheTurks ad- THE LEGENDOFKALIAKRA Anyone visiting the reserve mustfirst go Anyone visitingthereserve 10am-6pm) Nature InformationCentre Nature , wonderfullylocated insideacave Archaeological Museum Archaeological Villa Kibela Villa © LonelyPlanetPublications

( % Krapets 0888880281; www pais

( % (admission free;

057-44 424) , inbe- 255

)

,

BLACK SEA COAST COAST SEA BLACK