Day 1: Sofia Arrival
Arrive in Sofia, Bulgaria’s capital at the foot of Mount Vitosha. Transfer to your hotel and enjoy a welcome drink with your guide. Afternoon walking tour of Sofia’s golden-domed landmarks: Alexander Nevsky Cathedral (one of the largest Eastern Orthodox cathedrals in the world), the 4th-century Rotunda of St. George (Sofia’s oldest building dating from Roman Serdica), and the Russian Church with its distinctive golden onion domes. Walk through the Roman ruins of ancient Serdica in the underpass of the Largo complex. Welcome dinner at a traditional Bulgarian mehana (tavern) with live folk music and shopska salad, the national dish. Overnight in Sofia.
Day 2: Sofia’s Museums & Departure to Veliko Tarnovo
Morning visit to the National History Museum at Boyana, housed in the former presidential residence at the foot of Vitosha Mountain. Explore Thracian gold treasures, medieval Bulgarian artifacts, and the story of Bulgaria’s 1,300-year history. Visit Boyana Church (UNESCO), a tiny medieval church with extraordinary 13th-century frescoes that prefigure the Italian Renaissance by a full century. Afternoon drive to Veliko Tarnovo, the medieval capital of the Second Bulgarian Empire. Walk up Tsarevets Hill as the sun sets, exploring the fortress walls and the Patriarch’s Church with its striking modernist frescoes. Overnight in Veliko Tarnovo.
Day 3: Veliko Tarnovo & Arbanasi
Morning walking tour of Veliko Tarnovo’s Old Town, built dramatically into the cliffs above the winding Yantra River. Cross the covered Samovodska Charshia artisan market street where coppersmiths, potters, and woodcarvers maintain centuries-old traditions. Visit the medieval fortress of Tsarevets in daylight, seeing the Baldwin Tower where the Latin Emperor Baldwin I was imprisoned after the Battle of Adrianople (1205). Afternoon visit to the architectural reserve of Arbanasi, a 15th-century merchant village with fortress-like stone houses. Tour the Church of the Nativity with its complete cycle of 3,500 biblical murals covering every wall. Overnight in Veliko Tarnovo.
Day 4: Etara Open-Air Museum & Rose Valley
Cross the Balkan Mountains via the Shipka Pass, site of a decisive 1877 battle that liberated Bulgaria from Ottoman rule. Visit the Shipka Memorial Church with its golden domes. Descend into the Valley of the Roses, where Bulgaria produces 70% of the world’s rose oil. Visit the Etara Ethnographic Open-Air Museum, a living reconstruction of a 19th-century Bulgarian Revival village with working watermills, wool-shearing demonstrations, pottery workshops, and artisan bakeries producing traditional bread in wood-fired ovens. Continue to Kazanlak, the heart of the Rose Valley. Visit the UNESCO-listed Thracian Tomb, a perfectly preserved 4th-century BC beehive tomb with exquisite Hellenistic frescoes. Overnight in Kazanlak.
Day 5: Kazanlak Rose Museum & Plovdiv
Morning visit to the Rose Museum, where you will learn the 300-year-old tradition of rose oil production that makes Bulgarian rose oil the gold standard for perfumes worldwide. See the distilling equipment and collection of rose-related artifacts. Drive to Plovdiv, Europe’s oldest continuously inhabited city (over 8,000 years) and European Capital of Culture 2019. Afternoon walking tour of the Old Town: the Roman Forum, the magnificent 2nd-century Roman Amphitheater of Philippopolis still used for performances today, the cobblestone streets of the Revival-era houses, and the Ethnographic Museum in the stunning Kuyumdzhioglu House. Climb Nebet Tepe for sunset views over the seven hills of Plovdiv. Dinner in the Kapana creative district. Overnight in Plovdiv.
Day 6: Bachkovo Monastery & Mountain Villages
Morning visit to Bachkovo Monastery, Bulgaria’s second-largest monastery founded in 1083 by Georgian monks. Admire the 17th-century frescoes of the main church, the 14th-century two-story ossuary, and the miraculous icon of the Virgin Mary said to bring healing. Continue into the Rhodope Mountains to visit traditional mountain villages. Enjoy a Rhodope lunch with patatnik (potato and cheese dish) and katino meze (pork and mushrooms). Afternoon visit to Asen’s Fortress, a medieval stronghold perched dramatically on a cliff overlooking the Asenitsa River valley. Return to Plovdiv for an evening at leisure. Overnight in Plovdiv.
Day 7: Nessebar UNESCO & Black Sea Coast
Morning drive across Bulgaria to the Black Sea coast. Arrive at Nessebar, a UNESCO World Heritage site situated on a rocky peninsula connected to the mainland by a narrow isthmus. Walk through 3,000 years of history in its cobblestone streets: Thracian walls, Greek temples, Roman baths, Byzantine basilicas, and Bulgarian medieval churches — over 40 churches on a peninsula just 850 meters long. Visit the 5th-century Old Metropolitan Church, the 11th-century Church of St. Stephen with its incredible 16th-century frescoes, and the Archaeological Museum. Sunset photos of the wooden fishermen’s houses hanging over the sea. Overnight in Nessebar.
Day 8: Varna — Sea Capital & Roman Heritage
Drive north along the coast to Varna, Bulgaria’s maritime capital. Visit the Varna Archaeological Museum to see the Varna Gold Treasure — the oldest processed gold in the world, dating from 4,600-4,200 BC, comprising over 3,000 gold artifacts weighing over 6 kg. Walk through the Sea Garden, Bulgaria’s largest landscaped park along the Black Sea shoreline. Visit the Roman Thermae, the largest Roman baths on the Balkan Peninsula covering 7,000 square meters, built in the 2nd century AD. Afternoon at leisure on one of Varna’s golden sand beaches. Evening seafood dinner at a beachfront restaurant. Overnight in Varna.
Day 9: Madara Rider & Melnik Wine Region
Morning visit to the Madara Rider, a UNESCO-listed monumental rock relief carved into a 100-meter cliff face in the early 8th century — the only rock relief of its kind in Europe. Depicting a horseman triumphing over a lion with a dog following, it represents the power of the First Bulgarian Empire. Continue south to Melnik, Bulgaria’s smallest and most picturesque town, nestled among dramatic sandstone pyramids. Visit a family-run wine cellar for a tasting of Bulgaria’s distinctive broad-leaf Melnik vine wines, matured in sandstone tunnels. Explore the Kordopulov House, the largest Revival-era mansion in the Balkans, with its massive wine cellar carved into the rock. Farewell dinner with Nestinari fire dancing — Bulgaria’s UNESCO-listed tradition of barefoot dance on glowing embers. Overnight in Melnik.
Day 10: Rila Monastery & Return to Sofia
A scenic drive through the Pirin Mountains to Rila Monastery, Bulgaria’s most iconic UNESCO site. Founded in the 10th century by hermit St. Ivan Rilski, the monastery is a masterpiece of Bulgarian National Revival architecture with its black, white, red, and gold striped arcades surrounding a vast courtyard. Visit the main church with its extraordinary iconostasis covered in gold leaf, climb the 300-year-old Hrelyo Tower, and see the monk’s cell where the monastery’s 10 resident monks still live today. After lunch in the mountain air, return to Sofia. Transfer to the airport for departure. End of tour.
