Bulgaria | Thracians & Churches

Arrive in Sofia and transfer to Plovdiv.

We spend our first day on foot exploring the sites of Plovdiv, founded by Philip of Macedon. Intense Roman activity on this site means that little is left of the early city, but a great deal of the Roman one includes the forum, stadium, fortress and amphitheatre.

Drive north to the sleepy village of Hisarya, famed for its hot water mineral spring. We continue to ‘Valley of the Thracian Kings’ after pausing for a picnic at the site of Kazanlak Mound.

We hope once again for special permission to enter the Kazanlak tomb, which we have obtained on all our previous tours of Bulgaria. The tomb is decorated with beautiful frescoes.

We visit the tomb of Aleksandrovo, dating from the 4th century BC. Continue this afternoon to Stara Zagora. This seemingly ordinary Bulgarian town hides extraordinary Neolithic houses under the city streets. The dwellings are complete with shelves, pots and hearths.

We begin the day at the huge settlement mound of Karanovo. This ‘tell’ represents successive phases of occupation from the 6th to the 2nd millennium BC. We then drive east to Nessebar on the Black Sea Coast. Founded by the Thracians, the town later became a thriving Greek trading colony. We visit the old town to view churches and walls. Continue to Varna.

We spend the morning in the superb History Museum in Varna housing intricately worked gold found at nearby Copper Age burial sites. After lunch we explore this coastal city including the Roman Baths and Marine Garden.

Today, we visit the majestic Madara Horseman rock relief. Dating from the 8th century AD, the horseman rides triumphant, a vanquished lion at his feet. We continue to the Sveshtari Thracian tomb. Here, multi-coloured reliefs depict surreal half human, half plant-like figures.

We spend all day in Veliko Tarnovo, capital of the Medieval Bulgarian tsars. The town is dramatically situated on a gorge over the river. We explore the large Medieval castle dominating the city, and some early monasteries.

We drive to the ancient site of Nicopolis ad Istrum. A thriving Roman colony, the town was abandoned in the 5th century AD and eventually replaced by a much more modest Byzantine settlement. We continue to the preserved ‘museum villages’ of Arbanassi and Etar.

We view the collections of the National Museum of History in Sofia before visiting Boyana Church with its remarkable 13th century frescoes. We continue along the walls of ancient Serdica (Sofia), to see St George’s Rotunda and St Sofia Basilica.

We head into the beautiful foothills of the Rila mountains, to visit Rila Monastery. This iconic (in the literal sense!) masterpiece is one of Bulgaria’s most famous and most beautiful sites.

We visit Sofia’s National Institute of Archaeology before our flight home.

Upon arrival in Sofia, we transfer to Plovdiv. We begin our tour with a visit to Yunasite Tell, also known as ‘The Flat Mound’, is an important site of the 5th millennium BC.

Today we explore the sites of Plovdiv, founded by Philip of Macedon. Intense Roman activity on this site means that little is left of the early city. We visit the Trakart mosaics, the Roman Theatre and the Archaeological Museum.

We drive north to the sleepy village of Hisarya, famed for its hot water mineral spring and visit the History Museum. We continue to ‘Valley of the Thracian Kings’ after pausing for a picnic at the site of Kazanlak Mound. We have special access to the Kazanlak Tomb, which is decorated with beautiful 4th century BC frescoes. We also visit further remarkable tombs of Golyama Kosmatka and Ostrusha. This evening we return to Plovdiv for dinner.

We visit the tomb of Aleksandrovo, dating from the 4th century BC. This afternoon we continue to Stara Zagora. This seemingly ordinary Bulgarian town hides extraordinary Neolithic houses under the city streets. The dwellings are complete with shelves, pots and hearths.

We begin the day at the huge settlement mound of Karanovo. This ‘tell’ represents successive phases of occupation from the 6th to the 2nd millennium BC. We then drive east to Nessebar on the Black Sea Coast. Founded by the Thracians, the town later became a thriving Greek trading colony. We explore the old town before driving north to Varna.

We spend the morning at the superb History Museum in Varna housing intricately worked gold found at nearby Copper Age burial sites. After lunch we explore this coastal city including the Roman Baths and Marine Garden.

Today, we visit the majestic Madara Horseman rock relief. Dating from the 8th century AD, the horseman rides triumphant, a vanquished lion at his feet. We continue to the Sveshtari Thracian Tomb. Here, multi-coloured reliefs depict surreal half human, half plant-like figures.

We start our day in Veliko Tarnovo, capital of the Medieval Bulgarian tsars. The town is dramatically situated on a gorge over the river. We explore the Tsarevets fortress, a Medieval stronghold which houses the royal and patriarchal palaces. We also discover the Bulgarian Orthodox Church of Saints Peter and Paul. Later, we travel to the ancient site of Nicopolis ad Istrum. A thriving Roman colony, the town was abandoned in the 5th century AD and eventually replaced by a much more modest Byzantine settlement.

This morning we head to Arbanassi. Here we uncover the Folk House and the Nativity Church, which is covered in stunning frescoes and feature a pantheon of saints. Next we journey to Etar and explore the Open Air Enthographic Museum. It has been open since 1964 and consists of typical Bulgarian revival houses.

We head into the beautiful foothills of the Rila mountains, to visit the Rila Monastery. This iconic masterpiece is one of Bulgaria’s most famous and most beautiful sites. Later, we view the remarkable 13th century frescoes at Boyana Church.

We view the collections of the National Archaeological Museum in Sofia before we continue along the walls of ancient Serdica. We also see St George’s Basilicata and the Church St Sofia before our flights home.