History
 The Bulgarian lands are ancient crossroads. It remembers many ancient civilizations and great peoples which wrote the pages of its turbulent history: bronze and iron spears and arrows, ruins of palaces and cities, wise words carved on rocks and stone columns, written on parchment and leather.
The Thracians bequeathed us the famous tombs near Kazanluk and Sveshtari, the unique gold treasures from Panagyurishte and Rogozen. The Hellenes built the beautiful coastal towns of Apollonia, Anhialo and Messambria, and Romans - ancient Aescus, Nikopolis ad Istrum and Nove. Huns, Gothes and Averas later passes through our lands. Around the mid-7th century the Slavs came from the north across the Danube and reached as far as the Black Sea and the Adriatic. They were followed by the Bulgarians of Khan Asparouh...
In fact, there were only three states in Europe in 681: The Western Roman Empire, BULGARIA, and The Eastern Roman Empire (Byzantium)...
Nature
 Bulgaria occupies a relatively small area - 111 000 sq. km, but is nevertheless distinguished by generous and varied nature - a sea with a 380 km. long coastal strip and golden beaches, 16 mountains with their own characteristic features, shelters valleys and high plateaus, over 550 curative mineral springs, dozen of unique natural phenomena and 2000 thrilling caves, a healthy climate and diverse flora and fauna.
As a whole Bulgaria's vegetation can be ranked among the Central European forest region, but the influence of the South Russian and Asia Minor regions is also felt. The higher part of Bulgarian mountains are covered by sub -Arctic vegetation, among which juniper forests predominate. In fact, Bulgaria boasts 3000 higher plant varieties - almost twice as many as in England.
More then one quarter of the country's territory is covered with forests. The edelweiss which grows in places difficult of access in the Pirin Mountains and the Balkan Range, is one of the rare plants growing in the country.
Bulgaria is famous for its oleaginous rose which bloom in the Valley of Roses. The Bulgarian tobacco brands are world - famous.
The Bulgarian fauna is no less interesting, with almost 13 000 animal species and subspecies, or about 14 percent of all European species.
Fishing is possible in lakes, dams, mountain brooks and sea, hunting - in special hunting grounds.
Bulgarian Climate
 Temperate continental with clearly marked four seasons.
A Mediterranean influence is felt in the country's southern regions.
The average annual temperature is 10.5°C.
The average January temperature is around O°C.
Average summer temperatures rarely exceed 30°C.
Cities
Capital: Sofia (1.141.000)
Principal cities: Plovdiv, Varna, Bourgas, Rousse, Stara Zagora, Pleven, Dobrich, Sliven, Blagoevgrad, Shoumen, Vidin, Vratsa, Montana, Lovetch, Veliko Turnovo, Gabrovo, Razgrad, Turgoviste, Silistra, Yambol, Haskovo, Kurdjali, Smolyan, Pazardjik, Pernik, Kustendil.
67.2% of the population is urbain.
Sofia
 Sofia,the Bulgarian capital city was born 7,000 years ago in the green embrace of the Vitosha Mountain.
Today, Sofia is a cosmopolitan city.
Like any other European capital it is the hub of the country's political, business and cultural life, the center of various international events.
There are many theatres,an Opera,an Operetta, concert halls, cinemas, museums and galleries.
Sofia offers an excellent opportunities for international congresses, symposia,meetings,conferences and fairs.Special business centers and deluxe hotels are in the proximity of the bustling city center.
The five,four and three-stars Sofia hotels offer good conditions for business ,rest and entertainment. Tranquillity seekers can choose from among the numerous small private hotels in Sofia's suburbs and enjoy excellent service in addition to home comfort and traditional Bulgarian hospitality.
Shopping in Sofia is quite an experience. Shining shops offer design clothes, small antique shops ,private art galleries displaying icons, modern art and jewels,music shops (CDs and cassetes) and shops for traditional crafs feast the eyes.
Most restaurants in Sofia serve European and Bulgarian cuisine.
A visit to a tavern is a must. They entertain with folk music,songs and dances in addition to a menu of delicious typically Bulgarian dishes and choice drinks.
Each night in Sofia is a thrilling experience. An option is a concert,opera or theatre.Jazz and rock clubs or piano bars are also there.Disco fans will find Sofia discos as good as any in Europe.Night clubs have variety shows in the small hours.Casinos in Sofia don't close before dawn.
Welcome to Sofia!
Plovdiv
 Plovdiv is the second of the biggest towns in Bulgaria, following Sofia, and is 130 km. far from it. All the symbols of Bulgarian spirit are focused in the town of Pioudiv. Here, one can find remnants of Thracian, Greek and Romanian civilizations.
During the Roman yoke, the town was called "the most beautiful town in the Thracian region". An evidence of these ages is the marble amphitheater. It has 3000 places and is built during the second century on hillocks. Even today the ancient theater is the biggest and the most original scene for classic and modern spectacles and concerts, performing during the art festivals and "The Verdi Evenings". The Bulgarians from the Revival period left the most vivid traces in Plovdiv, as the town was a center of the cultural elite of Bulgarian society till the middle of the former century. The architecture of the old town, its atmosphere, preserved even today, the numerous magnificently decorated churches, the town folklore, and all relics hidden behind the stone walls are symbol of the power of the Bulgarian genius.
Very often international cultural forums and exhibitions take place in Plovdiv. Permanent exhibition of well-known Bulgarian painters, as Zlatjo Bojadzhiev, Tzanko Lavrentov, Hristo Stanchev and many others are organized in the old town. Besides cultural center, Plovdiv is a busy market place, where an International Trade Fair traditionally takes place every spring and autumn.
Varna
 The gem of the Bulgarian Black Sea is situated at the end of the big Varna Bay, with a convenient and well conserved water area. The city's peculiar sea charm is sublime and moving. Ancient, medieval, renaissance and modern cultures mingle and coexist throughout the city. Varna lies on the same latitude of the famous Atlantic resorts Bayonne and Biarritz in France, on a large, flat and high terrace on the northwestern most curve of the bay which juts some 7 km inland. During the holiday season, July and August, the sunshine allows 10-11 hours of sunbathing. There is nothing of the cold Baltic wind or the summer Riviera heat. The sea is amazingly calm and free of dangerous tides.
Apart from being a beach resort, Varna rivals the great cities of Sofia and Plovdiv, in its offering of cultural attractions and historical buildings, museums and art galleries. It also provides access to some of the quieter scenic spots along the coast, including the nature reserve of Kamchiya, the royal palace of Balchik and the hillside monastery of Aladzha...
Varna is an 'around-the-year' holiday destination. Beyond the high Season its balneotherapy facilities can help you unwind and enjoy the many sights and sounds in peace.
Veliko Turnovo
 The town of Veliko Turnovo is built in the ending outskirts of the Central Fore Balkan. The town is situated amphitheatrically on 4 hills - Tsarevets, Trapezitsa, Momina Krepost and Sveta Gora, the ridges of which were indeed the deeply inclined steep banks of the Yantra river meanders. Tsarevets was the capital of the Second Bulgarian Kingdom in XII century AC. Ancient travelers write about the town of Turnovo as "the second after Constantinople" in its beauty and might. The fateful events from the 13 centuries old Bulgarian State are related with this town, such as the Second Bulgarian Kingdom's apogee in XII - XIII centuries AC and the adoption of the First Bulgarian Constitution in 1874.
Seven centuries ago as a capital of the Second Bulgarian Kingdom the town of Tsarevets had had a major role in the political and the spiritual life in Bulgaria. Although there were very little evidences preserved by now they give clear information for the might of the Bulgarian Tsar dynasties and the Bulgarian Patriarch influence together with the spiritual activities in the former throne town. Archaeological researches show a significant civil, residential and cult building. The most monumental of it were the King's and Patriarch's Palaces. The exquisite architecture, the original and realistic murals in the cherishes, the colourful mosaics and handdiccraft masterpieces show the high disposition and artistic genius of Bulgarian masters, such as Zachary Zograf and Kolio Ficheto.
Now the old town quarters are preserved with their dislocated on terraces Bulgarian Renaissance houses, with their fine interior, handdiccraft workshops and cafés. The today's travelers describe it as the most beautiful Bulgarian town. Now the town of Veliko Turnovo is an administrative, economical and cultural center. The audiovisual performance "Sound and Light" are attractions for the visitors of the town.
Bansko Resort
 The BANSKO mountain resort is situated in Southwestern Bulgaria, at the foothills of one of the most beautiful Bulgarian mountains - Pirin, which is a national reserve, included in the WORLD NATURAL HERITAGE list.The distance from Sofia to Bansko is 160 km.
The town itself attracts visitors by its 120 cultural monuments, its museum-houses and the permanent ethnographic and Bansko school of icon painting exhibitions.A very interesting sight is the HOLY TRINITY Church with its 30 m highball tower and clock,splendid murals and woodcarvings. The region is famous for its cuisine and colourful folklore and offers various entertainment opportunities.
Borovets Resort
 Borovets is the oldest and the biggest mountain resort in Bulgaria which has often gathered the skiing elite of the world. Situated at 1350 m above sea level on the northern slopes of Rila Mountain among age-old pine woods, Borovets is located at the foot of peak MOUSSALA (2925 m) - the highest one on Balkan Peninsula. BOROVETS is easily accessible, being at a distance of 73 km from Sofia and 126 km from Plovdiv. The town of Samokov is only 10 km down the road from the resort.
Pamporovo Resort
 The sunniest Bulgarian ski resort is situated 1650 m above sea level, at the foot of peak SNEJANKA (1926 m), in the Rhodopes Mountain. It is located in a region, famous for its unique folklore traditions, within 260 km of Sofia and 85 km of Bulgaria's second-largest city, Plovdiv.
Vitosha Resort
 The mountain resort is situated in the immediate vicinity of Sofia, on the eastern slopes of Cherni Vrah (2290 meters) which is the highest Vitosha peak.
This is Bulgaria's highest ski resort, while being only 22 km distant from the center of Sofia. The whole of the Vitosha Mountain, which starts where the Sofia suburbs end, has been disignated a national park.
Spa
 Bulgaria is an extremely attractive center for treatment, prophylactics, recreation and tourism with its numerous resorts, favourable climate, a 378 km long coastal strip with wonderful beaches, over 500 mineral springs of varying physico-chemical composition, temperature and indisputable curative properties, dozens of lagoon firth mud sources and curative peat deposits.
All scientific studies agree that in the uniqueness, variety and abundance of hydrothermal, bioclimatic, mud treatment, sea cure, and other health resources, Bulgaria ranks among the first in Europe, Climato-balneological treatment traditions in the Bulgarian lands date back to times immemorial.
In Thracian times, flourishing settlements sprang up around the hot mineral springs and many nymphaeums were built. In Roman times, spa centers were established, such as Augusta (present-day Hissarya), Dezudava (Sandanski), Pautalia (Kyustendil) and Serdica (Sofia), where even the Roman emperors Ulpius Trajanus, Septimius Severus, Maximilianus and Justinianus sought treatment for their ailments.
The BULGAIAN MINERAL WATERS are known for their greatly varied chemical composition and, respectively, their mineralization and type of dissolved mineral salts, curative gases and biologically active microcomponents. In fact, every kind of known mineral water may be found in the country. The FIRTH MUD SOURCES, along the Black Sea coast, the CURATIVE PEAT, SPRING CURATIVE MUD and BENTONITE CLAYS possess a particularly great potential in the treatment of many different diseases. Bulgaria occupies one of the first places in the world with the exceptional diversity of MEDICINAL HERBS and the excellent curative properties of its APIAN PRODUCTS.
The best known the inland spa resorts are: Sandanski, Velingrad, Hissaria, Kyustendil.
This enormous wealth of natural factors, combined with country's modern hotels and spa facilities, provide excellent possibilities for the year-round effective treatment of the most widespread diseases of our times and truly make Bulgaria a COUNTRY OF HEALTH.
Sea
Pontus euxinos - hospitable sea.
 This is how the ancient Greeks called the Black Sea, a sea that is indeed tempting and hospitable - clean and calm, without any tides or dangerous animals. The sandy sea bottom slopes gently, making bathing and swimming safe for even the youngest holidaymakers. The Black Sea is half as saline as the Mediterranean.
The Bulgarian coastal stretch faces east and extends over 378 km, dotted with vast beaches covered with fine golden sand. The majority of Bulgaria beaches have been awarded the EU Blue Flag for their environmental exellence.
Air temperatures in summer vary between 23°C and 27°C, water temperatures between 17°C and 25°C. There are more than 240 hours of sunshine in May and September, and more than 300 in July and August. The deep-cutting coves and rugged shores, wooded hills and romantic peninsulas, vineyards and orchards, fishing towns and secluded campsites lend a unique fascination to the Bulgarian Black Sea coast.
Holiday-makers have a huge selection of resorts and accommodation to choose from - depending on their budget and on the kind of holiday they are interested in. They can find anything from luxurious 4 to 5-star hotels, large holiday hotel complexes, private hotels, small guesthouses - to more seduled holiday villages, villas and B & B style rooms.
The large major sea resorts - Albena, Golden Sands, Riviera Holiday Club, Sunny Day Tourist Complex, St. Constantine, Elenite Holiday Village, Sunny Beach, Dyuni Holiday Village- tempt with luxury, innumerable sports facilities, entertainment and inland trips to noteworthy landmarks.
Mountains
 Rugged snow-capped peaks and soft green slopes, cool forests carrying the aroma of herbs and wild fruit, quick-flowing rivers and crystal-clear blue lakes, mineral springs and bioreserves, rare plants and game, large climatic and ski resorts and small picturesque villages with living traditions and folklore - every Bulgarian mountain has its own characteristic appearance, fascination and beautiful name
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