Veliko Tarnovo is the ancient capital of Bulgaria. Today, this city is popular with many tourists for two reasons: firstly, it is very beautiful, and secondly - it's cheap real estate. Who will refuse a house in Bulgaria in a quiet place, where you can spend the whole summer or the rest of your life?
Veliko Tarnovo is filled with churches, like a bun with raisins. There is a hill on which 17 religious buildings were discovered! Perhaps this would be envied by the Israelites themselves
Bansko, Borovets, Pamporovo
Flights: Sofia, Plovdiv, Burgas
Italy - 07.03, 14.03, 21.03
Julia 3 * from 01.06. for 7 nights from 13 715 rubles
Ambassador 3 * from 01.06. for 7 nights from 13 786 rubles
Pliska 2 * + from 01.06. for 7 nights from 13 858 rubles
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How to get to
The city is located in the northern foothills of the Balkans, at a strategically important intersection of several roads - from the Danube crossing Svishtov and Ruse, on the Shipka Pass and on Sliven through Elena. You can get here by various means of transport - by bus, minibus or taxi. For example, from the Sofia airport or from Varna and Golden Sands.
From Sofia to Veliko Tarnovo, get on the highway E79, then - along highway A2 towards Varna, then turn right, on E83, and right again - on E772.
Search for tickets to the city of Varna (the nearest airport to Veliko Tarnovo)
Transportation
In a small town with a population of 70 thousand people, which you can easily bypass on foot, there are taxis, buses and minibuses. Buses start to move from 7 to 21 hours, the interval of movement - about 20 minutes. The fare is about half a dollar, tickets are sold by the driver.
Marshrunks run faster, the journey costs 1, 5 more than on the bus. In addition, in the city you can easily rent a car. Present any identification document, 10 dollars - and you can go where you want.
Cuisine and restaurants
For the children of the Soviet Union we inform you: Bulgarian cuisine is not only pickled pepper and brandy. It's such a variety of dishes that you marvel at how people could come up with so many things!
In Bulgaria it is necessary to try local cuisine, which combines meat, fish dishes, seafood, literally tons of vegetables and fruits, as well as a sea of sweets. Wine is consumed in Bulgaria instead of water. It is best to try a few varieties (or dozens of varieties) to choose your own. With which you will spend the rest of your life.
Portions in restaurants serve large. One dish can be easily taken for two. At the same time, prices are inversely proportional to the amount of food. A good lunch will be available at 10-15 EUR
Veliko Tarnovo hotels
Local hotels charm with their prices. Whether a joke, hotel complex in the woods offers rooms for 30 EUR per day! Such prices for European resorts still need to be looked for.
The average cost of living in a Veliko Tarnovo hotel is from 25 to 35 EUR. At your service are three- and four-star hotels in the historic part of the city with breakfast, internet, beautiful views of the mountains, and sometimes with an unlimited bar. Many hotels offer sightseeing programs. Do not worry about the location: almost all the hotels are in the center, near the sights.
Book popular Veliko Tarnovo hotels at the best prices
| Yantra Grand Hotel from 2 275 rubles Veliko Tŭrnovo 2 Opalchenska Str., Velchova Zavera Sq. | Meridian Hotel Bolyarski from 2 413 rubles Veliko Tŭrnovo 53A Stefan Stambolov Str. | Hotel Premier from 2 206 rubles Veliko Tŭrnovo 1, Sava Panev str. |
| Boliari Hotel from 1 379 rubles Veliko Tŭrnovo 2 Ivanka Boteva str. | Minotel Rashev from 896 rubles Veliko Tŭrnovo 2 Nikola Pikolo str. | Agusta Spa Hotel from 4 204 rubles Veliko Tŭrnovo 4 Tsvetarska Str. |
| City Hotel from 1 241 rub Veliko Tŭrnovo 15 Hristo Botev Str | Complex Maximus from 1 034 rubles Veliko Tŭrnovo 9 Nezavisimost Str. | Hotel Priyateli from 1 241 rubles @Veliko Tŭrnovo 11 Konstantin Kisimov str. |
Shops
The main place of trade in the city is the bazaar of Samovodsk. There are dozens of shops and workshops selling pottery, wood products, weapons, icons and much more. It is especially worth noting Bulgarian bread and delicious desserts
This bazaar is an oasis of manual production that the country has been famous for for centuries. Around only the goods of exclusive work. There are no two identical things. Buy any hand-made article - no one in the world will find a similar one.
Also in Veliko Tarnovo there is a large shopping center Central Mall. It's already the 21st century in all its glory with boutiques, slot machines, a cinema and other entertainments. Given that the infrastructure of the city is developing rapidly, prices in stores either remain at the same level, or slightly increase. So in Veliko Tarnovo you can buy a lot of useful and valuable things for little money
- Choose your wine - that a man should have his own kind of wine, with which he will spend his whole life. It's like you married this drink. Therefore, in the city, tourists are constantly tasting wine in search of a second drunken half. The best varieties are produced in Lyaskovets, Suhindol and Svishtov.
- Spend a night in a nightclub - this city is created for people who hang out all day. Go to any nightclub at about 6 am and leave there after 24 hours. It will be an unforgettable alco-dance marathon.
- Visit the laser show - in Veliko Tarnovo a laser and light show is regularly held at the Tsarevets fortress. The spectacle is devoted to the seizure of the fortress and the entire Bulgarian kingdom by the Ottoman yoke. The final and most exciting scene is the call of the Bulgarians to liberation and the battle for independence along with the Russian troops. The show is held outdoors. Impressions produce amazing.
- Buy a house - this item of the program of stay in Veliko Tarnovo is optional. Although if you find out the prices ... The average house that requires repair costs about 30 thousand EUR. Already ready house, where you can even enter and live today - 100 thousand EUR. Compare prices for accommodation in your city
Entertainment, excursions and attractions in Veliko Tarnovo
In the Bulgarian city you can easily get into the 12th or 13th century. It seems to be walking along a modern street - as it turned out in the distant past.
Tsarevets Fortress
Former residence of the Bulgarian tsar and patriarch. The fact is that due to its location Veliko Tarnovo played an important role in the country's struggle against Byzantium. Therefore, the economic and intellectual center of the state was formed here. And the whole city was built around the residence of the king, which was on top of Tsarevets mountain.
The whole complex is a symbol of Christianity. In the courtyard there are administrative houses, a library, refectory. Huge, powerful walls still can protect the complex from the enemy.
Church of the Holy Forty Martyrs
The church is at the foot of the Tsarevets Fortress. It was built in the beginning of the 13th century in honor of the victory over Byzantine emperor Theodor Comnenus.
During the years of Turkish rule the church was turned into a mosque. Returned to its original function in the late 19th century. In the interior, wall paintings and ancient Bulgarian epigraphic monuments attract attention: stone columns, on which the affairs of the Bulgarian kings are described.
Today the church is a branch of the National Historical Museum of Sofia. Divine services are held only on days of great Christian holidays.
Archaeological Museum
Expositions of the archaeological museum return us to 9 centuries ago. One of the most valuable exhibits is a gold bar, the oldest in the world, a treasure of the Neolithic era (!). Most likely, this is the most expensive gold on our planet.
In addition, the museum collects collections of pottery and ceramics of the Bronze and Stone Ages, gold and silver jewelry, coins, ceramics, frescoes and icons. Here is a stone garden, which exhibits statues of the Roman era. Near the museum there is a city library - one of the richest libraries in Bulgaria.
Trapezitsa
This time overgrown hill was once chosen by the Bulgarian kings. Once archeologists found 17 medieval churches here
And today on the hill you can meet teams of volunteers who dig up the foundations of old buildings and clean Byzantine tiles. You can join them and try to find something of value.
Old town
The old town is the heart of Veliko Tarnovo. Here on a small patch of land are collected architectural monuments of Bulgaria. For example, the Turkish konak is a building where the police were stationed in the 19th century.
The Church of Constantine and Helen, as well as the saints Cyril and Methodius are located nearby. Tourists are called by handicraft workshops. Haji Nikola's inn is very similar to the Constantinople caravanserai. Next to it stands a small house with a monkey - a building with an expressive figure under the bay window.
Gurko Street impresses visitors of the city - there are a lot of restored buildings, shops, restaurants, hotels. In general, the atmosphere of the 18th and 19th centuries was perfectly transferred.
Photo Veliko Tarnovo (15)