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The guide · 21 chapters

Bulgaria Guide

From Orthodox monasteries to Thracian fire

Chapter 01

Introduction

1 chapter

Introduction to Bulgaria

01·01 · 8 min

Introduction to Bulgaria

The most Orthodox and most Thracian country in the Balkans — and why you can't really grasp it without slowing down.

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Chapter 02

History

6 chapters

History · The Thracians

02·01 · 4 min

History · The Thracians

Varna gold, the Odrysian kingdom and Spartacus: the pre-Slavic substrate of Bulgaria.

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History · Rome and Byzantium

02·02 · 3 min

History · Rome and Byzantium

From Roman Philippopolis to Byzantine Christianity: four centuries of Romanisation before the Bulgars.
History · First Bulgarian Empire (681–1018)

02·03 · 4 min

History · First Bulgarian Empire (681–1018)

From Asparuh to Simeon the Great: foundation, Christianisation and the Preslav School.
History · Second Empire (1185–1396)

02·04 · 3 min

History · Second Empire (1185–1396)

Veliko Tarnovo as medieval capital: Ivan Asen II, 13th-century peak and the Ottoman fall.
History · Ottoman yoke (1396–1878)

02·05 · 4 min

History · Ottoman yoke (1396–1878)

Five centuries under the Ottomans: loss of statehood, monasteries as archive, and the National Revival.
History · From Liberation to today (1878–present)

02·06 · 6 min

History · From Liberation to today (1878–present)

From San Stefano to the euro: territorial trauma, three wars, 35 years of communism and an unfinished transition.

Chapter 03

Cities

3 chapters

Sofia

03·01 · 12 min

Sofia

Europe's least obvious capital: seven superimposed layers in less than one square kilometre.

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Plovdiv

03·02 · 11 min

Plovdiv

Europe's longest-inhabited city: 8,000 years on three hills and an old town better preserved than anywhere else in the country.
Veliko Tarnovo

03·03 · 10 min

Veliko Tarnovo

Bulgaria's medieval capital: a citadel hanging over the Yantra that survives not in books but in stone.

Chapter 04

Regions

3 chapters

Monasteries (Rila and Bachkovo)

04·01 · 10 min

Monasteries (Rila and Bachkovo)

The clandestine archives of Bulgarian identity through five centuries of Ottoman occupation.

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Black Sea coast

04·02 · 10 min

Black Sea coast

378 km of coastline that are simultaneously the worst and the best of Bulgaria's tourism, depending where you look.
Mountains and the Rhodopes

04·03 · 10 min

Mountains and the Rhodopes

Europe's oldest mountains, with the geography that has changed least in Bulgaria.

Chapter 05

Festivals and traditions

3 chapters

Nestinari: walking on fire in Strandzha

05·01 · 5 min

Nestinari: walking on fire in Strandzha

One of Europe's oldest living rituals. How and where to see it authentically every 3 June.

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Kukeri and Surva: the winter masks

05·02 · 5 min

Kukeri and Surva: the winter masks

Europe's most elaborate masked ritual. Pernik, Razlog, Shiroka Laka — where to see authentic kukeri.
The Valley of Roses: Kazanlak and the liquid gold

05·03 · 5 min

The Valley of Roses: Kazanlak and the liquid gold

Bulgaria distils half the world's rose essential oil. Harvest, festival and what to see the rest of the year.

Chapter 06

Practical information

5 chapters

When to go to Bulgaria

06·01 · 5 min

When to go to Bulgaria

Which month to pick depending on what you want: cities, sea, mountains or living tradition.

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Transport

06·02 · 6 min

Transport

How to get around Bulgaria: trains, buses, car hire and the practical logic of a mountainous country.
Budget

06·03 · 5 min

Budget

How much a trip to Bulgaria costs: one of the cheapest countries in the EU and how to make the most of it.
Safety and daily life

06·04 · 5 min

Safety and daily life

What to expect on the street, Cyrillic, social etiquette and the small cultural codes of Bulgaria.
Visa and documents

06·05 · 4 min

Visa and documents

What you need to enter Bulgaria in 2026: Schengen, the euro and the real paperwork.