Tour itinerary

Day 1 - Flight to Sofia. Our accommodation for two nights is in the 4* Princess Hotel in the centre of the city.

Day 2 - Morning tour of Sofia. The centre of the city has some elegant buildings and is compact enough to be seen mostly on foot. The tour will include visits to the impressive Alexander Nevski Memorial Cathedral, built to commemorate the Russian soldiers who fought and died in Bulgaria's war of independence in 1877/78, and the churches of St Sophia and St George, both dating from the late Roman/early Byzantine period.
We also pass the Bulgarian Parliament and the former Royal Palace, now the National Art Gallery and Ethnographic Museum.

After lunch we visit the National Historical Museum; recently re-located to the former President's palatial residence on the slopes of Mt Vitosha to the south of the city, it contains the celebrated Thracian treasures, beautiful silver and gold vessels from prehistoric Bulgaria, contemporary with Classical Greece.

Day 3 - We drive north-east over the Balkan range to Troyan Monastery. One of the country's most renowned, it has fine timbered courtyards and a beautiful frescoed church.
We continue after lunch to Veliko Turnovo, the 13/14th C. capital of Bulgaria, where we have two nights' accommodation at the 4* Grand Hotel Veliko Turnovo. We shall have time for a walk through the old streets after our arrival, before dinner in an attractive local restaurant.

Day 4 - In the morning we walk up to the Tsarevets, the old royal citadel, spectacularly situated with impressive fortifications overlooking the winding gorge of the River Yantra on three sides, and to the restored patriarchate at the summit.

We then visit Arbanassi village, where the highlights will be the Church of the Nativity, with its complete set of 17th C. frescoes, perhaps the finest set in any church in Bulgaria, and a 'museum' house, formerly the home of one of the village's wealthy merchants.

After lunch in the village we drive a short way to the Monastery of the Transfiguration ('Preobrezhenie'). Situated on a remote, wooded hillside overlooking the River Yantra, the church contains a remarkable series of frescoes.

Day 5 - We drive south to the 'model' village of Etura. In this complex, in a street of old-style shops, along a pretty valley, craft workers use traditional skills to produce a fascinating variety of artifacts.
We continue up into the Balkan range to the dramatic summit of the Shipka Pass, the site of a crucial battle in Bulgaria's war of independence in 1877/78. At the foot of the mountain on the far side we visit the Shipka Memorial Church, built in colourful Russian style in memory of those who died in the struggle.
We continue to nearby Kazanluk, to see the Thracian tomb with its fine Hellenistic wall paintings. After lunch we drive to Koprivshtitsa, a conservation village situated among the wooded hills of the Sredna Gora, where the April Uprising of 1876 began.
We will have time for a walk through some of the streets lined with typical old-style houses, before dinner in our local, newly refurbished 2* hotel.

Day 6 - We explore Koprivshtitsa on foot and have the chance to visit one or two of the numerous fine 19th C. wooden 'museum' houses, built in traditional style and beautifully maintained.
After lunch we drive to the newly excavated Thracian sanctuary at Starosel and then continue to Plovdiv, Bulgaria's second city, where we have two nights’ accommodation at the 4* Princess Trimontium Hotel or the 3* Hotel Bulgaria in the pedestrianized city centre.
Dinner will be in one of the fine restaurants in the old town.

Day 7 - We have a leisurely walking tour up through the picturesque cobbled streets of the old Plovdiv. From time to time we can see the remains of the Byzantine city walls and we pass several well-preserved timbered town houses dating from the end of the Ottoman period, the 19th C., when Bulgaria enjoyed its 'National Revival'.
We visit the restored Roman theatre, impressively situated overlooking the main city centre, and a couple of the elegant 'museum' houses, one of which is now the Ethnographic Museum, with its collection of traditional, local items.
After lunch in the old town, we drive a short distance into the Rhodope Mountains to the 11th C. Bachkovo Monastery, an attractive ensemble of buildings, where the refectory and the ossuary will be specially opened for us to see the wonderful mediaeval frescoes.
In the evening we drive out to a local winery, where we enjoy a wine tasting and take our evening meal.

Day 8 - We drive to Batak, where the old church and the museum commemorate the infamous massacre of the local population in 1876. We continue over the Rhodope Mountains to Bansko, where we make a short stop, and then to the village of Dobrinishte at the foot of the impressive Pirin Mountains. Here we enjoy a warm Bulgarian hospitality, with a barbecue and typical, lively Bulgarian folk music in the evening. Our accommodation is in the 4* Hotel Bansko or in simple, comfortable village houses.

Day 9 - We drive to Rila, Bulgaria's premier monastery, which is beautifully situated in a forested mountain valley. Founded in the 10th C. it has a wonderful church and an imposing, arched courtyard, with fine wooden galleries and balconies.
After lunch nearby we return to Sofia, where we have the same accommodation as on our first two nights.

Day 10 - In the morning we visit the tiny, mediaeval church at Boyana, on the southern outskirts of Sofia. It has a remarkable series of frescoes, dating from 1259, one of the finest surviving achievements of Bulgarian painting. After this we are taken to the airport for our return flight to London.

Tour Leader(s): John Osborne

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