Bulgaria has great natural beauty, as well as having many places of interest. The National Historical Museum in Sofia has the most important prehistoric Thracian treasure. In Kazanluk there is the remarkable Trhacian tomb decorated with Hellenistic paintings; the monasteries at Rila, Troyan and Bachkovo are decorated with vivid frescoes. We go to Veliko Turnovo, the Mediaeval capita;, to Plovdiv, for the music festival, a town which has a Roman theatre and fine, 19th-century timbered merchants' houses; and to Arbanassi, one of Bulgaria's conservation villages.

Itinerary

Day 1 – Fly from London to Sofia and transfer to our hotel were we stay for three nights.

Day 2 – This morning we have a tour of Sophia including visits to the Alexander Nevski memorial Cathedral, and the early churches of St Sofia and St George. We also visit the Mediaeval church oat Boyana. In the afternoon we visit the National Historical Museum, which contains the celebrated Thracian treasures, silver and gold vessels from prehistoric Bulgaria, contemporary with Classical Greece. 

Day 3 - Today we visit Rila. Founded in the 10th century, it has a fine church and an imposing, arched courtyard, with wooden galleries and balconies.

Day 4 - We drive to Troyan Monastery. One of the country's most renowned, it has fine timbered courtyards and a beautiful frescoed church. continue to Veliko Turnovo, where we stay for two nights. We have a walk through the old streets before dinner in a local restaurant.

Day 5 - In the morning we visit the Tsarevets, spectacularly sutiated with impressive fortifications. We then visit Arbanassi village, for the Church of the Nativity, with its complete set of 17th-century frescoes. After lunch in the village we drive to the Monastery of the Transfiguration. The church contains a remakable series of frescoes.

Day 6 - We visit the 'model village' at Etura, which replicates traditional Bulgarian vernacular architecture. We then drive to the Shipka Pass, the site of a crucial battle in Bulgaria's war of independence. We continue to Kazanluk, to see the Tracian tomb with its Hellenistic wall paintings. We continue to Plovdiv, where we stay for two nights.

Day 7 - We walk through the picturesque cobbled streets of old Plovdiv. there are well-preserved timbered town houses dating from the end of the Ottoman period. We visit the restored Roman theatre and one of the elegant town houses, now the Ethnographic Museum. We then drive to the 11th-century Bachkovo Monastery. In the evening there will be a concert of classical music.

Day 8 – We drive to Sofia for the return flight to London.

Bulgaria Cultural Tour
Price: £750 per person
Single Supplement: £100
Deposit: £200 per person

Price Includes:  7 nights bed and breakfast accommodation at 4-star Hotels in Sofia, Plovdiv and Veliko Tarnovo, ten meals, airport transfers for suggested flights and a full itinerary with a Prospect Guide.

Travel: Please note that travel to and from Bulgaria is not included.  We can arrange and book your flights for you.

Suggested British Airways scheduled flight timings.