Bulgaria tourist attractions include Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in Sofia, Euxinograd Summer Palace, Rila Monastery, Bansko mountain region, and the Sunny Beach on the Black Sea coast.
Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, in Sofia, is one of the most impressive Orthodox cathedrals in entire Europe.
It has also become one of the main landmarks and symbols of Sofia, similarly to, say, how Big Ben symbolizes London.
The cathedral was built in Byzantine Revival style, from 1882-1912, originally dedicated to the Russian soldiers who died at the Turkish war.
Inside the church, you’ll find a museum of Bulgarian religious icons, part of the country’s National Art Gallery collections.
The icon collection is, in fact, the largest collection of Orthodox icons in Europe.
Bulgaria tourist attractions also include Euxinograd Summer Palace, built in the late 19th century.
The building is a former royal palace, located about 8 km (5 miles) from Bulgaria’s third largest city, Varna.
The palace was built inspired by the French Château de Saint-Cloud, which is why Euxinograd is widely considered one of the best examples of French style palatial construction.
From the French palatial style, Euxinograd uses, for example…
- tall, metal-edged French roofs,
- shaped constructions tiles, and
- a French style bell tower.
Today, the palace is a Bulgaria tourist destination, but the place also periodically houses events for the Bulgarian Government and the country’s president.
In addition, Euxinograd serves as the event venue for the annual opera festival, Operosa (operosa.org).
Rila Monastery, on the other hand, which was founded in the 10th century AD, in one of Bulgaria’s most important cultural, historical, and architectural attractions.
Even though it was founded hundreds of years earlier, most of the monastery buildings are from 14th and 15th centuries.
During its history, Bulgaria has been occupied by foreign powers several times.
Through these periods, the monastery has acted as a cradle for the Bulgarian language and culture, and the main repository for the country’s treasures.
Highlights within the monastery include its gold-plated iconostasis, whose finishing and detailed carving took a total of four years, as well as the monastery frescoes, including artworks done by the famous brothers, Zahari Zograf and Dimitar Zograf.
Of the Bulgaria tourist attractions, Bansko mountain area includes a holiday village and a ski area within southern Bulgaria, at the foot of Pirin mountain, located about 925 m (3,034 ft) above sea level.
Over time, the region has gained a reputation as one of the best Eastern European ski and winter resorts.
Bansko’s popularity as a summer resort is also on the rise, due to the region’s mountain hiking possibilities and the numerous lakes that this idyllic area has.
A popular time to visit Bansko is during the annual Bansko Jazz Festival.
Another thing that brings tourists to the region is the village of Banyan, about 5 km (3.1 miles) from Bansko, world-famous for its 27 hot springs.
Finally, Sunny Beach within the Black Sea coast is the most developed Bulgarian tourism region, and also the most popular tourism destination in the country.
Sunny Beach, located about 35 km (21.7 miles) from the city of Burgas, has about…
- 800 hotels,
- 130 restaurants and
- numerous bars, pubs, nightclubs, discos, and cafes.
Highlights of the Sunny Beach are:
- its beaches and possibilities for water sports,
- the region’s nightlife,
- historic landmark of Nessebar, and
- the two nearby water parks.
Annually, Sunny Beach hosts several festivals, including “Golden Orpheus International Festival of Popular Song” and the “Decade of Symphonic Music“.