Bulgaria Cultural Tours

For its over thirteen centuries history, Bulgaria has given the rest part of the world a really huge variety of great achievements - mysterious Thracian treasures and burial tombs, magnificent frescos and many other brilliant examples of ancient applied arts. Most traditional Bulgarian festivals and customs date back to ancient times when people usually tried to appease the natural elements and trembled before their power. That is why, every foreigner would undoubtedly enjoy Bulgarian folklore, full of beauty, mirth, mystical voices, fiery dances and brightly colored costumes. So, most cultural trips in Bulgaria today are really various as purpose and places to be visited. The great number of these tours begins in Sofia with visiting the Alexander Nevski Catedral and Boyana Church, included in the UNESCO list of World Cultural and Historical Heritage.

Most foreigners really enjoy the attractive dinner in different traditional Bulgarian restaurants with a live fire dancing performance on their arriving in our country. Barefooted dancers performing on burning embers is a typical religious and quite mystical ritual for health, fruitfulness and expelling illness. The village of Oreshak is another interesting place, approximately near to Sofia. You will usually experience some pleasant moments on the Permanent national exhibition of folk art in Oreshak where you could find some particular traditional works of Bulgarian culture, such as a small carved wooden wine vessel, a Troyan pottery set, a fleecy Rhodope rug, an original piece of silver jewellery, a finely embroidered silk blouse or a colourful carpet.

Another lovely and pleasant places for you, if you are interested in the traditional crafts here could be Bojenci, Gabrovo and Etara open air ethnographic museum. But the most attractive destination for the different foreign residents remains Veliko Tarnovo with its unique and warm spiritual atmosphere. In the evening it will be worth for you to look at the special "The son et lumiere" - spectacular show, designed to tell the history of Tsarevets. Other interesting places in this region are Shipka historical museum, Shipka Church and the town of Kazanlak. Its main attraction is the Museum of Bulgarian oleaginous rose that yields seventy percent of the worldwide attar of roses used by every perfume company all over the world.

Additional Options for Bulgaria Cultural Tours

A huge variety of interesting and extraordinary cultural vacations, monastery tours, historical sites trips, architectural reserves vacations, natural phenomena sightseeing, eco tourism, congress tourism, passive recreation, and rehabilitation could already be found online at extremely good price. Many Bulgarian villages have preserved their traditional houses and genuine spirit and have their doors open to those willing to try different Bulgarian traditions and delicious local meals. This cozy Bulgarian village atmosphere can be experienced in Koprivshtitsa, Bozhentsi, Arbanassi, Elena, Ribaritsa, Kovachevitsa, Byala Cherkva, Zheravna, Kotel, the village of Voneshta Voda near Veliko Tarnovo, Buinovtsi, Miikovtsi near Elena in the Balkan Rangem, the village of Batovo, Sokolovo, Strazhitsa, Topola, Balgarevo, Kamen bryag, Tyulenovo, Kardan, Preseltsi, Krassen and others in northeast Bulgaria.

Usually foreign guests to Bulgaria may become acquainted with the ancient production activities in these lands, such as production of wine, attar of roses or to participate in a course in traditional Bulgarian craftsmanship - embroidery, knitting, wood-carving, and pottery. Such acquaintance with traditional crafts, and brief demonstrations are typically offered in the Etara open-air ethnographic museum near Gabrovo, Kulata museum in Kazanluk, the old town of Plovdiv and Bansko. Travelers to Bulgaria could also choose their favourite events from a rich cultural calendar and always have the opportunity to attend prestigious international cinema, opera and ballet festivals. Over 30 000 historical monuments, thirty-six culture reserves, 160 monasteries, 330 museums and galleries are a prerequisite for cultural tourism in Bulgaria.

A huge diversity of interesting pre-historical findings, Thracian tombs, artifacts from the Greek epoch, Roman fortifications, ancient monuments from the times of the First and the Second Bulgarian Kingdom, architectural landmarks from the period of the Revival have also shaped the whole outlook of many towns and villages - Plovdiv, Veliko Tarnovo, Arbanassi, Bojentsi, Zheravna, Tryavna, Kovachevitsa, Leshten, Shiroka Luka, Dolen and etc. The 160 orthodox monasteries, placed in beautiful and picturesque natural landscapes, some twenty of which open for tourist stay, are also important factor for the development of religious tourism. The Rila monastery, Rozhen monastery, Zemen monastery, Bachkovo monastery, Trojan monastery, Aladja monastery, Preobrazhenski monastery, are among the most often popular and beloved monasteries here.