If someone mentions Bulgaria, the first places that come to most people’s minds are Varna and Burgas. Of course, we could not miss these favourite touristic spots in our Bulgarian bucket list, so this time, we headed south – to Burgas.

Burgas is the fourth-largest city in Bulgaria, an important port with a strategic position on the southern part of the Bulgarian Black Sea. It is also easily accessible as from Kazanlak it takes less than 3 hours by train to reach it. Even though the city is enjoyable all year round, summer is probably the best time to visit it and experience streets full of life, tourists and locals wandering around the sea garden, sitting in the restaurant outside either in the city centre or at the seaside. And of course, the beach belongs to one of the main attractors and place, where many tourists and locals spend their vacation.

But it is not just Burgas that catches all the attention in this area. There are plenty of resorts as well, but we, not really resort-lovers, chose history and culture rather than crowded beaches – and that is why we went to Nesebar and Sozopol. To get to Nesebar, we took a bus that, after one hour, brought us to the Old Town of Nesebar. This little town is included in the List of World Cultural Heritage Sites of UNESCO, because of its great historical and cultural importance. From the windmill, the fortification, number of splendid churches, to the old houses with unique architecture, all of these carry tangible traces of certain parts of civilization that lived there. While admiring this picturesque town with its charming streets, I came up to the conclusion that, despite overpriced restaurants and cafés, I got really impressed by Nesebar.

Just 35 kilometres from Burgas, but in the other direction than Nesebar, is situated Sozopol. These two little towns are pretty much alike – both lying on the narrow peninsula, seaside resorts, old wooden houses with cobbled streets, rich history and romantic vibe are something they have in common. But Sozopol is probably not that crowded as its more popular ,,brother”. Especially in our case coming out of touristic season gave us unique opportunity to visit this, under normal circumstances, very touristy town without any tourists at all. And I have to confess that it undoubtedly had the charm.

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Adriána Čigášová