Plovdiv Packages/Deals & Travel Agents Near Me

18-night Cruise & Rail: Milan, Venice, Istanbul & The Balkans

Price: Please call for rates - # of Days: 18 days

 Package Details

16-night Cruise & Rail: Venice, Istanbul & The Balkans

Price: Please call for rates - # of Days: 16 days

 Package Details

11-Nights Balkan Explorer: Golden Eagle Danube Express - Luxury Tailor Made Travel

Price: $18,495 - # of Days: 11 days
Balkan Explorer: Golden Eagle Danube Express Exploration by rail is an inspiring addition to a Luxury Tailor Made Journey. The Golden Eagle Danube Express offers a variety of alternative routings and departure dates. Speak to your A&K Travel Consultant or your travel advisor to create a customiz...

 Package Details

9-Nights Bulgaria + Romania

Price: $4,999 - # of Days: 9 days
Bulgaria + Romania With our engaging native-born guides and a congenial group of never more than 16 guests, our unique itinerary plumbs the rich heritage, colorful stories and UNESCO World Heritage Sites of this often overlooked corner of Europe. .

 Package Details

Overview

Introduction

Plovdiv, about 95 mi/155 km southeast of Sofia, is magnificent. It is Bulgaria's second-largest city and one of Bulgaria's most famous and visited destinations. It is also one of the few cities that still contains its original medieval town center. Called Trimontium, or "Three Hills," by the Romans who left behind many remains of their existence there, Old Plovdiv is so charming that acclaimed Chilean poet Pablo Neruda once remarked, "Old Plovdiv should be covered with a glass dome and declared a museum town."

The city is a delightful mishmash of cultural and architectural styles. Within the ancient city (said to be 8,000 years old and one of the oldest cities in the world) lie a number of ruins, including a Roman amphitheater that was restored after 1977 and seats crowds of 3,000 for summer concerts.

Besides Roman ruins (some right on the main pedestrian mall), there are Turkish mosques, beautifully designed old houses and excellent museums. Especially interesting are the Ethnographical Museum, which is ornately decorated on the outside; the Archaeological Museum, opened in 1882, that carefully chronicles the area's long history; and the Bulgarian Museum of Aviation, located near the airport.

Walk the hilly cobblestoned streets of Old Plovdiv, which has wonderful examples of Bulgaria's National Revival architecture, as well as galleries and some of the best restaurants in the country. Plovdiv is an artistic center, with lots of talented young artists—many sell their work on the street.

About 20 mi/30 km south of Plovdiv is the 11th-century Eastern Orthodox Byzantine Bachkovo Monastery, with its beautiful churches and murals (look closely at the saints' garments in the central church's frescoes—you'd swear they have texture). Allow a half-day for this side trip (go on Sunday morning, if you like crowds, when the atmosphere is most lively).

Long day trips can also be taken to Smolyan and nearby Pamporovo Ski Resort—60 mi/100 km south of Plovdiv—or to Valley of Roses, 60 mi/100 km northeast of Plovdiv.