You must visit Plovdiv. It’s as simple as that. Plovdiv is my City of Love. I’ve been to Paris, more than once. There is something distinctly un-romantic about a large and bustling city with a worldwide reputation for romance. Prague, with its hidden underground wine cellars and whimsical clock, was closer. But Plovdiv fills me with a wonderful sense of romance. From the winding, cobblestoned streets that climb the tepeta, or hills, that make up the city; to the little flags that flutter in the wind above the neighborhood called Kapana, or “The Trap”; to the playful dancing of water in the Singing Fountains, Plovdiv could inform the world what it means to be a city of romance.
Set in the centre of Bulgaria, an Eastern European country little known by worldwide tourists, Plovdiv has yet to become the touristy hawker-markets that cities such as Rome and London have fallen victim to. And of course, given Bulgaria’s geographical proximity to Greece and Turkey, which both share borders with Bulgaria, you can expect the weather to be warm and inviting in the summer.
But that’s not all. If you needed more reasons for making Plovdiv your next vacation destination, I’ve got 8 of them for you. And enjoy the pictures along the way. After all, I took them especially for you.
Why You Must Visit Plovdiv: Number 8
Bulgaria is inexpensive.
Bulgaria’s two largest cities both have airports. These cities would be Bulgaria’s capital, Sofia, and Bulgaria’s capital of culture, Plovdiv. Unfortunately, Bulgaria is still a relatively small country. Its population is only 7 million, total! So we must excuse the country for not having an airport large enough to accommodate a Transatlantic airplane. Instead, you’ll need to fly into one of Europe’s hub cities and hop on a smaller vessel from there. Frankfurt, London, and Amsterdam all offer flights that are, on European budget airlines, less than $100 a ticket. You can fly to London on a sale ticket and hop on a budget airline to fly directly to Plovdiv, all for less than $300.
When travelling in Europe, we take advantage of Air B&B. We are definitely Air B&B experts! Bulgaria, in general, is amazing for Air B&B rentals, but Plovdiv offers the best accommodations for the best prices. For the past two years, we have stayed in the same apartment in the center of Plovdiv. Our apartment has a balcony on the top floor that overlooks the rooftops of the city. We have a clear view to Nebet Tepe, the hill of Plovdiv on which is situated Plovdiv’s iconic Stariat Grat, or Old Town. The main pedestrian street is just a block away from the apartment building. All of this, for a mere $43 per night. You can’t get any better than that.
Why You Must Visit Plovdiv: Number 7
Bulgarian food is amazing!
Seriously, Bulgarian food is amazing. I might be biased because I married a Bulgarian. But honestly, Bulgarian cuisine is based largely on fresh foods and grilled meats. Our quintessential go-to in Bulgaria is a three-course meal of heavenly goodness. First, we share a Shopska Salata, a salad made of fresh cucumbers, tomatoes, and red bell peppers, topped with crumbed feta cheese and drizzled with olive oil and vinegar.
For our second course, we share a plate of French fries topped with feta cheese. That might sound normal to you, but the Bulgarians have their own twist. Ask for presni purzheni kartofi, or “fresh fried potatoes”. These are potatoes sliced as if they were destined to become potato chips. Instead, they are briefly fried so that the outsides are crispy and the insides are hot and moist. Sus si-rene means “with cheese”, so if you want your fresh fried potatoes, ask for them like this: presni purzheni kartofi sus sirene. If you want them without cheese, ask for them bez sirene.
Our third and final course is either a serving of kufteta, or a sach. The best way to describe kufteta would be like a hamburger patty made of a combination of beef and pork. This combination keeps the meat juicy. You eat the patty with ketchup or a red bell pepper/tomato sauce known as liutenitsa. A sach, on the other hand, is a big clay plate sizzling with baked meats and veggies. There are many different types of sach¸ and oftentimes you can be served up to 700 grams of food… that’s more than a pound of food on one plate! So bring your appetites.
And did I mention that this bountiful feast, including a bottle of sparkling water and two beers, costs about $15? At that price, you will have more than enough for a gelato on your walk home.
Why You Must Visit Plovdiv: Number 6
Plovdiv is in the heart of Bulgaria’s wine country.
I know what you’re thinking. Bulgaria has a wine country? In fact, in the 1980’s, Bulgaria was the second largest producer of wine IN THE WORLD! And how could it not be? After all, mountain ranges form Bulgaria’s border on three sides, the Black Sea sits on its Eastern boundary, with a massive valley in the center of the country, between the northern range of Sredna Gora and the southern range of the Rhodope. It is in the middle of this valley that we find Plovdiv. And climbing up the hillsides of the mountains, we find Bulgaria’s many vineyards.
One could make a tour of the many different vineyards on Bulgaria. In fact, I plan to do this at some point in the future. But for now, you can start with Starosel, a vineyard resort that was built in 2012 atop an old Thracian temple to the Greek God Dionysus. (Did I mention that Roman ruins pepper the landscape of Bulgaria? But more on that later.)
Starosel has something for the whole family. First start with a tour of the resort’s open-air petting zoo, where you can meet and pet the resident herd of deer, chase down a sheep, build up the courage to meet the llama, and maybe even catch a glimpse of the wolves lurking in the fenced forest. All in all, this was one of the best experiences of the resort.
While the kids are playing away in the resort’s pool, descend belowground for a tasting of 7 different wines or 3 different rakias (Bulgaria’s national spirit) in a reconstruction of an actual Thracian temple. If you courageously decided to taste the wines and the rakias in one afternoon, you will probably need to stay the night. No worries, though. The kitchen turns out incredible traditional Bulgaria dishes. And of course, the next morning you can sip your coffee while a peacock tries to decide if you’re friend or foe. Convinced to pay Starosel a visit? Click here for more information from their website!
Bulgaria’s unique wines represent the best part of touring the wine country around Plovdiv. While Bulgarian wines use traditional French and Italian grapes, some of their best wine grapes are only found in Bulgaria, such as Mavrud or Dimyat. If you’re looking for an unparalleled way to experience wines found nowhere else in the world, make Plovdiv your starting point.
Why You Must Visit Plovdiv: Number 5
Plovdiv is the Cultural Capital of Europe for the year 2019!
In the EU, cities can enter and compete in a contest to be elected as the cultural capitals of Europe. Cities who win this distinction are not only promoted across Europe as a travel destination, but they are also granted a certain amount of money to fix landmarks, clean the cities, and make the cities more accessible to tourists. You can read more about the EU’s program here.
The result, for Plovdiv, has been a flourishing of the city’s cultural events.
Some of these events include plays and operas put on at Plovdiv’s famous ancient roman amphitheater. You can attend music concerts held in Plovdiv’s ancient roman stadium, the Thracian version of Rome’s Circo Massimo. And on the first weekend of June, a craft and music festival descends on Plovdiv’s artsy neighborhood, Kapana.
Head to the Singing Fountains of Plovdiv to watch the fountains come to life with a light and water show, choreographed to classical music. Sit in the minaret shadow of Dzumaya, Plovdiv’s 14th century Turkish mosque, and enjoy a Turkish coffee and a plate of Turkish Delight (called Lokum by Turks and Bulgarians alike). When it comes to cultural events and delights, you are limited only by your energy.
Why You Must Visit Plovdiv: Number 4
Plovdiv’s beautiful weather.
We go in the summertime. There is really no better time to visit Bulgaria. However, being that Bulgaria is so far south, it can be unbearably hot in the dead of summer. Our favorite time to visit is early June, or early September. You can expect to see cloudless blue skies and temperatures hovering around 80º. The geography of the valley keeps much of the heat in, so the temperatures don’t dip much lower at night, which means you can leave your sweater in your apartment without fear.
A fun thing about travelling to Plovdiv at the beginning of summer are the thunderstorms. Generally they arrive suddenly, unleash their fury quickly, and depart in a blink of an eye. When a thunderstorm ascends the stage, dip under a canopy for a beer or two and sit back to enjoy the sight. Lightening cracks in fantastic images against the rolling black clouds and thunder rumbles into your bowels. And just like that, by the time you’ve finished your beers, the thunderstorm has passed and you’re ready to return on your merry way.
Why You Must Visit Plovdiv: Number 3
Plovdiv’s Ancient History
Did you know that Plovdiv is the longest inhabited city in all of Europe? In fact, the region of Plovdiv has been continually inhabited since the Stone Age! Archeologists constantly discover new sights, new villages, new specimens. During the age of Imperial Greece, Plovdiv was the capital of Ancient Thrace, called Philipopolis. Just a leisurely stroll through Plovdiv’s streets will uncover roman ruins and ancient statues.
In the Archeology museum, you can find small specimens representing every epoch of human civilization going back to the very beginning. Spearheads and flintstones, crude iron blades and artifacts of jewelry, serving goblets and armor covered with silver and gold filament, beautiful religious texts from Plovdiv’s medieval era, signs of Plovdiv’s Turkish rule, and more.
It seems, therefore, that you can see the entire history of Western man within Plovdiv’s city walls. If you’re a glutton for history, you must visit Plovdiv.
Why You Must Visit Plovdiv: Number 2
The Accessibility of Plovdiv’s Sights
Not only are Plovdiv’s sights plentiful, many of them are actually free! One afternoon, while Simeon and I enjoyed a coffee in the shade cast by Dzumaya, overlooking the remains of the roman stadium, we were delightfully amused to watch children running among the columns of the ruins in a game of tag. How many centuries of children had played tag among those ruins? How many more would have the opportunity to use that ancient pillar as “home base”?
It was a beautiful thing to watch.
Yet that little anecdote describes so succinctly Plovdiv’s attractions. You can roam, at zero cost, around the coliseum, and sit on its benches to watch schoolchildren deliver memorized poems on the stage. You can wander into the stadium and have a light lunch at the café whose balcony winds between the ancient stone walls.
Take an afternoon and stroll up and down Plovdiv’s Old Town. The houses here are preserved in the style of the 18th and 19th centuries. During this period, Bulgaria was under Turkish rule, but in this city, Muslim Turks and Christian Bulgars lived side by side with Armenian immigrants and Western European merchants. As a result, you can still hear the songs of Armenian children as you walk past the Armenian school. Climb to the top of Nebet Tepe and gaze out over this ancient city.
The history of Plovdiv is at your fingertips.
Why You Must Visit Plovdiv: Number 1
Plovdiv is breathtakingly beautiful.
From the mixture of Roman, Turkish, neo-classical, communist, and modern architecture, to the linden trees that line the pedestrian street and fill Plovdiv with their fragrance, Plovdiv is breathtakingly beautiful. Each neighborhood of central Plovdiv has its charm.
In Kapana, tight streets winding amongst the smaller communist apartment blocks built in the 1920s and ‘30s hide a plethora of wine rooms, cafes, and boutiques. Tiny flags flutter above our heads, lending Kapana an air of whimsical romanticism.
At the heart of Plovdiv, the fountain in the town square mists children dancing on stage during Bulgaria’s annual Children’s Day celebrations. From morning until night, the many cafes lining the square are full with people, drinking coffee as the sun climbs high and cocktails as the sun slips down.
In the Old Town, tourists wander the cobbled streets and gaze at the painted neo-classical houses. Around the Ethnological Museum, situated in the preserved mansion of a rich merchant from the 19th century, children and tourists shuffle from room to room to gawk at the Victorian-era architecture.
And at the edge of Singing Fountains, Simeon and I sit together, gazing out across the playful dance of water, watching seagulls swoop and children run. We breathe in deeply, savoring the scent of the linden trees. From the Parisian style café at one end of the Singing Fountains floats the deep base of pop and house music. The roll of skateboard wheels echoes from within the depths of the park surrounding the fountains. As the sun sets, the fountains spring to life with the sound of Rachmaninov.
There is definitely no city as romantic as Plovdiv. I hope I’ve convinced you that you must visit Plovdiv!
What is your city of love?
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