This is the first from a series of guest posts from travelers we know and love from around the world. Today Dia is telling us about Veliko Tarnovo, an off the beaten track city in Bulgaria. Follow Dia’s travel adventures and wanders on her blog (Romanian).

Veliko Tarnovo is a breath of fresh air. Is easy to get there from Bucharest or even from Sofia. From Bucharest it’s something like a 3 hour drive with at least a short break included. And From Sofia.. I think it’s like a 4 hour drive. And from Sofia you can also take the bus from “Centralna avtogara”.

Veliko Tarnovo

For Romanians is like a second Sighisoara closer to home. Veliko Tarnovo or the city of the tsars as it’s sometimes called is a medieval city, dating back since the first Bulgarian Empire. But I won’t go all historical on you, there are books for that.

Let’s start with a few recommendations.

Where to Stay

This has never been a problem in V.T. It’s easy to find a nice deal in a small hotel or in a B&B, or even an apartment (most of the times they are the best deal, especially if your booking for a 4+ group). I can recommend with all my heart the hotel Stambolov.

Where to Eat:

Best place in town is Shtastlivetsa. It’s the classiest restaurant with an awesome view of the city and of Gurko Street. They serve the best pizza ever! But be careful! The big pizza is really quite big, for at least 2 people.

And there are also the Ego restaurants. They also have very good food and I am happy to say that also fast service. You will surely not regret entering there. There are 3-4 restaurants around town.

And also don’t forget to try the Ice cream from Raffy. You will mostly find them on the street. But they are the best you can find in Bulgaria. I know that normally you can find this near the Post Office, near to Square “Maika Balgaria”.

Veliko Tarnovo

What to Eat:

Bulgarian cuisine has a lot of similar dishes with other neighbouring countries like Romania and Greece. It’s hard to tell in the Balkans what belongs to who. So here are a few dishes that will surely delight you during your trip to Veliko Tarnovo:

1. Tarator is a cold soup (popular in the summertime in Albania, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Turkey). It is made of yogurt, cucumbers, garlic, walnuts, dill, vegetable oil, and water, and is served chilled or even with ice.
2. Lukanka is a Bulgarian spicy salami unique to Bulgarian cuisine.
3. Lyutenitsa is a national relish of Bulgaria, Macedonia, Romania and Serbia. It is known under different names but it basically has the same ingredients and it’s used as an appetizer. The ingredients include tomatoes, peppers, onion, garlic, black pepper, vegetable oil, sugar and salt.
4. Shkembe chorba is kind of tripe soup. It contains cattle stomach and it is a traditional for the Balkans. Tripe is the thick lining of the stomach of cattle, well cleaned for human consumption. Shkembe chorba is made with milk; garlic, vinegar, and chili peppers are often added as seasoning.
5. Shopska Salad is a traditional Bulgarian cold salad popular throughout the Balkans. It is made from tomatoes, cucumbers, onion, raw or roasted peppers (preferably roasted), and sirene (white brine cheese).
6. Moussaka. All versions are based primarily on sautéed eggplant (aubergine) and tomato, usually with minced meat. The Greek version, which is the best-known outside the region, includes layers of meat and aubergine topped with a white sauce and baked. There are also variants with zucchini, carrots and potatoes. The Bulgarian version uses potatoes instead of aubergines.
7. Kebapche is a Bulgarian dish of grilled minced meat with spices. The meat is shaped into an elongated cylindrical form, similar to a hot dog‘s. Typically, a mix of pork and beef is used, although some recipes involve only pork. The preferred spices are black pepper, cumin and salt.
8. Banitsa is a traditional Bulgarian pastry prepared by layering a mixture of whisked eggs and pieces of sirene between filo pastry and then baking it in an oven. Banitsa is served for breakfast with plain yogurt. Some varieties include banitsa with spinach or the sweet version, banitsa with milk or pumpkin.
9. Sweets : Baklava, Kadaif and Halva.

And I would recommend you the best wine in Bulgaria, MAVRUD.  Unfortunately you can find it only dry and maybe semi-dry.  But for ladies a good option is a white Targovishte or No man’s Land.

Veliko Tarnovo

What to See:

1.Tsarevets is a medieval stronghold located on the hill bearing the same name in the city of Veliko Tarnovo. It served as the Second Bulgarian Empire‘s primary fortress and strongest bulwark from 1185 to 1393, housing the royal and the patriarchal palaces, and is a popular tourist attraction. It’s all very well kept, and you have a lot of ground to cover once you are inside. Entrance is 2 or 4 leva. And it’s open daily.

2. “St. Fourty Martyrs” Church” It is located in Assenova mahala, just next to Tsarevets. It was built and its walls were painted during the reign of Bulgarian king Ivan Assen II.

3. The light and sound show is usually held on weekends but during summer it can be every night if there are large groups in town. This is usually organized for 30+ people. It’s a wonderful show that lasts around 20 minutes, when all the lights on that part of town are darkened.

4. The Archeological Museum, which keeps numerous founds and remains of the ancient history of these lands

5. Samovodska Charshia, the old trade street which sheltered skilful craftsmen through the Revival Period and even today many of the houses and the workshops are fully restored.

6. The Museum of the Bulgarian Revival and the Constituent Assembly, located in the old Ottoman municipal building built by Nikola Fichev

7. The House with the Monkey

8. Gurko Street, an illustration of Bulgarian Revival architectural style where it is possible to visit the Sarafkina House. It’s a beautiful street from where you can see a different view of the city.

9. Church of St. Constantine and Helena, with panoramic view over the Yantra River and the Asens’ Monument

10. Stambolov’s Bridge, which is the way to the Asens’ Monument and the City Art Gallery

11. Preobrazhenski Monastery is the biggest of the monasteries around Veliko Turnovo and the fourth largest in the country. It lies at a distance of 6 km from Veliko Turnovo, below the caves in the cliffs which surround the Belyakovo Plateau.

Veliko Tarnovo

Veliko Tarnovo is strategically placed in the middle of the country. From here there are a lot of other nice places to visit depending on your time and desire. So even if you don’t have a car, you can easily do the 1 day trips, because VT has a lot of minibuses leaving in all directions several times per day!

1 day trips:

1. Dryanovo Monastery

2. Small city of Tryavna

3. Village Museum Etara, near the city of Gabrovo

4. Elena

5. Bojentsi

2-3 days trips:

1. Shoumen and around (Pliska, Veliki Preslav)

2. A sort of a tour through the cities Kazanlak – Kalofer – Karlovo – Sopot  – Troyan – Lovech

Veliko Tarnovo

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