City Tour of Sofia, Alexander Nevsky Cathedral and Boyana church *UNESCO
Full day exploring Sofia, the capital city of Bulgaria. We will discover a city with 7000 years of long history, concentrating on numerous cultural and historic monuments from different periods. We will visit Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, the St. George Rotunda from the 4th century, the St.Sofia Basilica, the ruins of the ancient city Serdica.
Further we drive to Boyana Church, located on the outskirts of Sofia,
The church consists of three buildings. The Eastern Church was built in the 10th century, then enlarged at the beginning of the 13th century by Sebastocrator Kaloyan, who ordered a second two storey building to be erected next to it. The frescoes in this second church, painted in 1259, make it one of the most important collections of medieval paintings. The ensemble is completed by a third church, built at the beginning of the 19th century. This site is one of the most complete and perfectly preserved monuments of east European medieval art.
Another dinner in a local restaurant in Sofia and overnight.

SOFIA – RILA MONASTERY*UNESCO – Plovdiv
This morning we transfer to the Rila Monastery from the 10th century, one of UNESCO World Heritage site, the largest and the most impressive Bulgarian monastery. We will have a tour of the monastery complex, church and museum with its lavish collection of precious old manuscripts, icons, jewelry, masterpieces of woodcarving, ethnographic exhibition of fabrics and carpets.
After the visits we transfer towards Plovdiv, one of the most ancient cities in Europe and in the world. Sightseeing of the Old town of Plovdiv with National Revival architecture and excavations from Roman times. Visit of the ancient Roman theatre with impressive marble statues, decorative columns and arcades.
The ancient city of Plovdiv is on UNESCO tentative list since 2014. Dinner and overnight in Plovdiv.

Plovdiv – Kazanlak *UNESCO – Nessebar *UNESCO
This morning we transfer towards the town of Nessebar, a city located on Bulgaria’s Black Sea coas, and part of UNESCO heritage.
We drive through Kazanlak – known as the city of Roses and the center of the Valley of Thracian Kings. Here we visit the Museum of Roses and the Thracian Tomb of Kazanlak – a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1979. Discovered in 1944, this tomb dates from the Hellenistic period, around the end of the 4th century BC. It is a unique aesthetic and artistic work, a masterpiece of the Thracian creative spirit. This monument is the only one of its kind anywhere in the world. The exceptionally well preserved frescos and the original condition of the structure reveal the remarkable evolution and high level of culture and pictorial art in Hellenistic Thrace.
Arriving in Nessebar, we will take walk on the cobbled streets of the old town, lined with ruins such as Byzantine-era fortifications and baths, and providing panoramic sea views.
According to historical documents, Nessebar had 40 churches, but now are found only 23 of them.
The ruins of the 5th-century Church of St. Sofia include stone columns and large arched windows. The 11th-century Church of St. Stephen houses hundreds of mural paintings and a huge, richly decorated altarpiece.

Nessebar – Varna
Today we transfer to Varna, another seaside resort on Bulgaria’s Black Sea, next to the coastal resorts of Golden Sands, St. Konstantin and Albena. Varna is famous for the “Gold of Varna,” 6,000-year-old Thracian jewelry discovered in a necropolis, which is displayed inside the Archaeological Museum, along with Greek, Roman and Ottoman antiquities. We will visit the Archaeological Museum. We enjoy the visit in the city center, dinner and overnight in Varna.

Varna – Madara – Svestari * UNESCO – Russe
This morning we transfer to the city of Russe.
Along the way we stop in Madara and visit the Madara Rider. The Madara Rider, representing the figure of a knight triumphing over a lion, is carved into a 100-m-high cliff near the village of Madara in north-east Bulgaria. Madara was the principal sacred place of the First Bulgarian Empire before Bulgaria’s conversion to Christianity in the 9th century. The inscriptions beside the sculpture tell of events that occurred between AD 705 and 801.
We continue driving towards Sveshtari, where we can visit the Sveshtari Thracian Tomb, another UNESCO monument. The unique architectural décor of the tomb includes 10 female figures carved in the walls and painted murals, a remarkable example of the culture of the Thracian people.
In the afternoon we arrive in Russe and take a walking tour in the city center.
Russe is on the most elegant cities in Bulgaria, with a belle époque architecture, its churches and its roman fortress. Overnight in Russe.

Russe – Village of Ivanovo – Veliko Tarnovo
This morning we transfer to the valley of the Roussenski Lom River, in north east Bulgaria, a complex of rock-hewn churches, chapels, monasteries and cells developed in the vicinity of the village of Ivanovo. This is where the first hermits had dug out their cells and churches during the 12th century. The 14th-century murals testify to the exceptional skill of the artists belonging to the Tarnovo School of painting. They are an important achievement in the Christian art of South-Eastern Europe. Neo-classical in spirit and in elements of their subjects, the frescoes represent a departure from the canons of Byzantine iconography.
We visit the main church, before starting our transfer towards Veliko Tarnovo. we take a guided tour of Veliko Tarnovo, where we can take a walk on Samovodska Charshiya, the traditional arts and crafts street and visit to Tsarevets hill, an impressive sight with medieval fortifications and dramatic architecture. We will visit the Tsarevest Fortress, the symbol of Veliko Tarnovo. It is the former rezidence of the medieval tsars, and hosts the remains of more than 400 houses, 18 churches, the royal palace, an execution rock and more. Thracians and Romans used it as a defensive position, but the Byzantines built the first significant fortress here between the 5th and 7th centuries AD. Dinner and overnight in Veliko Tarnovo.

Arbanassi – Veliko Tarnovo
This morning we drive towards Sofia, stopping first in the museum town of Arbanassi
We will visit the 15th century church of the Nativity and the Konstantsaliev’s house, an 18th century architectural masterpiece. Afternoon with Dinner and overnight in Sofia.

Sofia Airport
Morning in Sofia and transfer to the airport for the return flight.