Bulgaria is extremely picturesque and diverse. But only tourists who have taken root in a beach lounger will not be able to appreciate all the advantages of this hospitable southern country. As a rule, very sunburned guests of Bulgaria complain of boredom, monotony and go further, to conquer Thailand. But those who spent their holidays in Bulgaria actively come back here again and again.
Queen Mary's palace
The ancient town of Balchik (translated from Greek - "clay city") inspires artists and delights tourists, mainly from Albena and Golden Sands. The palace of Mary, the Romanian queen, is located in Balchik, otherwise it is called the Quiet Nest. The palace was built at the beginning of the last century, from the 26th to the 37th year, and at that time the territory of Balchik belonged to the Romanians. Maria, the daughter of a German prince and a Russian princess, and the granddaughter of Queen Victoria of England, was distinguished by unconventional religious views and favored people of art. The palace itself is quite modest, but surrounded by picturesque landscapes and a well-kept botanical garden with incredible cacti.
Cape Kaliakra
Another tourist attraction is the legendary Cape Kaliakra. From the majestic cliff, towering 70 meters above sea level, a dizzying view opens up, somewhat similar to the Swallow's Nest. And there is also a restaurant at the top, but your meal will seem tastier and more romantic if you go around the entire cape up and down, explore the ancient fortress and find the General Ushakov Museum in one of the caves. And there is also no need to collect a herbarium, since some plant species are found only on the cape and nowhere else. But back to the legend. According to legend, 40 young girls tied their braids and jumped off the cliff into the Black Sea so as not to fall into slavery to the Turks who captured the cape. Have you fully satisfied your historical hunger? Now you can dine with small-scale food, since local fishermen supply their restaurants with night catch every day.
Museum town of Nessebar
This is the oldest town not only in Bulgaria, but throughout Europe. Nessebar was colonized many times and passed from hand to hand, a significant part of it went under water at all, but many ancient churches and cobbled alleys, as well as the statue of the goddess Hecate, made in the 3rd century BC, and a stone anchor celebrating its three thousandth day birth, have survived to this day. They feed the city, the main source of income of which is tourism. The old town has a "toy" size. Each square meter of Nessebar has been repeatedly captured in thousands of resort photographs, replicated in booklets advertising holidays in Bulgaria. If you want to take a good photo, get out on the excursion in the early morning. Later, after a hotel breakfast, hordes of tourists from Sunny Beach will come here, merchants of simple souvenirs will creep out of nowhere, the sun will warm the stones, and you will have only one way of escape - retreat to the sea.
Rila Monastery
Finally, we will visit the main Orthodox shrine in Bulgaria - the Rila Monastery. It is interesting from different points of view. Pilgrims come here to the relics of Ivan Rilski, the most revered saint in Bulgaria. Connoisseurs of architecture are inspired by the masterpiece of the Byzantine style, and simple curious tourists enjoy the amazingly beautiful landscapes around and try to breathe for the year ahead - the air is credited with healing power.
There are no world famous landmarks in Bulgaria such as the Louvre, the Leaning Tower of Pisa or the Egyptian pyramids. But there are unique places, historical, spiritual or natural, which make it possible to diversify resort holidays in Bulgaria. We have described some of them in this short article.
