News

  Sit in a cafe on one of Veliko Tarnovo's terraces, jutting out from a green hillside like tiers of theatre seats, and you understand why Tsar Peter II decided to put Bulgaria's capital here. Beyond the Yantra river, curling around the base of one of the biggest fortresses in the Balkans, lies fertile farmland and the thickly wooded foothills of the Stara Planina mountains - a barrier that would have stopped any medieval warlord in his tracks.

  While Tarnovo's historic centre was protected under Communism, its outskirts are still littered with disused factories and other relics of a command economy. But the city is emerging from shabbiness. A gleaming brewery, newly renovated hotels and traffic jams in steep, cobbled streets all suggest that investment in Bulgaria is no longer restricted to Sofia, its modern capital, and its Black Sea resorts. New jobs in tourism and services are helping reduce unemployment. And unlike many provincial cities that have suffered massive emigration by young people, Tarnovo has a lively nightlife, thanks to the presence of 10,000 students at Saints Cyril and Methodius University.

  Three important projects for the 2007 season for Johnson Controls Neige in Central Europe and the one that concerns Bulgaria is located in the ski resort of Pamporovo. This represents the very first snowmaking installation in this market for our company. The project includes over 20 snow producers, RUBIS type, which will be spread along a 1.7 km trail.

  Approximately 5000 tourists more have visited Belogradchik in the first half of 2007 compared to the same period in 2006.

  This is a nearly double increase of the tourist flow compared to last year.

  Most Bulgarian and foreign tourists accept the Bulgarian seaside as golden sand, nice beaches, sea resorts, big or small hotels, hot summer, parties, taverns and night clubs. This is an excellent way to spend your summer holiday in Bulgaria, but there is also a different seaside, with rocky, unapproachable and almost sinister shores, which are extremely beautiful, romantic, and tempting. The story is about the coastline north of cape Kaliakra. 

  The summer resort Kiten is situated on a small peninsula, about 50 km south of Burgas. During the summer season, this small pretty town is full of visitors, who have come to spend their holiday there. We also had some unforgettable nights in Kiten, followed by some relaxing days on the beach. But we are not going into details of our sweet memories, because the best moments are still to come. We shall only tell you about this wonderful site, the fine sand, the sun and the sea.

  To plough the blue waves of the Black sea on board of a luxury yacht…to berth in a nestling bay or anchor at a modern marina, just to enjoy the fascinating nature around, and the local architecture in the vicinities… to have a romantic candle dinner on board of a nice sailing boat…these are just part of the numerous temptations for yachtsmen, coming to enjoy sailing in beautiful Bulgaria.

  During summer they sail all over the Black Sea in search of adventures and new sensations. The Black sea travels bring many yacht lovers to the Bulgarian Coastline, which offers excellent opportunities for yachting tourism.

  When we talk about holydays at the Bulgarian Black Seaside, Lozenets is one of the top resorts, most recently mentioned nowadays. It is a small, pretty village situated on the sea shore, 60 km south of Bourgas. Lozenets is a perspective site and it is on its way to become a summer oasis, ready to entertain everybody, who is greedy for summer emotions.

  The commercial resorts in Bulgaria became really overcrowded and many of the summer tourists started searching for quiet places. Thus Lozenets turned into cosy sea resort. The citizens of the capital city Sofia were the first to come to the resort. Many artists like the famous Bulgarian jazz singer Beloslava bought villas there, in order to be inspired by the calmness and the romance of Lozenets.

   An ancient tourist route of the Greeks and Bulgarians will be reopened again between Chepelare and Avdira. This will soon become possible thanks to the project “The Ancient Road in the Rhodopes – a Road taking Chepelare and Avdira to their future”, which amounts to 174 789 Euro. It is financed by the program PHARE – Trans-border cooperation between Bulgaria and Greece "Stimulation of the cultural, tourist and human resources in the trans-border region".

  The contractor of the project is the Municipality of Chepelare in cooperation with its Greek counterparts from Avdira, as well as the Rhodopes Municipalities Association, the Regional Tourist Association “Rhodopes” and the Bulgarian Alliance for Protection of the Rhodopes.

  The purpose of the project is not only the restoration of the ancient Roman road in the region, but also the restoration of that particular part of the Rhodopes mountain as an attractive destination for alternative tourism – cultural, ecological, country tourism, etc. The project will introduce the best European practices and will strengthen the cooperation between the two municipalities from the two sides of the border.

  It may not be at the seaside and it may not be in the mountains, but Plovdiv remains true to its image as The cultural city in Bulgaria.

  The Old Town in the city bears the spirit of the past two centuries almost untouched, and it takes only a few minutes’ walk on the paved narrow streets to feel the “old artistic” atmosphere that lingers from the city’s past. The past, and how it influences the present, is a key theme in Plovdiv. Apart from Greece, Plovdiv is the only place in the world where you can watch opera in a genuine 2nd century CE ancient theatre. This year, visitors can enjoy the XXI Opera Festival, June 20 to July 12. Three operas and one operetta will be performed on the renovated stage of the theatre, perhaps the best setting for such performances. Johan Strauss’s Gypsy Baron will make its debut at the event on July 4 and July 5 and on July 12, Verdi’s trademark Aida will be the closing performance. Both performances will be in the original languages in which the works were written.

  In the past few years, Balchik was undeservedly overshadowed by the popularity of its northern neighbour Kavarna and the numerous rock concerts which take place there every summer.

  This, however, does not mean that Balchik has little to offer to visitors. The relatively quiet beaches of the town and the shape of the harbour and the bay conjure up the time of Greek mythology. The place is suitable for everyone with a yacht and a desire to voyage by sea. The botanical garden and the summer residence of Romania’s Queen Marie (dating from the times when Balchik was in Romanian hands between the two world wars) are the town’s trademarks.