Visit Bulgaria’s Plovdiv

As the oldest, continuously inhabited city in Europe there is a lot of history lingering on the streets of Plovdiv. Located on the Balkan Peninsula between Europe and Asia meant that many travellers passed through over the ages. A visit to Bulgaria’s Plovdiv allows you to explore the array of buildings and monuments left behind from these earlier civilizations.

The first known occupants of this area were the Thracians in the 6th century BCE. Since then it has been home to Romans, Byzantines, Bulgars, Ottomans and Soviets, among others. Old Town Plovdiv is located on three small hills; Nebet Tepe, Taksim Tepe, and Dzhambaz Tepe. These three hills have been points of interest for the ruling empires for centuries and give the Old Town a unique feel.

Plovdiv
Plovdiv

Begin your exploration on the city’s long pedestrian street called Knyaz Alexander Battenberg I. Commonly called Glavnata (Main Street), this lively area has a good sampling of 19th and 20th centuries buildings. With a combination of Soviet, Ottoman and Bulgarian Revival buildings, it’s a great introduction to the varied history of this country. Most of those buildings have been converted to stores and restaurants making it a popular place for locals.

Old Town
Old Town
Glavnata
Glavnata
Djhumaya Mosque
Djhumaya Mosque
Soviet mural
Soviet mural

The city was called Philippopolis in Roman times and you can still find remnants of this era beneath the streets of Old Town. Roman ruins including the large Ancient Stadium and Forum of Philippopolis have been uncovered are now on display in the middle of this walking street. A little outside of Old Town, a 1st century Roman theatre lies on the side of one of the hills. Apparently, Theatre of Philippi is one of the best-preserved ancient theatres in the world.

Forum of Philippopolis
Forum of Philippopolis
Ancient Stadium of Philippopolis
Ancient Stadium of Philippopolis
Theatre of Philippi
Theatre of Philippi

Plovdiv’s Old Town gave us our first glimpse into Bulgarian Revival architecture. Beginning as a ground level movement in the late 1700s, Bulgarians wanted to reclaim their heritage that had been lost under 500 years of Ottoman rule. By the 19th century, Plovdiv merchants began to acquire wealth and built mansions in what they considered a unique Bulgarian style. These wooden homes have an overhanging upper floor and a carved support beam between the upper and lower levels. They are often colourfully painted and have detailed features carved into the wooden trim. To us, they still looked quite similar to the Ottoman houses we saw in Turkey. The main differences were the colours and the curved, rather than straight, support beams.

You can see the Ottoman architecture in our post Cumalıkızık – Historic Ottoman Village.

Bulgarian Revival Architecture
Bulgarian Revival Architecture
Bulgarian Revival Architecture
Bulgarian Revival Architecture
Regional Ethnographic Museum
Regional Ethnographic Museum
Bulgarian Revival Architecture
Bulgarian Revival Architecture

During the revival movement large, embellished churches were built. One of the oldest churches in Plovdiv is located on the site where Severin and Memnos were beheaded for spreading the Christian faith in the 4th century. The original church that was built on this spot fell into disrepair during the Ottoman rule. In the 1800s, a large new church was built. St. Konstantin & Elena Church is the perfect example of the ornate decorations used in revival churches. Its interior glitters from the amount of gold on the altar and pulpit. At the front, golden frames surround portraits of Orthodox saints and patriarchs. Walls on the building’s exterior are painted with depictions of stories from the Bible.

St. Konstantin & Elena Church
St. Konstantin & Elena Church
St. Konstantin & Elena Church
St. Konstantin & Elena Church

A few blocks away we found another interesting church. St. Nedelya Church was originally built in 1700s, but that building was demolished. A mid 19th century Revival church replaced it. On the outside it doesn’t look very impressive, but inside is another story. At the front, an intricately carved wooden alter will take your breath away. It demonstrates the skill of the woodworkers during the revival period.

St. Nedelya Church
St. Nedelya Church
St. Nedelya Church
St. Nedelya Church
St. Nedelya Church
St. Nedelya Church

On top of Sahat Tepe (hill) is an old clock tower. We arrived at noon just as the bell on top of the 16th century tower started to ring. A minute of two later a man came out of the small door on the front of the tower. It was so heart warming to see that the old bell is still rung by hand. The clock from the tower is now in a museum in town.

The tower is nice, but what’s even nicer are the views you get from there of the city below.

Clock Tower
Clock Tower
Plovdiv
Plovdiv

Day Trips from Plovdiv

Bachkovo Monastery

Nestled in the Rhodope Mountains south of Plovdiv is a large Bulgarian Orthodox Monastery. Bachkovo Monastery was originally established in the 11th century by Georgian monks. Unfortunately only one of these original buildings remain. The rest of the complex dates from the 17th and 19th centuries.

We entered through a large, stone wall with a rounded arched entryway.

Bachkovo Monastery
Bachkovo Monastery

On the other side of that gate is a serene courtyard edged by two and three-story buildings. Pastel frescoes adorn their walls. Many of the rooms are monks’ residence as it is still an active monastery.

Bachkovo Monastery
Bachkovo Monastery
Bachkovo Monastery
Bachkovo Monastery

Cathedral Church of the Virgin Mary is a large stone church that takes up most of the courtyard’s interior. Inside the church, the walls are painted in dark colours that make the golden decorations stand out even more. Frescoes of Christian stories as well as portraits of saints and patriarchs emblazon the walls. The altar is a golden wonder with sparkling frames around the portraits and a large golden chandelier in the centre. The dark walls and golden glitter are a stark contrast to the pastel paintings in the courtyard outside. 

The monastery is a pilgrimage site and there were four or five people sitting along the edge of the room praying.

Bachkovo Monastery
Bachkovo Monastery
Bachkovo Monastery
Bachkovo Monastery
Bachkovo Monastery
Bachkovo Monastery
Bachkovo Monastery
Bachkovo Monastery

Entrance fee – Free; Opening Hours – 7am to 7pm

If you like Bachkovo Monastery, you will really enjoy Rila Monastery that we visited next. You can read about it in our post Rila Monastery & Rila 7 Lakes Trek.

Getting to the Monastery

If you have a car it is an easy drive to the monastery. It is also possible by public transportation. Buses leave Plovdiv for Asenovgrad, from the South Bus station. From there you can take the bus that runs between Asenovgrad to Smolyan and get off at the monastery which is 1 kilometer past Bachkovo village. The buses are not frequent though so taking a taxi from Asenovgrad may be easier. There are also tours from Plovdiv that include both the monastery and Asen’s Fortress. You can easily visit both the monastery and the fortress on the same day.

Asen’s Fortress

Precariously perched on a rocky cliff above Asenitsa River gorge are the remains of an old fortress and church. Originally built by the Thracians in the 5th century BCE, the fortress was expanded by Romans and then Byzantines. In the 13th century, Tsar Asen of the 2nd Bulgarian Empire added to it and lent his name to the complex.  

Asen's Fortress
Asen’s Fortress

Below the fortress is the best preserved building on the site. The medieval Church of the Holy Mother of God has a great location on the edge of the steep cliffs. You can enter the church to see a few examples of 13th century Orthodox artwork on the second floor. The frescoes are badly damaged, but you can make out details in a few images.

Church of the Holy Mother of God
Church of the Holy Mother of God

Above the church are the fortress ruins. All that’s left are a few half walls but from them you are treated to lovely views of the town of Asenovgrad and the church below.

Church of the Holy Mother of God
Church of the Holy Mother of God
Asenovgrad
Asenovgrad

There are several chapels in this area. Below the fortress is a hiking trail to Sveti Atanasii Chapel. Another is a kilometer or so before the fortress. A faint trail leads up a short way to the small Parish Church of St. Ilya. 

Parish Church of St. Ilya
Parish Church of St. Ilya
Sveti Atanasii Chapel
Sveti Atanasii Chapel

Entrance fee – 3 BGN ($1.60 USD); Opening Hours – 9 am to 6 pm

Getting to Asen’s Fortress

If you have a car it is an easy drive to the fortress. It is also possible by public transportation. Buses leave Plovdiv for Asenovgrad, from the South Bus station. From Asenovgrad you can take a taxi or walk 3 km to the fortress. There are also tours from Plovdiv that include both the fortress and Bachkovo Monastery. You can easily visit both the fortress and monastery on the same day.

How to get to Plovdiv

Plovdiv is Bulgaria’s second largest city so is easy to reach. You can fly into they city’s international airport or reach it from Sofia and a few other towns by train. Buses run between Plovdiv and large cities including Istanbul and Sofia. Smaller, local villages are reached by minibus.

Getting to many of the small, mountain communities in Bulgaria is not as easy by public transportation so renting a car is often a better option. Visitors from almost any country outside of the EU need to show a physical copy of their international driver’s permit. A digital copy is not enough. Car rental agencies are very strict with this rule.

Where to stay and eat in Plovdiv

There are many hotels and restaurants in Old Town. Try to stay within walking distance to Glavnata pedestrian street or in the bohemian Kapana District which is filled with outdoor cafes.

Kapana District
Kapana District
Kapana District
Kapana District

Tip – There is not a lot of English spoken in Bulgaria and they use the Cyrillic Alphabet. It would be wise to have your destinations written in Cyrillic before leaving your hotel. Google Lens is very helpful to translate written material such as menus.

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To read more of our adventures in Bulgaria click here.

Coming Next – Rila Monastery & 7 Rila Lakes Trek

For pictures from other blogs go to Gallery at monkeystale.ca

To read about more of our adventures go to Destinations.

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91 comments

  • We loved Plovdiv when we visited last year. We hava a small painting of the buildings in our Beast as a memento. Thank you for sharing your lovely photos, I recognise so many of the buildings as we stayed there for quite a while. It’s a wonderful city to just get lost in and follow your nose!

    Liked by 1 person

  • Plovdiv is such a unique city to visit! I love all the architecture and how you can see remnants of different time periods throughout. All the woodworking in St. Nedelya Church sure is impressive!

    Liked by 1 person

    • The woodwork in the little church was more breathtaking than the Golden ones to me. It is great city for history and architecture lovers. Thanks Lyssy!

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  • I’m glad to see the Ancient ruins. They are features that make Bulgaria more attractive as a destination because that country has never been on my bucket list until now.

    Liked by 1 person

  • I enjoyed revisiting Plovdiv virtually with you, so much so that I’m thinking a return trip with my husband (I was with Virtual Tourist friends last time) would be a good idea 🙂 I saw most of what you describe but managed to miss St. Nedelya Church so that would be a must for me!

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  • Thank you so much for this article, which as always is interesting and so well documented.

    I liked it a lot, also because, having never visited Bulgaria, I discovered a lot of things!

    Liked by 1 person

  • What an awesome feeling it must have been to travel in such an ancient place. Just Wow!!
    The streets are wider than I imagined.. Love thd mural…fascinating!!
    I like the Bulgaria architecture…the doors are quite unique
    Oh my gosh…the carved work at St. Nedelya is next level epic!
    So, too, is the monastery interior. Beautiful. It must be quite costly to keep these fabulous gold interiors looking sharp.
    I love the photos all so amazingly. Thanks for taking the extra high climb (it looks like) to capture that wonderful serene photo of The Church of the Holy Mother of God taken from up high on the already high fortress peak.
    As always, safe travels on your great journeys. It is a pleasure to read them.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Bulgaria had so much more to offer than we realized. The carvings in that Sr. Nedelya were so amazing it was difficult to chose which picture to post. The entire wall was covered in these detailed wood carvings. And then the monastery, it is so remote and so fabulous in design. The gold was very glittery so someone was polishing it regularly. The church picture was taken form where the fortress used to stand. Thanks for coming along Suzette! Maggie

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  • What an interesting mix of styles, Maggie. I particularly like the Revivalist architecture and the frescoes are wonderful too. Plenty to keep you occupied!

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    • That’s right, there was a lot to keep us busy. The revival architecture seemed similar to Ottoman, which makes sense, but it is definitely unique to this part of the world. Thanks Jo! Maggie

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  • This has been on my wish list for a while when a bunch of traveller friends had a “meetup” there. Would have loved to have gone but couldn’t make it. This is definitely noted for a future trip, Plovdiv looks stunning!

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    • We had no idea what to expect from Bulgaria and Plovdiv was our first city after Turkey. What a great surprise! Are your traveller friends from Australia? It’s quite a long way to meet up! 😊

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      • No my friends are from all
        Around the world! We were members of a travel site called “virtualtourist” which was shut down when TripAdvisor took it over. We have remained friends on Facebook and once a year they hold a “euromeet”. This years is in Kotor, and people from around the world go. Sadly I can’t because my kid has school when they hold it. But I’ll go again in the future!

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  • Plovdiv’s is beautiful. I love the painted façade wall right above the window in one of the pictures. indeed, the houses have such a unique architecture.

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  • I love to see the results of so many cultures’ influence on a place. Plovdiv looks amazing, and the woodworking in that church! Oh my gosh!! I marveled at its intricacy, its beauty, and how achy the woodworkers must have felt each day, especially after working at ground level.

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  • Plovdiv looks a fascinating place to visit. The architecture’s beautiful, especially the Bulgarian revival architecture, and I love the way the Roman ruins are just in the middle of the town. The Theatre of Philippi looks incredible considering it’s 2,000 years old!

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  • Sounds and looks very much like a destination we would enjoy for several reasons. Interesting city and some good out of town destinations too, especially the precarious fort and church. I have known the name of this city since childhood, simply because, being a huge soccer fan, I was enchanted by the team’s name. As a kid I really thought that “Lokomotiv Plovdiv” was as exotic as it was amusing.

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    • Haha, yes it is both! Plovdiv is a great city. It has a great atmosphere and there really are a lot of things to see in the city. And maybe you could see a game 🙂

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  • It’s surprising to find out that hills are called tepe in Bulgaria, because when I see that word I immediately think of Gobekli Tepe in Turkey. I wonder if it’s one of the remaining Ottoman influences in the country today. It looks like Plovdiv has so many things to offer, from Roman ruins to houses built in Bulgarian Revival architectural style. The old churches look impressive too!

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    • There is so much history under the streets of Plovdiv. And it’s all so different from each other.There are a few words that are the same in Turkish. I imagine in Bugaria they do have their roots from the Ottoman.itz a great city to explore.

      Liked by 1 person

  • I had no idea it was the oldest continuously inhabited city! It’s such a mix of different periods of history and architecture – I love it. That Soviet mural really caught my idea and it looks a perfect city to stroll around.

    Liked by 1 person

  • This looks like an inviting town center. The Soviet mural and the artworks in the monastery and churches are quite wonderful, but I do love that building in Kapana District!

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  • The architecture in Plovdiv is quite neat with all those colourful wooden homes and beautiful churches. I like how there’s even some Roman ruins mixed in there.

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  • Wow, the oldest city of Europe. It is hard to really grasp what an extensive time period that city has seen. I love that for such an old city that it has a wonderful mix of the ancient, historical, and also the more modern and artistic. The whole city looks so beautiful and inviting 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    • It is a really great city with so many architectural eras right on top of each other. And it feels like a young, vibrant city too. Lots to do! Thanks Meg, Maggie

      Liked by 1 person

  • Sofia – Bulgaria’s Capital – Monkey's Tale
  • Rila Monastery and 7 Rila Lakes Trek – Monkey's Tale

  • Everything in the Theatre of Philippi photo is in contrast to everything else in the photo, if that makes sense😄. It did in my head, but now that I’m looking at it, I can’t tell. Bulgarian revival architecture is strange, love it.

    Liked by 1 person

  • Bulgarian Revival Architecture  – Monkey's Tale

  • Amazing monastery!! And you got your monkey back on your qr code! Wish I could figure out mine.

    On a different note, I will be visiting a friend in Canada that has a place on the great lakes, but then plan on driving my Sprinter across Canada to Jasper to hike.

    I am curious if you could provide any tips like Are the roads good? And are there places to camp along the way? Or must sees along the way?

    I’ll do my research but I’m concerned about any pitfalls camping with my dog and such. Thx!!

    Liked by 1 person

    • Which Lake are you starting at? The TransCanada highway is mostly great but in northern Ontario (Sault Ste Marie to Kenora) it is one-lane only, but mostly in good shape. There is a ton of camping, especiallyin Ontario. Let me know your starting point and I’ll give you some ideas. Do you know which hikes you want to do in Jasper? And also maybe Banff or Lake Louise? What month?

      I don’t know how my logo gets on the QR. Most of the time it does, but not always. I don’t do anything special, it just come up when I first get the QR code.

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      • Okay. Yes, more details required! So I will be in the chicago area and plan to drive north to Silver Islet (near Thunder Bay) where her cabin is on Lake Superior.

        She suggested I go east around the lake through sault ste marie bc there are a few cute places on that side. But I am concerned about how much time I have so I’m not sure about that.

        I will spend a few days with her around 8/12-13 and then drive to Jasper. Think I’m planning a 3 day drive?!?

        I read you can boondock outside the park in Jasper, so I will do that and hope to stay around a week. Maybe 8/19-25?!? As long as I can do about 5 hikes preferably to a lake or waterfall or views that are moderate and dog friendly between 4-12 miles (sweet spot 6-8miles). And can do some hard trails assuming I’m not having to climb over stuff with my dog and there is not drop off exposure.

        I have already done Lake Louise, but of course I would like to do more in the Banff area too, but it doesn’t look like boondocking is allowed, so I’d need reservations somewhere and I don’t have that organized. So I’m unsure how feasible that is. Things book far in advance at our National Parks

        As a result, I thought I would just pop down to Yoho instead (or in addition to if there are some must sees in Banff).

        I want to spend a week or so in Yoho area. I prefer less crowded places where possible.

        This is just all in my head. I’ve only spent a few hours looking into things. I have at least until 8/31, maybe to 9/6 as long as it is not snowing (or at least the snow is not sticking on the roads).

        Open to any hike suggestions or other tips you may have.

        In the USA, there is a big difference between National Parks, State Parks, National Forests, and wilderness areas both in how they are maintained and where dogs are allowed.

        I’m not familiar with the rules in Canada which is why I’m a little vague. So far I’ve just looked at Alltrails for hikes and iOverlander for places to stay.

        If it is easier to email, mine is etbtravelphotography @ gmail

        Thanks for your help!

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        • Okay, I’ll work on this and get back to you. We don’t car camp so I don’t know much about free car/camper camping around Jasper. I do know that you can camp in the overflow in Banff, Field, and a couple of lots in Kananaskis Park. I’m almost positive that as long as dogs are on leash they can hike anywhere in the park. There aren’t a lot of roads in and out of Jasper. For the drive Thunder Bay to Winnioeg is 8 hours, Wpg to Calgary is 12 hours. Cgy to Jasper is about 5 hours. I’ll get back to you with more info.

          Like

  • Best Sites To Visit In Bulgaria – Monkey's Tale

  • Great reort. I visited Sofia and Plovdiv about 10 years ago. Plovdiv was my favorite. My trip from Plovdiv to Bachkovo was cancelled because of a landslide. I went o the fortress by public transport and then walked on a trail and on the closed road even a bit through the mud. The monastery was closed, of course, but I managed to look at some buildings from outside. It was good to see your pictures of the beautiful inside.
    Thank you!

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