Heritage 4 all
ref. no EUTR-3
UNESCO tour
9 nights/10 days
Guaranteed departure dates:
2011
October - 3.10; 24.10
November - 7.11; 14.11
2012
January - 23.01
February - 20.02
March - 19.03
April - 11.04; 23.04
May - 7.05; 14.05; 21.05; 28.05
Sites inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List:
Cultural:
Ancient City of Nessebar(1983)
Boyana Church(1979)
Madara Rider (1979)
Rila Monastery(1983)
Rock-Hewn Churches of Ivanovo (1979)
Thracian Tomb of Kazanlak (1979)
Thracian Tomb of Sveshtari(1985)
Natural:
Pirin National Park (1983)
Srebarna Nature Reserve ( 1983)
Day 1 – Arrival at Sofia Airport.Transfer to the hotel. Check in and time at leasure. Dinner at a typical Bulgarian restaurant with folklore show.
Day 2 – Breakfast. Full-day sightseeing tour of Sofia – walking and by bus.
The capital city nowadays creates the harmony of the past, present and future with its motto: „Growing, but never olding“. Through the sightseeing tour you can see: The Church of St Nedelya, situated at the very heart of the capital; the Rotunda of St George, built up of red baked bricks; The Ivan Vazov National Theatre, the oldest and the most authoritative theatre in the country;
The National Art Gallery which houses over 50000 pieces of Bulgarian art and the country's largest collection of medieval paintings; The Parliament; the Monument of Alexander II; Sofia University; The Church of St Sofia; The Alexander Nevski Cathedral-one of Sofia's symbols.
Lunch at a typical Bulgarian restaurant, situated at Boyana quarter, one of the most prestigious quarters in Sofia – it lies at the foot of Vitosha mountain.
Visit to the 10th century Boyana Church, one of the UNESCO World Heritage protected sites.
Dinner and overnight.
Day 3 – After breakfast visit to Rila Monastery-one of the UNESCO World Heritage protected sites ( 115 km).
Situated 121 km south of Sofia, in the beautiful Rila mountains, a site on the UNESCO list of World Historical and Cultural Heritage. Founded in the 10th century, it is the biggest and the most recognized monastery in Bulgaria. For more than thousand years the Monastery has been a treasure store of the valuable traditions of Old Bulgarian Culture, a repository of medieval writings, arts and crafts. Now it looks as a real renaissance style palace, majestic and intimate, with graceful fretwork multi-color facades, wooden stairs and galleries, and fresco in-between the arches. Places to visit: The Main Monastery Church, The Main Museum, The old Monastery Kitchen.
Lunch. Departure for Borovets (100 km) – one of the most famous ski resorts in Bulgaria. Dinner and overnight.
Day 4 – After breakfast visit to Plovdiv(140 km).
Situated 150 km from Sofia. It is the second largest city in Bulgaria, after the capital Sofia and it is famous for its ancient and diverse culture and architecture. Like Rome, it is nestled in between seven hills. It is older than Athens, Carthage and Rome. It is a city of layers upon layers and epochs upon epochs. Plovdiv abounds in sights -The Church of St Nedelya, Nedkovich's House, The Revival Museum, The ethnographic Museum, Hisar Kapia, Nebet tepe, Archeilogical Reserve, The Church of SS Konstantin and Hellen, Doctor Chomakov's Hous, Lamartin House, The Ancients Theatre, The Church of the Virgin, Djoumaya Mosque, The Ancient Stadium. Lunch at a typical Bulgarian restaurant.
Dinner and overnight in Plovdiv.
Day 5 – Breakfast. Visit the ancient town of Nessebar – included in the UNESCO World Heritage List (320 km).
Nessebar offers a unique atmosphere with its romantic narrow streets, the old architecture of its houses and more than 40 churches from Roman Era.
Dinner and overnight in Nessebar.
Day 6 – After breakfast, continue to Madara National Reserve- Madara Rider- one ot the UNESCO sites ( 140 km).
An early medieval large rock relief carved on the Madara Plateau, near the village of Madara. The relief depicts a majestic horseman 23m. Above ground level on an almost vertical 100 m high cliff.
The tour continue to the Sveshtari Thracian Tomb - UNESCO site (80 km) This is a 3rd century BC Thracian Tomb reflects the fundamental structural principles of Thracian cult buildings. The Tomb has a unique architectural decor, with polychrome half-human, half-plant caryatids and painted murals. The 10 female figures carved in high relief on the walls of the central chamber and the decoration of the lunette in its vault are the only examples of this type found so far in the Thracian lands.
Dinner and overnight in Rousse ( 95 km).
Day 7 – After breakfast visit the Rock-hewn Churches of Ivanovo (25 km) – a group of monolithic churches, chapels and monasteries hewn out of solid rock and completely different from other monastery complexes in Bulgaria. The Rock-hewn churches of Ivanovo were included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.
The journey continues to Veliko Tarnovo ( 110 km) – historical capital of the Second Bulgarian Empire. Visit to the historical hill Tsarevets with the Fortress, The Patriarchal Church and the Emperor Baldwin’s Tower. Stroll along the Samovodska Charshiya Street in the Old Town.
Afterwards, visit to the ancient village of Arbanasi. Dinner and overnight in Arbanasi.
Day 8 – After breakfast visit to Etara (65 km)– Architectural-Ethnographic Complex. It is a unique open-air museum which presents the Bulgarian costumes, culture and craftsmanship.
In the afternoon arrival in Kazanlak (110 km)– the capital of the World famous Bulgarian Rose Valley. Visit to the Rose Museum and Thracian Kazanlak Tomb – under the protection of UNESCO as part of the World Heritage List.
Dinner and overnight in Kazanlak.
Day 9 – Breakfast. Departure back for Sofia (250 km). Day at leasure in Sofia.
Farewell dinner.
Day 10 – Breakfast. Airport transfer and flight back home.
The price includes:
Transfers airport-hotel-airport;
Transport – by van/bus;
3 night/breakfast in Sofia;
1 night/breakfast in Borovetz;
1 night/breakfast in Plovdiv;
1 night/breakfast in Arbanasi;
1 night/breakfast in Ruse;
1 night/breakfast in Nessebar;
1 night/breakfast in Kazanlak;
9 dinners under the program;
3 lunches under the program;
Entrance fees for all sites under the program;
Licensed tour guide in English all the time;
Medical insurance for each person (10 000 EUR)
Maintenance of the driver.