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Millennial Bulgaria

DAY 1 MADRID – SOFIA Presentation at the indicated time in the Airport of Barajas to embark on flight to Sofia. Arrival in the Bulgarian capital, and small panoramic tour to get to know this city, one of the oldest of the Balkan Penninsula. The green spaces, cleanliness of the streets and the tranquil environment of the city are rembarkable, and it zealously preserves the ruins from the Thracian, Roman, Byzantine, and Bulgarian periods. Dinner and lodging.

DAY 2 SOFIA – VELIKO TARNOVO Breakfast. Departure for the city museum of Veliko Tarnovo, the medieval capital of Bulgaria, the most majestic of all the city museums. We will see the medieval ruins in the hill of Tzarevetz, we highlight the Patriarcal Church (which is decorated with modernist style fresco and dominates the entire city, both the medieval and the modern areas), the Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, and the Church of Saint Demetrius. Lunch. We will also visit the city of Arbanasi, situated 10 Km from Veliko Tarnovo, a town founded by Albanians that impresses with its fortress type houses. The most charateristic are the House of Konstantzaliev, from the 15th century, and the House Hadzhi-Llieba. From among its churches, the Church of the Nativity, from the 15th century, stands out. Its interior is completey decorated with frescos painted between the year 1632 and 1649. Dinner and lodging.

DAY 3 VELIKO TARNOVO – SHUMEN – DEVNIA – VARNA Breakfast. Departure for Shumen, in the northeast of Bulgaria, geographic center of the capitals of the medieval Bulgarian kingdoms of Pliska, Preslav and Madara. Stop for lunch and Tour of the Tombul Mosque, the largest in Bulgaria, built in 1744 and Ottoman Baroque in style. Tour of the famous Madara Horseman, a triumphal stone relief from the 8th century, symbol of the victory of the Bulgarian khans over their enemies. The Greek inscriptions date from the years 705 to 832. Afternoon departure for Devnia and Tour of the Mosaic Museum. Continuation to Varna, on the banks of the Black Sea. Dinner and lodging.

DAY 4 VARNA Breakfast. Full day tour with Lunch. The city, known as the “Pearl of the Coast of the Black Sea”, is one of the most picturesque in Bulgaria and also summer capital due to its fine Beaches. Varna has beautiful gardens and historical monuments from various periods. We will see the Cathedral of the Assumption, from the 19th century, the Archaeological Museum, with the oldes gold pieces in the world, the Necropolis (4000 B.C.), accidentally discovered in 1972 and that extends for a hectare. Dinner and lodging.

DAY 5 VARNA – NESSEBUR – KAZANLAK Breakfast. Departure, along the coast of the Black Sea, toward Nessebur. City tour, one of the oldest in Europe, founded by the Greeks in the year 510 B.C. and which features more than 40 churches, many of them constructed by Byzantine nobles. It is situated on a small rocky penninsula, and its beauty if both incomparable and indescribable. Its Byzantine-style medieval temples and its wooden houses from the 19th century have made it into World Heritage Site. Lunch. Continuation to Kazanlak. Dinner and lodging.

DAY 6 KAZANLAK – PLOVDIV Breakfast. Tour of in the region of Kazanlak and the Valley of the Thracian Kings (3rd-4th centuries B.C.), with innumberable archaeological and historical treasures from the Greeks, Romans, Otomans and Thracians. Tour of the Thracian Tomb of Kazankak, in the Valley of the Roses, with delicate frescos from the 4th century B.C. and the Tomb Goliama Kosmatka. Lunch. Kazanlak also has the Museum of Rose Production, and it is the principal center of the exportation of rose essence. Continuation to Plovdiv, the the most beautiful city in Bulgaria, on the banks of the Maritza River. Dinner and lodging.

DAY 7 PLOVDIV Breakfast. Morning tour of Old Plovdiv, with its narrow cobblestone streets that guard houses of the most pure “Balkan Baroque” style, the majority of which are open to the public since they house museums, galleries or restaurants. We will see the Ethnographic Museum, one of the most beautiful constructions, built in 1847 and considered a masterpiece of the Asymetric Renaissance house, the Church of Saints Constantine and Helen, that surprises due to the beauty of its frescoes and the precious icons, and the Roman Amphitheater, from the 2nd century. Lunch. Afternoon tour of the Monastery of Bachkovo, the second largest in Bulgaria, founded in the year 1803 by the Georgian brothers Bakuriani, high functionaries in the court of the Byzantine emperor Alexis I. The principal church is that of Our Lady of the Assumption, from 1604, and the smaller one, that of the Archangel, which dates from the 12th century. We will also see the remains of the Fortress of Assenova, tied to the history of the 3rd Crusade. Dinner and lodging.

DAY 8 PLOVDIV – SOFIA Breakfast. Departure for the Monastery of Rila, the oldest, largest and most impressive of all the monasteries. Situated 119 km from Sofia, is the best example of the architectural perfection of Bulgaria, and it was founded in the year 927. It stands out for the variety of its architectural forms and for the beauty of its frescos. Lunch and Continuation to Sofia. Dinner and lodging.

DAY 9 SOFIA Breakfast. Departure for to take a half-day tour of Sofia. It stands out due to its golden domes. We will also see the Church of Saint George, from the 4th century, ancient Roman rotunda and witness to important historical events, the remains of the Roman wall, Parliament Square, the National Theater, constructed in 1907 in neoclassical style, and the Church of Saint Sofia, from the 4th century that gives its name to the capital. Lunch. Afternoon free. In the evening, Farewell dinner with folklore show. Lodging.

DAY 10 SOFIA – MADRID Breakfast and transfer to the airport at the indicated time to embark on the return flight to Madrid. Arrival and END OF TRIP