Nessebur, Bulgaria

Nessebur is a sea town, located along a beautiful isthmus. Its charm stems from its very architecture – small, cobble-stone streets, medieval churches and wooden houses from the 19th century. The street of Nessebur are a perfect place for a walk, with a view of the many street fountains, churches and museums, where one can discover the city’s history. The churches themselves are a strange and attractive mixture of Slav and Greek orthodox architecture.

Nessebur has many comfortable places, at which you can stay. Some of them are even in big old houses from the previous century. Plus, the town has to offer a wide range of restaurants, taverns and cafes.

Nessebur Museum Town

Nessebur is located on a small peninsula and is in close proximity to the resort Sunny Beach. The old part of the town is considered the oldest town in Europe. It is a place where one can still feel the atmosphere of the many ages before us – Thracians, Hellenes, Romans, Slavs, Byzantines and Bulgarians.
Perhaps the most attractive thing in the old town is the many churches – the Old Bishop's Residence in an early Byzantine style (from the 4th – 5th century), the New Bishops Residence (St. Stefan), which contains valuable murals from the 12th century, the Christ Pantocrator and Aliturgetos churches (13th -14th century).
Another beautiful sight are the houses from the Revival period in Bulgaria, built with stone foundations and wooden eaves.

 

The second largest city on the Bulgarian Black Sea coast is Bourgas. With population of 200,000 it is also the fourth largest city in Bulgaria. Just like Varna it also has an airport and lies on main transport routes which provide excellent conditions for tourists wishing to explore on their own the southern Black Sea coast.

If you like to spend a day out there is a beautiful Sea Garden next to the sea, which is a few kilometers long and you can certainly enjoy a walk along the shaded paths, flower lanes and and sculptures. The park also has an open air theatre, casino, small zoo, as well as several cafes and restaurants. The garden steps will take you down to the sandy Bourgas beach.

In Bourgas and the surrounding tourist areas there are plenty of holiday villas and apartments for rent of various prices suiting every budget. If you plan to visit in the summer please do book in advance as everything is truly fully booked.

As for dining you will be spoiled with choices, especially with fish restaurants. Many restaurants, pubs and bars offer live music and traditional dances. The cafes along the tree-lined Aleksandrovska Street will make you sit there and enjoy the day.

In general, Bourgas offers plenty to do which can suit everybody’s budget and taste. The surrounding beautiful countryside is also a source of much pleasure and joy and therefore a vacation in Bourgas is positively a memorable experience.

Sunny Beach, this 8km long stretch of sand is one of the most popular places along the southern Bulgarian Black coast. Tourists flock in great numbers especially in the summer season. Sunny beach is a wonderful resort with plenty of choices for those wishing to party during the nights and have fun during the days. With a myriad of entertainment options, the resort is one of the best places you can choose if you plan an eventful summer vacation in Bulgaria. There, you will find an amazing number of discos and nightclubs, casinos, and bars as well as great shopping facilities to enjoy during the day. Sunny Beach might be an expensive place for the locals but it is still amazingly cheap for foreign tourists.

Nessebur, located on a small peninsular, is another very famous tourist destination along the Bulgarian Black Sea coast. The town consists of an old and new part. It is an ideal place for a beach vacation with plenty of sunbathing on sandy golden beach and swimming in clear blue sea.

An ancient settlement existed on the present day site of Nessebur more than 9000 years ago making it perhaps the oldest town in Europe.

 

Nessebur’s Old Town is a fascinating place. With cobbled streets, old style houses, taverns and pretty gardens, you have the feeling you are have been transferred back to medieval times.  You will also find many gift shops selling paintings, pottery wood carving, and much more more. The lovely restaurants and bars, both in the old town and along the beach also add to the atmosphere. Most of them serve home-cooked Bulgaria and European dishes. In brief, when it comes to eating and drinking you will be spoiled for choice.

Above all Nessebur is famous for being a Unesco world heritage site. It has been declared so mainly for its ancient churches which are its main historical attractions.

The most remarkable of these churches is the Old Bishop’s Residence with beautiful decorated arches and colonnades. This church is in the centre of town.

St. Stephan Church, built in the 10th c AD is located near the port has its facade covered by many-glazed ceramic figures.

St John the Baptist Church dates back to 11th century and amazes with fragments of frescoes dating back to the 13th century.

Perhaps the oldest of all churches is The Basilica, built on the coast around 5th century while St. John Aliturgetos Church is considered the most exquisite and beautiful of them all. Situated high above the port its impressive facades make it simply exceptional.

Apart from these impressive churches Nessebur also boasts old houses dating back from the 16th to the 19th c. which are built in really unique styles. The craftsmanship seen in these houses is exceptional and could only be marvelled at.

Other buildings of interest are the Turkish Baths, the Old Town Gate, and the windmill at the entrance of the old town which has to be seen to be believed.

The most popular by far is an called Sunny Beach, which is lined with hotels and entertainment venues.

Sozopol, south of Sunny Beach and Bourgas, is another ancient town with beautiful beaches and modern hotel resorts close by. It is less crowded than Sunny Beach, and offers a tranquil vacation full of excellent of family activities.