The Mediaeval Town of Cherven
Cherven was one of the biggest towns of Bulgaria in the period of 12th-14th century. Its inhabitants were Thracians (4th - 2nd century B.C.) and Byzantines (4th - 6th century A.D.). It had been a bishop’s residence and a craft centre. The mediaeval town is situated on a high hill in the canyon of the river Cherni Lom, 35 km south of Rousse. There are different historical and archaeological sites in its surroundings - prehistoric, ancient and medieval fortresses, settlements and necropolises. The most impressive are the numerous Christian rock monasteries. Mediaeval frescos are preserved in some of them.

Chiprovtsi is a very old town, settled at the foot of the Balkan Mountains, 30 km. from Montana. The Ogosta river flows through the town, coming from the high parts of the mountains. The name Chiprovtsi comes after the Roman name of copper – kuprum. It was named Kiprovets first, then Chiprovtsi (renamed 1956). In Roman times Chiprovtsi was a major mining centre. Excavations have uncovered a catholic monastery complex dating back to the 15th-17th centuries - a bishop’s seat of the Sofia Catholic Eparchy during the time of Petur Solinat, a missionary from the Order of Franciscans who built and established the Catholic Church in Bulgaria. In the 16th-17th centuries the monastery was a cultural and educational centre of the Bulgarian Catholics. The Uprising of Chiprovtsi in 1688 was organized by Catholic notables against Ottoman rule.

The carpet industry in Chiprovtsi dates back to the 17th century. The ornaments of the old carpets were made in a geometric way. Generally, the colour harmony is based on the unison of cold and warm colours. Those pieces of art have been made by hand all through their existence. During the 19th century the weavers implanted in their perfect handicraft wares all colours, geometric symbols, compositions of plants and animals. There is a belief that these symbols have magic power. Mystery and simplicity, order and harmony, past, present and future in the infinity; all these you perceive and receive with one of the Bulgarian miracles - the Chiprovtsi carpet.

Dobrich is situated almost in the centre of the Dobrudzha plateau, 50km to the north of Varna. It was called Dobrich after the name of a former ruler - the boyar Dobrotitsa.

Some of the sights in Dobrich are the museum of Yordan Yovkov (the famous Bulgarian writer), the ruins of a Middle Age settlement, the ancient necropolis, and a great number of monuments.

The town of Dryanovo is amphiteatrically situated along the two banks of the Dryanovska River, a right tributary to the Yantra River. It lies 22 km. from the city of Gabrovo with its ethnographical sites, 24 km. from the Medieval capital of Bulgaria- Veliko Turnovo, 17 km. from the town of Tryavna, famous for its architectural ensembles and 34 km. from the town of Sevlievo.

The settlement is mentioned as a fortress on the Strinava Plateau by Byzantine chroniclers in 1186 for the first time in relation to the Uprising led by the members of the Assen dynasty (1185 - 1187). It is mentioned under the name of Diranav (Diranava) in a Turkish register of 1430.

The Dyuni Holiday Village is a modern, comfortable and attractive sea resort situated amidst a fine nature reserve. It has been awarded the international Blue Flag Award for clean and safe environment. The bay is naturally sheltered against northern winds, making it an ideal place for all kinds of water sports. The sea is safe and calm, with a gradually slopping bottom, enabling even small children to splash about safely in the water.

The resort consists of three originally designed main zones, forming separate architectural ensembles with their own characteristic style and atmosphere-Zalenika, Marina and Pelican. Dyuni Holiday Villge incorporates several deluxe restaurants and taverns, small cosy beach restaurants, day bars, night clubs and cafes, 7 tennis courts, swimming pools for adults and children, sports grounds, bicycles and cars for rent, a kindergarten and specially equipped playgrounds.

The municipality of Gabrovo and the surrounding area is considered one of the most ecologically clean regions in Bulgaria. The rich flora and fauna go to prove that. In the immediate vicinity of Gabrovo is the geographical centre of Bulgaria

The most picturesque place in Gabrovo is the architectural and ethnographical complex Etur - a unique open-air museum.

Near Gabrovo is the 600-year-old village Bozhentsi - an architectural and historical reserve. An excellent place for individual and family tourism.

Golden Sands resort is the largest one on the Northern Black Sea coast (more than 1,800 hectares). It is 17 kilometers from Varna. Golden Sands is a magnificent resort with richly wooded hills, a white golden beach and clear blue sea. There are a lot of very famous and ancient mineral water springs. The resort is situated in the area, which is a Bulgarian National park. The resort’s beach strip is 3.5 km. long and up to 100m wide. The average air temperature in summer is 27-30 degree and the water temperature is 25-28 degrees. Golden Sands suits both sun-worshippers and sightseers, being near to Varna, the third largest town of Bulgaria, the pearl of the Bulgarian Black Sea coast with a great number of places of interest.

There are 4 five star, 19 four star, 39 three star and 18 two star hotels, holiday clubs, two villa complexes and 10 luxury villas in Golden Sands resort. The hotels offer a wide range of extra services and facilities: refrigerators, TV sets, cars for rent, room service, change of foreign currency, etc. They have sophisticated communication equipment, TV cable and satellite connection.

North of the resort is the village of Kranevo and south is Chaika holiday village. Golden Sands merges with the St. Konstantin and St. Elena resort and the Riviera resort. The area is famous for the purest sand on the Black Sea coast.

Haskovo municipality is a transport crossroads between Europe, the Near East and the Middle East, which is a good prerequisite for international commercial and cultural exchange. The basic bus and railway connections between the entrance and the exit boundary points in Bulgaria, which determine to a great extent the successful trade with Greece and Turkey, are located in it.

Haskovo municipality offers a good tourist base, as well as a facilities base for sport, business and cultural events.

The guests of Haskovo are mainly attracted by the healing Haskovo mineral springs and the picturesque “Kenana” - a splendid oak forest with a spacious park, restaurants, tennis grounds, and houses for recreation. The remains of ancient fortresses and mineral pools from the Roman period in Mineralni Bani municipality are of special interest for tourists.

Attractive tourist sights are also Kaleto Fortress and “Sharapanite” (with the best kept “sharapani” – wine cellars dated from the ancient Thracian times – one millennium B.C).

World-famous spa resort
The ancient Bulgarian town and world-famous spa resort of Hissar is situated in the centre of Bulgaria, in the southern folds of Sredna Gora Mountains, 42 km north of Plovdiv and 167 km east of Sofia, close to the Valley of Roses.

Ancient Bulgarian town
During the age of the Roman Empire, the town, called Augusta, was a wealthy healing centre with Emperor’s palaces, wide stone streets, marble baths, statues of Roman Gods and exuberant vegetation.

Today Hissar is a modern spa resort that offers all facilities for balneotherapy. There are 22 mineral springs in Hissar - 16 natural and 6 deeply drilled, with temperatures ranging from 37 to 51 degrees C.

The mineral water is light, clear, colourless, and tasty. It is slightly mineralized, hypo- and hyper-thermal, with a predominance of hydrocarbonic, sodium, sulphate and fluorine ions, as well as substantial amounts of radioactive gas. The radioactive emanation is 10-165 Em, pH - 7.6 - 9.02 and over 20 microelements. The acid content - 200 - 270 mg\l.

Hissar mineral water can be used both as table water and for prevention of: gastro-intestinal tract diseases, nephrolithiasis and nephro-urological diseases, cholelithiasis, locomotory system diseases, gynecological diseases, endocrine-metabolical diseases, early artherosclerosis and processes of premature senility, dental diseases and prevention of dental caries, chronic intoxication with heavy metals and pharmaceutical substances.

Very interesting are the unique bead belts from Momina banja /Maidens bath/ neighbourhood in Hissar. It takes about three months to make a one-meter long belt. The beads are sewn on one by one, day after day before the flowers of Thrace shine on the beautiful national costumes.

The Rock Monasteries of Ivanovo
The Rock Monasteries of Ivanovo are located on a fantastic landscape - rock massifs, flanking the picturesque valley of the river Roussenski Lom, 23 kilometres south-west of the city of Rousse. As if striving to be closer to God, hermit monks settled here during the 11th-14th centuries, digging cells, churches and chapels into the rocks. Talented artists painted them with realistic frescoes, refined in colour and composition - a real trove of Bulgarian mediaeval painting.