Bourgas is a starting point for visiting the seaside resorts in the area - Sunny Beach resort and Elenite holiday village to the north and Duni holiday village, renowned for its unique architectural composition, to the south. The port of Bourgas is the biggest Bulgarian sea port.

History
Bourgas is more than two thousand years old. It was founded as a Roman settlement under the name of Kulata. The first books about its history are found with the Byzantian poet Manuel Phill (13th c). Later additional data was provided by the Turkish historian Hadji Kalfa (17th c). He gave the town two different names - Bourgos and Pirgos. The name of the town is derived from the Greek words “pirgos” or “bourgos”, meaning fortress, or tower, provoked by the numerous fishing towers - “bourgs” in the vicinity. In the Turkish register from 1676 the settlement was entered as a town for the first time, and later in another document from 1730 - as the port of Bourgas. Burnt down in the 19th century, it was brought back to life again and turned into an important administrative, economic and cultural centre of Bulgaria.

Bourgas Today
Today Bourgas is the fourth largest city in Bulgaria.The climate here is temperately continental with a distinct impact from the Black Sea. A Duty Free Zone was established in 1989 with the objective of creating most attractive conditions for foreign investors. The favourable geographical location and advanced transport infrastructure of Bourgas are good prerequisites for development of tourism and trade. What most attracts people here is undoubtedly the sea.

Education and Culture
Art and culture, together with a propagation of cultural values is fostered by 7 state-owned and 11 municipal institutes. On the territory of Bourgas municipality there are 2 universities and 4 colleges comprising more than 6,200 Bulgarian and foreign students.