Pernik is known as a fortress, which was defended by the boyar Krakra (11th c.) It was the only one left unconquered by the Byzantine emperor Vassilius the Second, called latter Bulgarian-killer.

The tourist sights in the town are the Historical museum, the Art Gallery, the recovered Krakra fortress and many monuments. The Stoudena reservoir is also near Pernik. The Museum of History in Pernik possesses well-formed collections of Prehistoric pottery, marble votive reliefs of Thracian equestrians, culture of the mediaeval town, and ethnographic materials of the traditional Bulgarian culture. The principal exhibit fund has 17,085 exhibits items and 37,833 subsidiary fund items.

Pernik is an important centre with convenient road and rail connections to Sofia, Blagoevgrad, Kulata and Kyustendil. The E 79 highway traverses the region, as well as one of the oldest trade-routes of the Balkans - Sofia-Thessaloniki-Skopje.