Arrival at Sofia Airport meet your English-speaking guide and leave towards the city centre of the Bulgarian capital, Sofia. Drop off your luggage at your hotel and free time in the city. Dinner and overnight stay in Sofia.

Guide: Included for the day

Meals: Dinner

Accommodation:

• Mid-Range Accommodation: Hotel

After breakfast, depart for the Rila Monastery, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, it is the most visited tourist spot in Bulgaria. Founded in the 20th century, admire its arches, columns, woodwork and paintings which are of exceptional beauty. The Church of the Dormition of the Virgin is considered to be the best decorated with frescoes in Bulgaria. Its carved wooden iconostasis is unique in its kind. Lunch in the vicinity of the Monastery. Then set off for Bansko, a town at the foot of Pirin National Park (a UNESCO World Heritage Site). Bansko is the newest and most dynamic winter sports resort in Bulgaria which holds the snow record in both quantity and duration as it is possible to ski there from December 15th to May 15th. Start a sightseeing tour of Bansko which is representative of the rural landscape of the 18th and 19th century. Its fortified houses, unique in their kind, bear witness to the independent character of its former inhabitants. Dinner and Overnight stay in Bansko. Possibility of being accompanied by a Bulgarian folk group during the dinner (option).

Guide: Included for the day

Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Accommodation:

• Mid-Range Accommodation: Hotel

After breakfast, reach a thousand-year-old city: Plovdiv, located in the Thracian plain, Plovdiv was elected European Capital of Culture in 2019. Start the sightseeing tour of Plovdiv where you will pass through the central pedestrianized street of Prince Alexander of Battenberg and admire splendid Neo-Baroque facades. Visit the Church of Saints Constantine and Helena. In the Old Town you will also discover the Ancient roman Theater which dates from the 2nd century BC. Lunch in Plovdiv. Continue the visit in the afternoon and walk through the remains of Thracian civilization mingling with Roman monuments, and Ottoman with its old Turkish mosques which adds an oriental flavor to the city. Discover "old Plovdiv" with its collection of houses from the period of the National Awakening which gives this young and lively city its unique charm. Dinner and Overnight stay in Plovdiv.

Guide: Included for the day

Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Accommodation:

• Mid-Range Accommodation: Hotel

After breakfast, you will head back inland to the Valley of the Thracian Kings, the strongest civilization in its time, which ruled much of Europe long before the Romans. Reach Kazanlak and visit the tomb of a UNESCO-listed Thracian king of this civilization and admire their funerary art. You will then cross the magnificent Central Balkan massif to reach the museum village of Etara. Comprising all the elements of a Bulgarian village from the second half of the 18th century - first half of the 19th century - the houses, the craftsmen's shops, the little river, the bridges, the clock tower, the church, the Batch and Inn provide a unique experience to visitors. You will have the opportunity to observe many master craftsmen practicing traditional Bulgarian crafts. The crafts represented are weaving, wool work (sheep or goat), the production of copper utensils, cutlery, the production of bells and woodwork. Lunch in Kazanlak. Get back on the road and reach the important and historic town of Veliko Tarnovo. Dinner in town and overnight in Veliko Tarnovo.

Guide: Included for the day

Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Accommodation:

• Mid-Range Accommodation: Hotel

After breakfast, start a sightseeing tour of Veliko Tarnovo, capital of the Second Bulgarian Empire between the 12th and the 14th century which was considered the most beautiful city in the Balkans after Constantinople. The richness of its history, the natural beauty of the site and its houses suspended above the Yantra River create an idyllic setting in this historic town. Visit the beautiful, well-preserved Tsarevets Citadel, preserving the memory of the glorious epic that made the Assenids one of the most brilliant dynasties in Europe. Observe the Church of the Forty Martyrs with many relics. Continue towards Arbanassi located on a plateau from which one can glimpse the buttes of Tsarevets and Trapézitsa, 4 kilometers from Veliko Tarnovo. Visit a city classified as a museum city, with its old mansions of imposing architecture and churches decorated with murals of the highest artistic value. Visit the Konstantsaliev house, named after the family who owned it and had it built around 400 years ago as well as the Church of the Nativity which is one of Arbanassi's great curiosities with its two thousand scenes painted on its walls (the number of characters who appear therein has been estimated at 3,500). Then take the road to Lovetch and drop off your luggage at your hotel. Dinner in a historic restaurant in the city center, walking tour of Varocha, the old quarter of Lovetch and the must-see Covered Bridge, the work of the most famous Bulgarian master mason Koliou Fitcheto. Overnight stay in Lovetch.

Guide: Included for the day

Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Accommodation:

• Mid-Range Accommodation: Hotel

After breakfast, drive towards the village of Oréchaka where the Troyan Monastery is located. Visit the monastery which is dedicated to Saint Mary. You will admire the famous icon of Saint Mary with three hands. Head south to reach the colourful little village of Koprivshtitsa, where the Great Revolution of April 1876 started for the Liberation from the Ottoman yoke. Preserved in its authentic appearance, nestled in the mountains, this is a page of Bulgarian history worth telling. Most of the wooden houses are painted in bright colours and give a unique touch to this place of rest. You will visit the Kablechkova and Lutova houses-museums which retrace the great history of this small village. Dinner and overnight stay in Koprivchtitsa.

Guide: Included for the day

Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Accommodation:

• Mid-Range Accommodation: Guest house

After breakfast, return to Sofia. Start a sightseeing tour of the capital and the Sofiotes. Discover the cultural center of the city while admiring its unmissable monuments. You will discover among others the Orthodox Cathedral of Saint-Alexandre-Nevski Cathedral with its museum of icons in the crypt (city), the Tzar Osvboditel square, the National Assembly, the Rotonde Saint-Georges and the National Theater. Lunch in Sofia. Free afternoon to stroll around the city or go shopping before your last night in Bulgaria. Dinner and overnight stay in Sofia.

Guide: Included for the day

Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Accommodation:

• Mid-Range Accommodation: Hotel