Plovdiv Travel Forum

Hi,

Just wondering... I've been through the 'things to do list' and it seems that in Plovdiv the only things to do is see historical sites or go shopping... do I have the right impression or is there anything else to see/do? We are considering going for a week and I think a week of monument visiting would be too much... and we don't really shop on holiday because we stick to a low budget.

Are there any other suggestions for things to do? .... even if perhaps we can get a train to any nearby villages/cities...if it doesn't mean spending half the day on a train of course!!!

Thanks for any help!!

P.S. Probably around Jan/Feb we would go.

What kind of other things do you have in mind? Some examples might be helpful.

You could certainly visit Bachkovo monastery, a short bus ride away. But I guess that is also a historical site. There is some nice scenery around Asenovgrad, between Plovdiv and Bachkovo. You could go skiing, e.g. in Pamporovo. You could visit Sofia, a couple of hours away by train or bus. Although not especially beautiful it's certainly worth a day trip.

I was there a few weeks ago, and it's a good town to wander around. There are these great house museums there; but it did seem that the thing to do was wander, look at monuments, museums, etc....

I was there for about 3 days. It was a nice town, but frankly, a week seems to be far too much time there...

well skiing is an option...we've been once before in slovenia... however it would put our budget up a bit... i think i read somewhere that you can rent a sled/toboggan instead of skiing which would be quite fun.anyone heard of this?

as regards things to do just anything fun or entertaining or perhaps doing something typical to the country - for example in other countries riding a camel/going to the desert/fun theme parks/some kind of sport typical to bulgaria?

or also perhaps just suggestions of nearby villages where we could go for a hike or something amidst some lovely scenery.

any help??

Hi there again :) Plovdiv is a very interesting place - full of history and tradition. You'll need a day or 2 to walk and see all the historic monuments - incl. houses, museums, etc. walking along the main street of plovdiv is another attraction - this is a walking zone, and almost everybody, all the citizens of plovdiv take a walk there in hte evening - it's full of people, artists, mimes, guitar players etc. Of course - you can't spend a whole day wandering the street :)
So I suggest you to go to the nearby places of interest - Asenovgrad - with "the fortress of Assen", the nearby Bachkovo monastery. The winter resort of Pamporovo is only about 1 and 1/2 hours away - depending on the time of your visit you can go skiing there or just look at the amazing natural beauty. At maybe 2 hours distance is located the small town of Strelcha - with a mineral water sanatorium and an old thracian tomb. And not far away are the historic towns of Panagiurishte and Koprivshtica - that keep the old Bulgarian traditions of building and crfts. And, of course, you can always spend a day in the capital - sofia - which is worth seeing too.
The conclusion is, that sleeping in plovdiv you have the opportunity to visit a lot of places at no more than 2 hours distance. Hope you'll enjoy your stay!