Arrival in Sofia – the capital of Bulgaria. Private transfer from airport to hotel, check in at your hotel.

Morning 2h city tour of Sofia with local guide. Tour the capital city of Bulgaria, which Constantine the Great once called „My Rome” – visit Alexander Nevski Memorial Cathedral, St. Sofia 6th c basilica, Parliament Square, National Theatre and the Old City Garden, the ruins of Ancient Serdica and St. George 4th c Rotunda. Departure to Central Bulgaria by private car/ minibus + driver. Arrival and lunch in Veliko Turnovo. Late afternoon 2h tour of the Medieval capital city of Bulgaria with visit of Tsarevets Royal Hill with the fortress, Baldwin tower (the leader of the 4th Crusade) and Patriarh’s complex. Walking tour along Samovodska Charshia street of crafts in the Old Veliko Turnovo. Check in at your hotel and overnight.

Breakfast and departure south to Shipka mountain pass, crossing the central and highest part of the Balkan mountains. Short stop for pictures at Shipka memorial church. Arrival in Plovdiv and lunch in the centre of the city. Meet your local guide for a tour of the 2nd largest Bulgarian city, which will be European capital of culture in 2019. Walk along the longest pedestrian street in the world with the remains of the Roman forum, Stadium, Djumaya Mosque Square, the Old Plovdiv awarded golden medal for architecture by UNESCO with the Ancient Amphitheatre, St. Constantine and Helena Church and the Ethnographic museum (the so-called „Royal House”). Lunch. Visit Kapana – the artistic neighbourhood of Plovdiv. Plovdiv is considered the oldest continually inhabited city in Europe and the 6th oldest in the world. The Eternal City, as Rome is conventionally called, is much younger than Plovdiv. Athens, Carthage, Constantinople came into being later. A contemporary of Troy and having survived Mycenae, Plovdiv is a city upon layers of epochs. Overnight in Plovdiv.

Free time in either Plovdiv or Sofia, departure transfer to Sofia airport (Plovdiv – Sofia Airport is 2,5 h drive).