Romania & Bulgaria - Plovdiv & the Southern Mountains (PDF Chapter)

This is the Plovdiv & the Southern Mountains chapter from Lonely Planet’s Romania & Bulgaria guidebook.

Spectacular mountains encircle spiritual sights in this swathe of inland Bulgaria. Europe’s oldest continuously inhabited city, Plovdiv, anchors the region. Quiet winemaking villages snooze in Plovdiv’s surrounds, while the Rodopi Mountains reach south, dotted with ski centres such as Pamporovo.

• stand awestruck among beautiful frescoes in the millennium-old Rila Monastery
• maps
• admire Roman ruins by day, then sashaying into the Kapana quarter’s arty nightlife, in Plovdiv
• transport
• thunder down pistes at Bulgaria’s premier winter-sports town, Bansko
• restaurants & accommodation

Coverage includes: Rila Mountains, Rila Village, Rila Monastery, Bo-rovets, Pirin Mountains, Blagoevgrad, Bansko, Melnik, Bulgarian Thrace, Plovdiv, Rodopi Mountains, Chepelare, Pamporovo, Smolyan, Devin.