We're continuing our long Balkans route. On the route we started from Istanbul, we visited, in order, Sinemorets, the Ropotamo River, Sozopol, Deultum, Burgas, Nessebar, Varna, Tarnovo, Gabrovo, Etar, Shipka and Kazanlak before arriving in Plovdiv. We covered the part up to here in 2 days and 3 nights.
Next up is Plovdiv and its iconic hills! Standing for 8,000 years, Plovdiv makes itself one of the oldest continuously inhabited places in the world. The ancient Thracians held it for several thousand years before the Romans took it, and some of the magnificent monuments that brought us here to this Bulgarian city today are a legacy of the ancient Thracians..
The Roman Theatre is one of the most complete theatre buildings you'll see in the region. The Old Town on the city's hillside gives us the feel of an open-air museum, full of old churches and mansions from the city's past, built by wealthy merchants, that have opened their doors to the public. All this apparently makes Plovdiv a fascinating place where Western and Eastern cultures have interacted for centuries!
The city is on the banks of the Maritsa River and, like all other cities with a river running through them, it's charming. We'll mostly explore the old town south of the river, surrounded by green spaces, and the Kapana district. But if you have enough time, Tsar Simeon's Garden and Liberators' Hill should be seen too; we're still thinking about them!
How Many Days for Plovdiv (Filibe)?
We arrived in the city on Sunday evening and, after a good rest, got up early the next morning and threw ourselves into the streets. Going out early, we escaped the city's traffic and were able to find a parking spot in the city centre.
We think you need to set aside at least 1 full day, since the city has a rich history. You need to take it all in and explore it properly.
When to Go to Plovdiv (Filibe)?
As we've mentioned in most of our posts, we're not a couple who like travelling in the heat. With a little coolness and a little sun, everything tastes different. In May, nights in Bulgaria are cool. Let's tell you now: taking a cardigan or something with a hood is a must.
Spring and autumn are the best months for Bulgaria. Of course, if you're coming for a beach holiday, the coast in summer is a whole different Bulgaria.
Where to Stay in Plovdiv (Filibe)?
Bulgaria is broadly a cheap country, but we didn't much like the cheap places when it came to accommodation. Since we had our car, we stayed at Plaza Hotel, 3-4 kilometres from the city centre. We paid €34 for 2 people including breakfast.
Plovdiv | Filibe Plaza Hotel 
Plovdiv | Filibe Plaza Hotel
In Plovdiv there are generally nice places to stay in the €30-40 range. If you prefer, there are also cheaper places that haven't been modernised and keep their old character.
How to Get to Plovdiv (Filibe)?
We covered the 140 kilometres from Kazanlak to Plovdiv on the A1 motorway in 2 hours. If you like, you can reach Plovdiv from Istanbul via Edirne, crossing the Bulgarian border. Istanbul - Plovdiv is 420 kilometres, and you can get to Plovdiv in a 4-5 hour drive.
What Comes to Mind When You Think of Bulgaria
- Able to turn their hand to anything: hard-working people
- As we heard in the old days, the Bulgarian mafia
- Incredibly large, opening onto the sea: seaside parks
- Much loved by skiers: Bansko Ski Resort
- Lively in summer: Bulgaria's beaches
- Bribe-taking, stopping Turkish cars on the roads: Bulgarian police
- Those who know, know: Naim Süleymanoğlu
- A country that is still cheap despite the Turkish Lira losing value. Especially meat dishes are very cheap and tasty.
- Tasty fried pickled peppers
Places to Visit in Plovdiv (Filibe)
Now let's discover the best things to do in Plovdiv:
Plovdiv Old Town
We really liked an old town where traditional Plovdiv houses on cobbled streets closed to cars blend with Roman ruins.
In this part of the city, especially on Ulitsa Saborna, most of the houses are half-timbered, and some of those who could afford restoration have painted them in vivid colours, making them even more eye-catching. As you walk the unusual streets, pleasant melodies from everywhere keep you company. We walked around early in the morning, and there was none of the city's busy noise. Instead, music lessons must have started, because the sound of violins was the soundtrack to our walk.
Dzhumaya Mosque
At the end of the famous Tsar Boris III street, right next to the Roman Stadium. So it's the right place to start exploring the city, a perfect location! We were very happy that such a well-preserved mosque exists.
It's said that after the Ottomans took the city, they had this mosque built on top of a cathedral that stood here before. Later, in the 15th century, when Sultan Murad II took full control of the region, it was restored again. The regional mufti's office and a café operate here.
Again, at the beginning of the 1800s, the mosque was reinforced with wooden columns to strengthen it. The Roman Stadium right next to the mosque is an underground museum waiting to be explored!
City Art Gallery
You can take a look at the Stepan Hindliyan House, dating from the mid-1830s, which is blue with the characteristic elegant sgraffito patterns around its window frames. Hand-painting the murals in this house took about 6 months.
Because it was the 2019 European Capital of Culture, many historic houses were restored and turned into art galleries or house museums. To see the extraordinary interior decoration, you can go into this lovely house and other houses in the Old Town. Enjoy getting lost in the streets; every way will bring you back to where you started anyway.
Ancient Theatre
One of the best-preserved ancient theatres in the world, this building is still standing despite almost 2000 years having passed.
The structure was built so that 7000 people could see the stage at the same time. As you climb up the structure, the view of the magnificent city with the Rhodope Mountains is quite astonishing. We absolutely loved it. That it's so much inside the city and still actively used is per-fect!
With the music in the background, our mood couldn't be better. After the slopes we sit and watch for a while; the clouds are gorgeous. The theatre came to light thanks to a landslide in the 1970s. The area has an underground city where settlement goes back a very long way; there's a whole other world down there! Who knows what we're actually living on top of; many of the places we walked around here are archaeological sites.
If you'll be in the city in summer, you can watch opera or theatre performances staged in this lovely setting. Sadly, in spring when we went, there were no such events.
Tsar Boris III Boulevard
We look at what else there is in this area. What isn't there! The Ethnographic Museum, the Ancient Fortress on Nebet Hill, the Roman Stadium...
Mevlevihane
The Mevlevihane in Plovdiv Old Town is a dervish lodge thought to have been used by Iranian Muslims.
Right next to it, it winks at Dzhambaz Tepe with the ruins of the ancient Acropolis. It's thought to have been a church in its history; with Ottoman rule in the region it began to be used as a mosque and dervish lodge. Over time, of the unused mosque, only the Mevlevihane remained. Today it has opened as the Puldin Restaurant.
This charming building still welcomes you with peace when you visit today. It was a building belonging to the Sufi** Mevlevi Order. The decorations on the walls tell of the period and its traditions.
In his lifetime, the fame of Mevlana Celaleddin-i Rumi did not stay within the Seljuk State but reached all Islamic countries from Byzantium to Samarkand. After his death, the Sufism formed around his ideas spread throughout the world, and today it continues to guide humanity's emotional and intellectual life in almost every corner of the world.
** Sufi: in Sufism, a person who is enlightened, a saint, pure of heart.
Bachkovo Monastery
Located just outside the town of Asenovgrad, 25 km from Plovdiv, this monastery was founded in 1083. These days it was under renovation with scaffolding outside, but the interior decoration is very well preserved.
On the road up to the monastery there are many stalls selling local products. Later, wherever I went, I couldn't find ones like these, so you can shop here. All sorts of jams, mixed and single spices, pickles... Prices were between 5-8 leva. We recommend the roasted pepper pickle.
Ceramic dishes are sold, very similar to the serving pieces in Bozhentsi. I plan to buy some of the tea cups, but I'll use them for serving coffee. These sizes are 2 leva.
Plovdiv | Filibe Bachkovo Monastery shops 
Plovdiv | Filibe Bachkovo Monastery shops
Bachkovo, Bulgaria's second largest and oldest Eastern Orthodox monastery, is a landmark that brings together Bulgarian, Georgian and Byzantine religious traditions.
The oldest part of the monastery is 200-300 metres from the main buildings. There are frescoes here from the 1300s, one of which depicts Tsar Ivan Alexander of the Second Bulgarian Empire.
Asen's Fortress
If you like, you can also get to this fortress, 20 km from Plovdiv, by bus. At the end of the journey, the medieval fortress set on the hillside above the Asenitsa River will greet you.
Even before you arrive, as you get closer, you'll see this impressive structure and the view of the limestone rocks.
What really surprised us was the number of people walking the winding 2-2.5 km road up to the fortress. Older people from nearby villages make sure to stop by and fill up on oxygen. Add to that a break with a stunning view and perhaps friendships of recent years.. At the top the chat is lively; the old men have even taken off their sweaty T-shirts to make the most of the sun, resting and sunbathing at the same time.
The fortress's zigzag walls go back to the Thracian period, more than 6 thousand years ago. The structure standing before us today dates from the 1200s. Opposite it, we took photos for our wedding anniversary.
On our first wedding anniversary we were in green Bulgaria, so let it be unforgettable. We talked a lot about the past year, what we'd fitted into it, where we'd travelled and how fast it had gone! And there we had a celebration with a surprise! Once again we promised, for many more anniversaries, adding new dreams and beautiful things...
Traditional Bulgarian Fare
Plovdiv has a cuisine of its own, and with it its dishes differ from the others. Having come this far, of course you have to taste and experience these flavours at a restaurant that does them justice.
Megdana is, in our view, the best of the dining options in Plovdiv. For dinner there's grilled meat, clay-pot stew, mushrooms on skewers, halloumi cheese, yoghurt, and delicious salads made with tomato, cucumber, onion and pepper.
Mavrud Wine & Rakia
There are two kinds of local drink you can find in Plovdiv. Let's say one is a bit more refined than the other..
First, there's the "rakia" known across the Balkans, whose taste differs depending on where you go. Second, the wine made from the red grape known as Mavrud, grown across the Thracian Plain, is a must on the menu in Plovdiv restaurants.
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