Veliko Tarnovo & Arbanasi Day Trip

Veliko Tarnovo was the capital of the Second Bulgarian Empire for more than two centuries, and its centrepiece, Tsarevets Fortress, still dominates the town from a steep hill wrapped by a bend of the Yantra River. We give you time to walk the restored ramparts and towers at your own pace, taking in views over the gorge below, before dropping down into Samovodska Charshia — an old craftsmen's street where potters, coppersmiths and weavers still work in shopfronts that have barely changed in a century.

After lunch at a pre-selected local restaurant, we drive a short way out to Arbanasi, a National Revival village of grand fortified merchant houses and richly painted churches, where the Nativity Church's frescoed interior is one of the best-kept secrets of the region. It's a full but unhurried day covering one of the most historically important corners of Bulgaria.