The Best Places to Visit in Bulgaria by Travel Influencers

Sofia is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. The city is at the foot of Vitosha mountain in the western part of the country. Being in the centre of the Balkans, it is midway between the Black Sea and the Adriatic Sea, and closest to the Aegean Sea. Sofia is the 13th largest city in the European Union.

Melnik is a town in Blagoevgrad Province, Southwestern Bulgaria, in the Southwestern Pirin Mountains, about 440 m above sea level. The town is an architectural reserve and 96 of its buildings are cultural monuments. With a population of 385, it is the smallest town in Bulgaria, retaining its town status today for historical reasons. It is situated on the foothills of the Pirin mountain range and is overlooked by the Melnik Earth Pyramids.

Burgas, sometimes transliterated as Bourgas, is the second largest city on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast in the region of Northern Thrace and the fourth-largest in Bulgaria after Sofia, Plovdiv, and Varna, with a population of 202,694 inhabitants, while 277,922 live in its urban area.

Sozopol is an ancient seaside town located 35 km south of Burgas on the southern Bulgarian Black Sea Coast. Today it is one of the major seaside resorts in the country, known for the Apollonia art and film festival that is named after one of the town's ancient names.

Obzor is a small town and seaside resort on the Black Sea coast of Bulgaria. It is part of Nesebar municipality, Burgas Province. The Thracian and ancient Greek name of Obzor was Naulochos, a small port on the coast of Thrace, a colony of Mesembria. The ancient Romans named it Templum Iovis; Pliny called it Tetranaulochus. During the Ottoman rule of Bulgaria, it was known as Gözeken. The modern name was introduced in 1936; Obzor obtained town privileges on 9 September 1984.

Troyan is a town remembering the name of Roman Emperor Trajan, in Lovech Province in central Bulgaria with population of 21,997 inhabitants, as of December 2009. It is the administrative centre of the homonymous Troyan Municipality. The town is about 162 kilometres away from the country capital Sofia. The river of Beli Osam passes through the heart of the town. The 2011 Census indicates that the population of the Trojan was 21.194 inhabitants.

Veliko Tarnovo is a town in north central Bulgaria and the administrative centre of Veliko Tarnovo Province. Often referred as the "City of the Tsars", Veliko Tarnovo is located on the Yantra River and is famously known as the historical capital of the Second Bulgarian Empire, attracting many tourists with its unique architecture.

Plovdiv is the second-largest city of Bulgaria located in the historical region of Thrace. It has a population of 346,893 as of 2018 and 675,000 in the greater metropolitan area. Plovdiv is the culture capital of Bulgaria. It is an important economic, transport, cultural, and educational center.

Asenovgrad is a town in central southern Bulgaria, part of Plovdiv Province. It is the largest town in Bulgaria that is not a province center. In 1934 it was renamed in honor of Tsar Ivan Assen II of Asenovgrad. Asenovgrad also includes the districts of Gorni Voden and Dolni Voden, which until 1986 were separate villages.

Chernomorets is a town on the Black Sea coast of southeastern Bulgaria. Administratively part of Sozopol Municipality, Burgas Province, Chernomorets is a popular seaside resort.

Basarbovo is a village in Northeast Bulgaria, in the Municipality of Ruse. As of 2018, the population is 1 416.

Velingrad is a town in Pazardzhik Province, Southern Bulgaria, located at the western end of Chepino Valley, part of the Rhodope Mountains.

Bansko is a town in southwestern Bulgaria, located at the foot of the Pirin Mountains at an elevation of 1200m above sea level. It is a popular ski resort.

Rozhen, Bulgaria is a village in the municipality of Sandanski, in Blagoevgrad Province, Bulgaria. It is situated at the south-western foothills of the Pirin mountain range and is nestled within the Melnik Earth Pyramids.

Sliven is the eighth-largest city in Bulgaria and the administrative and industrial centre of Sliven Province and municipality in Northern Thrace.

Klisura is a small town in the Karlovo Municipality of the Plovdiv Province in central Bulgaria. It is situated in a valley surrounded by the Balkan Mountain range and Sredna Gora.

Polska Skakavitsa is a village in Kyustendil Municipality, Kyustendil Province, south-western Bulgaria.

Sapareva Banya is a town in southwestern Bulgaria, part of Kyustendil Province. As Ancient Germania, a former bishopric, it is a Latin Catholic titular see. It is located at the north foot of the Rila mountain 15 km east of Dupnitsa.

Stara Kresna is a village in Kresna Municipality, in Blagoevgrad Province, Bulgaria.

Gara Bov is a village in Svoge Municipality, Sofia Province, western Bulgaria.

Slanchev Bryag is a major seaside resort on the Black Sea coast of Bulgaria, located approximately 35 km north of Burgas in Nessebar municipality, Burgas Province. It was created in the year of 1958. Today Sunny Beach houses more than 200 hotels, as well as more than 100 attractions.

The Monastery of Saint Ivan of Rila, better known as the Rila Monastery is the largest and most famous Eastern Orthodox monastery in Bulgaria.

Rila National Park is the largest national park in Bulgaria spanning an area of 810.46 km² in the Rila mountain range in the south-west of the country. It was established on 24 February 1992 to protect several ecosystems of national importance.

The City Garden is Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria's oldest and most central public garden, in existence since 1872. It is located between Tsar Osvoboditel Boulevard to the north, Knyaz Alexander Battenberg Street to the west and Joseph Vladimirovich Gourko Street to the south, in the historical centre of the city.

Malyovitsa is a peak in the northwestern part of the Rila Mountain in southwestern Bulgaria. It is 2,729 m high and is one of the most popular tourist regions in the mountain.

Borovets, known as Chamkoria until the middle of the 20th century, is a popular Bulgarian mountain resort situated in Sofia Province, on the northern slopes of Rila, at an altitude of 1350 m.

Pirin National Park, originally named Vihren National Park, encompasses the larger part of the Pirin Mountains in southwestern Bulgaria, spanning an area of 403.56 km².

Vihren is the highest peak of Bulgaria's Pirin Mountains. Reaching 2,914 metres, it is Bulgaria's second and the Balkans' third highest, after Musala and Mount Olympus.

Devil's Throat Cave, or Dyavolsko Garlo, is located in the western Rhodopes close to the village of Gyovren in Bulgaria, near its border with Greece. A popular tourist attraction, Devil's Throat branches from Trigrad Gorge.

The Seven Rila Lakes are a group of glacial lakes, situated in the northwestern Rila Mountain in Bulgaria. They are the most visited group of lakes in Bulgaria. The lakes are situated between 2,100 and 2,500 metres elevation above sea level. Each lake carries a name associated with its most characteristic feature. The highest one is called Salzata due to its clear waters that allow visibility in depth. The next one in height carries the name Okoto after its almost perfectly oval form. Okoto is the deepest cirque lake in Bulgaria, with a depth of 37.5 m. Babreka is the lake with the steepest shores of the entire group. Bliznaka is the largest one by area. Trilistnika has an irregular shape and low shores.

The Shabla Lighthouse is a lighthouse located 5 kilometres east of the town of Shabla, Dobrich Province; in Bulgaria. The lighthouse was built in 1856 by the Ottoman Empire and is the oldest lighthouse in Bulgaria.

Aleko is a site on Vitosha Mountain in Bulgaria situated at the northern foothills of Malak Rezen Peak, in the watershed of Yanchevska River draining eastwards towards the village of Bistritsa, Sofia.

Kominite are several minor andesite peaks in the Vitosha Mountains near Sofia, Bulgaria. The peaks are in the upper valley of the Dragalevska River near the Bay Krastyo tourist site.

The Veleka is a river in the very southeast of Bulgaria, as well as the very northeast of European Turkey. It is 147 km long, of which 108 km in Bulgaria and 25 km in Turkey, and takes it sources from a number of Karst springs in the Turkish part of the Strandzha mountain to flow into the Black Sea at the Bulgarian village of Sinemorets.

Polezhan. It is the fifth highest summit in the Pirin range. The closest mountain hut is Hizha Bezbog named after Bezbog which lies near Polezhan. Depending on weather conditions the mountain hut is about 2-3h from Polezhan.

Tyulenovo is a village and seaside resort on the north Bulgarian Black Sea Coast, part of Shabla Municipality, Dobrich Province.

Vitosha, the ancient Scomius or Scombrus, is a mountain massif, on the outskirts of Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria. Vitosha is one of the symbols of Sofia and the closest site for hiking, alpinism and skiing.

The Vacha is a river in south Bulgaria, one of the main right tributaries of the Maritsa. It is 104 km long and is formed by the confluence of the rivers Chairdere and Buynovska reka. Shirokolashka is another tributary.

St. Anastasia Island is a Bulgarian islet in the Black Sea. It is located 1.5 km off the coast near Chernomorets, at 12 metres above sea level, and covers a territory of one hectare. The island is built of volcanic rocks. It is the only inhabited island off the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast. The island is supplied with electricity and drinking water. It is named after the former St. Anastasia convent located on it.

Vacha Reservoir is a body of water associated with a dam in Devin Municipality, south Bulgaria. It is part of the Vacha Cascade Joint Implementation Project involving three more dams and four power stations.