The Cutest City You’ve Never Heard Of…

Plovdiv Old Town is the single prettiest place we’ve visited since beautiful Lijiang in China.

Mosaic outside a church in Plovdiv Old Town.

The city’s history is written in its walls. Successive generations of conquerors — Macedonian, Roman, Bulgar and Ottoman — have left their mark here, cannibalising each other’s buildings to build and defend anew.

View over Roman theatre in Plovdiv Old Town.

One of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, first settled 8000 years ago or so, the Old Town ambles across three crags above Bulgaria’s Maritsa river, complete with a Roman theatre.

Church steeple in Plovdiv Old Town.

The skyline now, bar the big, brick-built Ottoman mosque, is firmly Orthodox. There are dazzling churches, dense with gilt and icons, at every major crossroad.

Child carrying sled between overhanging houses, Plovdiv Old Town, Bulgaria.

In winter, the Old Town is almost empty. Children ride sleds between galleried houses, the homes of wealthy merchants 150 years ago or so.

View of houses in Plovdiv Old Town.

The old town is pocket-sized and if you stay in the heart of it you can wander at will.

There are museums of pharmacy, history, icons, ethnography, old houses kitted out for display. A myriad art galleries, both private and public, compete with antique shops.

Ancient singer sewing machine and apothecary bottles in antique shop in Plovdiv Old Town.

And these are addictive. Ancient sewing machines, Ottoman coffee mills, Russian pre-revolutionary icons, bundles of drachma, war medals, vintage books, box cameras, jewellery, old letters cluster the shelves.

Street scene in Plovdiv Old Town, Bulgaria.

You can wander down a back street and find a flawless view, take a walk up to an ancient monument and find a winter wonderland. (Snowballs and icycle battles optional.)

Snow-covered trees around an ancient monument, Plovdiv Old Town.

Yes. Plovdiv, despite your name, I think I love you…

And, if you love Plovdiv too, I reckon you’ll adore Byblos in Lebanon, or sailing a felucca down the Nile or stunning Central Laos.

We stayed at Plovdiv Guesthouse in the heart of the Old Town. An en suite room with breakfast cost 25 euros: dorm beds are less than half that price.

39 Responses

  1. Francesca says:

    This is the cutest little town! The snow & winter scene really add to the allure. Lovely photos!

  2. Andrea says:

    It looks adorable. Hopefully I’ll be able to visit this year or next.

  3. Gappy says:

    Hello you. Good to catch up and see where you’re at.

    Beautiful pictures.

    I think last time we ‘spoke’ you were in Laos?

  4. Oh wow, your photos are beautiful. We’ve wanted to go to Plovdiv for such a long time and now we want to go even more. We were thinking about a summertime visit but everything looks so pretty in the snow!
    Julia

    • Theodora says:

      It is extremely pretty in the winter. And also almost deserted. From the look of things, it gets quite busy in the summer. Hop across the border… You know you want to…

  5. Anne-Marie says:

    Definitely on the route for Greece in the summer – it looks delightful.

    • Theodora says:

      It is! Definitely stay in the Old Town, though. The new city is pretty generic E/European — a lot of casinos, strip joints, etc.

  6. No snow in Michigan. Did it all go to Bulgaria? Looks lovely.

    • Theodora says:

      Yes! Eastern Europe is having an impressive cold snap. Was -22 the night we arrived in Sofia. It’s apparently -40 in Belarus at the moment.

  7. Absolutely lovely, wonderful in the snow too! I’d love to get to Bulgaria soon. Thanks.

    • Theodora says:

      I’d recommend it. It’s also very affordable if you’re travelling slowly (we weren’t)…

  8. Justin says:

    It’s Awesome. I have been to Lijiang, but this is so great with the snow! Thanks for putting it on the map for us.

  9. Amanda says:

    I looks lovely! I’m definitely planning to add a stop in Plovdiv during my own trip through Bulgaria this summer. It’ll be interesting to see how different it looks in the summer, compared to your winter photos.

  10. Tracy says:

    Plovdiv looks gorgeous. I love quiet, small cities too. The photos remind me a lot of Veliko Tarnovo … well except for the roman ruins.

  11. OK, OK, you can stop now. I never had any desire to visit Bulgaria, but…

  12. Phoebe says:

    Thanks for reminding me about the beauty of Plovdiv. I spent a lot of time regularly visiting Bulgaria from 89-92 and then lived in Sofia for 6 months in 92. I went to Plovdiv many times, in summer and winter and it was always enchanting and so so quiet! I’m sure it’s a lot busier now but I’d love to go back again one day.

    Twitter @FibiTee

    • Theodora says:

      It was incredibly quiet when we visited, but you could see that it would get a bit busier in summer, particularly given the surrounding countryside has more going on in the warmer months. Bulgaria must have changed A LOT in those twenty years…

  13. It’s so very beautiful!! I’d love to go. How was the food?

    • Theodora says:

      I was pleasantly surprised by Bulgarian food as a whole. It’s sort of 50-50 eastern Mediterranean and Slav, so a lot of salads, plus grills and hearty stews (and mushrooms!). We actually went to what’s supposed to be the best restaurant in town, though I’d say stick to the simpler farmhouse style places as the haute cuisine side of things isn’t really there yet…

  14. When you say “Lijiang” and “China”, I had thought it’d be like other parts of China (e.g. Hangzhou or xi an). Looks like it’s not the case! What an interesting place indeed – hope we get to visit one day!

    • Theodora says:

      Lijiang is indeed amazing. I liked Xi’an a lot but it doesn’t have the cute factor of Lijiang — although — wow! — the warriors.

  15. cheryl says:

    The winter scenery is absolutely stunning. I’d love to be there right now walking through the city and experiencing it in real life.

    • Theodora says:

      I would recommend it. Veliko Tarnovo is also supposed to be amazing, though we didn’t make it there this time.

  16. Alex says:

    C’mon… Plovdiv – great little town? It’s 1/2 million people there. And even the old town… Bulgaria has so many more little gems – Melnik, Bozhenci, Tryavna, Koprivshtitsa. Cannot even continue – I guess a list of at least 15-20 more places would come before even thinking about Plovdiv

  17. Galin says:

    Beautiful pictures you are a true master in photography ….I was there 10 years ago and you give a new perspective…. I’ve almost forgotten how Old Plovdiv looks

  18. It’s a wonderful town, thanks for sharing!!

  19. Wow! The snow really adds to the atmosphere! Although I bt you had cold toes

    • Theodora says:

      No, I had my trusty northern Chinese furry boots. We did have to go back for Z to change out of his trainers, though. Crazy kid…

  20. ozan says:

    I ve been this lovely town too many times and
    still going there min once a mounth .
    There is a lovely atmosphere if you try it
    you ll want to go…

    • Theodora says:

      Thanks, Ozan! I’m glad you like it too. It’s not just the aesthetics, but the whole art scene and the junkstore scene.