Sofia to Veliko Tarnovo: Private day trip

The hilltops overlooking an idyllic river-bend have been settled since around 3,000 BC. In the 12th century, after two local brothers battled the Byzantine Empire, the establishing the Second Bulgarian Empire, and made Veliko Tarnovo its capital. Today, visitors can still walk along the medieval parapets of Tsaravets Fortress to the top of the hill, where they are rewarded with stunning views of the city and its river-bend, and modernist murals in the Church of the Ascension. A walk through the Old Town fully immerses visitors in the town’s rich history, exemplified by the 19th century Bulgarian Revivalist architecture. The city’s Archaeological Museum houses the region’s history from prehistoric times through the Middle Ages, including one of the world’s oldest gold treasures, which dates from the 4th millennium BC.