Varna
The Region
Varna city which is also known as the marine capital of Bulgaria is located in the Northeast of Bulgaria or 470km eastwards from Sofia. As Bulgaria's third largest town Varna has total area of 205 sq. km. Metropolis consists of 12 municipalities with population of around 500 000 citizens. Town's architecture flows within a bay enclosed by gardens, forests and vineyards.
Climate
The region is characterized by mild climate and surroundings full of natural sand beaches, sparkling sea-water, calming parks and gardens.
Communication and transport
The city has excellent sea and road communications. It's connected with West Europe and the Middle East by a network of international highways. The communication infrastructure is well-developed and includes: a modern marine port, international airport, network of bus and railway stations.
Varna seaport offers regular water transport to Sunny Beach, Nessebar, Bourgas and Balchik. The railway station provides an easy access to the main Bulgarian railway lines with express trains running to Sofia, Plovdiv, Russe etc. If you decide to go from Varna to Sofia it will take you around 6.30 hours with train, trip to Plovdiv takes you around 4.30 hours.
The bus transport provides transfers to all main Bulgarian cities and seaside resorts, as well to Central and Eastern Europe with local transport network consisting of 60+ bus lines and trolleys.
How to get to
The fastest way to get to Varna is by air. It will take you less than an hour from the capital Sofia. For your information planes fly in both directions 6 times a day during the summer.
Accommodation
The town offers various kinds of accommodation from private rentals to hotels as BlackSea Hotel, Odessa, Horizont, Moussala, Orbita etc. Most of them are equipped with spa, sauna and gym facilities helping you to get most of your visit.
Places to visit
The Cathedral "St. Virgin Mary"
Situated at the very center of the city the cathedral is one of the symbols of the sea capital, nowadays became as a famous tourist location.
Short history: During the first years of freedom against the Osman Empire, the orthodox Christian population in Varna had grown fast. To demonstrate closer relations to the Russian orthodox faith and the separation from the Greek Church, it was necessary for the temple to unite the orthodox Christians from the town. So the start of the build was supported by Alexander Batenberg I and took 6 years to complete. Through the opening ceremony held in 22 of August 1880 the cathedral was named on the Russian empress Maria Alexandrovna, aunt of Alexander Batenberg I.
Town clock
The initial idea of representative town clock tower was realized on 1888 by the architect Sava Dimitrievich. Its clock mechanism bought from England was placed on the clock tower by the revolutionary Oton Ivanov. The same year a fire accident caused the city to loose its theatre. Two years later adjacent to the clock were built a meeting and acting hall. The clock tower was then used by the firemen because of the excellent city view offered.
Sea garden
One of the symbols of Varna is the sea garden - abundant with beautiful and fresh garden alleys spreading along the whole seaside shore of the town. One of its main characteristics are the perfectly held green fields, quiet alleys, beautiful variety of natural plants and cultural monuments.
After the freedom against the Osman empire in 1881 the mayor Michail Kolonni was first to propose the building of a town garden. The one who helped him was the Czech Anton Novak - an enthusiastic man specialist in park gardening. Their united activity gave actual results - not long after the sea garden gained fame as one of the most beautiful parks in the whole Balkans.
The Pantheon
This monument situated in the sea garden, close to the Sport Palace Center was built in 1961 as a sign of appreciation to all who gave their lives in the fight against the fascism.
The Asparuh Bridge
Thanks to its huge dimensions, the Asparuh Bridge has become one of the symbols of the city. The length of the Bridge is 2050 meters, with height of 50 meters. It is part of the autobahn "black sea" and the international road E-87, and at the same time plays a huge role as a connection between Varna's sea and lake channels. The bridge is famous to the adrenalin seekers. Here everyone could practice bungee jumping.
Festival & Congress Center
The Festival & Congress Center or the so called festival complex is situated at the hearth of the Varna town, close to the sea garden entry. Every day in the complex are held concerts, cinemas and seminars. It's a place for many international events with its own pride is the international movie festival "Love is a folly". In the complex you can find a restaurant, coffee bar, shop market and others. Also there are 11 halls, the main of which offers over 900 seating places, a 20/14 meters scene, concert organ and 24 channel audio system.
Address: bul. Slivnitza №2
Phone. 052/2-13-31
Fax: 052 / 608 466
Tickets: 052/ 608-457
Work time
mon-fri: 11.00 – 21.00
sat-sun: 10.30 – 21.00
Website: http://fcc.hit.bg/index1.htm
Sport palace
The Sport Palace Center hosts international volleyball, gymnastics, martial arts and table tennis events. Inside you can have fun participating martial arts courses, gym, table tennis, ballroom dancing and gymnastics. Sport palace center is also a place for relax and shopping.
Details: The sport and culture palace is a multifunctional sport complex, with 6 training and competitions halls, rehabilitation and recreation center, 3 gyms, press center, modern business and shopping center.
More info about each of the utilities:
Hall "Congressna" has playing field with dimensions of 50х25x15 meters.
Complex "Mladost" has 5 halls suitable for trainings that can be adjusted with noise-reducing curtains.
"Palace Press" is suitable for press conference, sport events analysis and training. It has video and audio capabilities as well as an Internet.
In the sport-recreating center there are offered saunas, tangentors and physiotherapy, while you can always rest and have a good time in the inner shopping coffee shops and facilities.
Address: bul. Kniaz Boris I №115
Phone: 052/ 601-503, 052/239-430, 052/239-544
Work time: mon-sun 10.00-19.00
The Dolphinarium
The unique dolphinarium of the Balkan peninsula located in Varna is really one of the funniest attractions offering exhibitions at 10.30, 12.00 and 15.30 o'clock daily. There you can meet the 5 dolphins and enjoy their attractive show program, along with the amazing play of the little 3years old baby Bimbo parents. The duration of each show is from 30 to 35 minutes making it one of the greatest attractions in the town. During the actual performance every visitor discovers the intelligent and understanding side of these smart mammals.
An interesting fact is that in 1992 there was born the first baby dolphin. This was perceived as a sign that the animals are getting accustomed to their new home.
The building is opened back in early 11 august 1984 offering 1134 guest seats. During the dolphin play everyone can enjoy their acrobatics, balance and water dancing. You can also find an attractive coffee shop with panoramic glasses while enjoying the underwater dolphin games.
Phone: 052/302-199
The Aquarium
The aquarium was built in 1912 based on the idea of king Ferdinand. Here you can find large collections of the fresh and saltwater flora and fauna species representing the Black sea submerged into their natural habitat. In the various aquarium departments one can find out more about the history and characteristics of the Black sea.
Phone: 052/632-064
Work time: mon-sun 9.00–17.00
The Olympic swimming pool
The swimming complex "Primorski" built on 1964 consists of several swimming facilities. The poll complies with international swimming-federation standards and is one of the best swimming facilities in Bulgaria. It has size of 25/50 meters, where the tribunes capacity is up to 500 seats. The pond is equipped with modern water filter and dosage system for nitrogen and ammonium waste removal while refilling fresh mineral water from an independent source.
The building offers 6 locker rooms, 4 bathrooms, medicine office, training facilities, spa center and special doping control cabinet. In the complex there are also 4 training rooms, 2 judge halls, sport shop and 120 seats panorama coffee shop.
There is also a children pool with its own filter and dosage system.
Beginners enjoy the novice swimming courses, while keen individuals practice water jumping from 3, 5, 7.50 and 10 meters.
The eco park
Located only 15 minutes away from city center the Eco park is a wonderful place to visit and spend a whole day long. For the direction just take the bus towards Golden Sands and ask for the Ecopark bus stop. The entry fare is fairly cheap 1.50lv and the place is everyday open.
Spacious open-wide green spaces are properly maintained and suitable for play, rest and barbecues. Most of the green space is enriched with benches and tables and the small running river gives a natural and cozy look to the whole place. Here everyone can play football, volleyball or other social games. Don't forget that there are also bins present but just in case take some spare waste bags.
Enjoy!
Varna city which is also known as the marine capital of Bulgaria is located in the Northeast of Bulgaria or 470km eastwards from Sofia. As Bulgaria's third largest town Varna has total area of 205 sq. km. Metropolis consists of 12 municipalities with population of around 500 000 citizens. Town's architecture flows within a bay enclosed by gardens, forests and vineyards.
Climate
The region is characterized by mild climate and surroundings full of natural sand beaches, sparkling sea-water, calming parks and gardens.
Communication and transport
The city has excellent sea and road communications. It's connected with West Europe and the Middle East by a network of international highways. The communication infrastructure is well-developed and includes: a modern marine port, international airport, network of bus and railway stations.
Varna seaport offers regular water transport to Sunny Beach, Nessebar, Bourgas and Balchik. The railway station provides an easy access to the main Bulgarian railway lines with express trains running to Sofia, Plovdiv, Russe etc. If you decide to go from Varna to Sofia it will take you around 6.30 hours with train, trip to Plovdiv takes you around 4.30 hours.
The bus transport provides transfers to all main Bulgarian cities and seaside resorts, as well to Central and Eastern Europe with local transport network consisting of 60+ bus lines and trolleys.
How to get to
The fastest way to get to Varna is by air. It will take you less than an hour from the capital Sofia. For your information planes fly in both directions 6 times a day during the summer.
Accommodation
The town offers various kinds of accommodation from private rentals to hotels as BlackSea Hotel, Odessa, Horizont, Moussala, Orbita etc. Most of them are equipped with spa, sauna and gym facilities helping you to get most of your visit.
Places to visit
The Cathedral "St. Virgin Mary"
Situated at the very center of the city the cathedral is one of the symbols of the sea capital, nowadays became as a famous tourist location.
Short history: During the first years of freedom against the Osman Empire, the orthodox Christian population in Varna had grown fast. To demonstrate closer relations to the Russian orthodox faith and the separation from the Greek Church, it was necessary for the temple to unite the orthodox Christians from the town. So the start of the build was supported by Alexander Batenberg I and took 6 years to complete. Through the opening ceremony held in 22 of August 1880 the cathedral was named on the Russian empress Maria Alexandrovna, aunt of Alexander Batenberg I.
Town clock
The initial idea of representative town clock tower was realized on 1888 by the architect Sava Dimitrievich. Its clock mechanism bought from England was placed on the clock tower by the revolutionary Oton Ivanov. The same year a fire accident caused the city to loose its theatre. Two years later adjacent to the clock were built a meeting and acting hall. The clock tower was then used by the firemen because of the excellent city view offered.
Sea garden
One of the symbols of Varna is the sea garden - abundant with beautiful and fresh garden alleys spreading along the whole seaside shore of the town. One of its main characteristics are the perfectly held green fields, quiet alleys, beautiful variety of natural plants and cultural monuments.
After the freedom against the Osman empire in 1881 the mayor Michail Kolonni was first to propose the building of a town garden. The one who helped him was the Czech Anton Novak - an enthusiastic man specialist in park gardening. Their united activity gave actual results - not long after the sea garden gained fame as one of the most beautiful parks in the whole Balkans.
The Pantheon
This monument situated in the sea garden, close to the Sport Palace Center was built in 1961 as a sign of appreciation to all who gave their lives in the fight against the fascism.
The Asparuh Bridge
Thanks to its huge dimensions, the Asparuh Bridge has become one of the symbols of the city. The length of the Bridge is 2050 meters, with height of 50 meters. It is part of the autobahn "black sea" and the international road E-87, and at the same time plays a huge role as a connection between Varna's sea and lake channels. The bridge is famous to the adrenalin seekers. Here everyone could practice bungee jumping.
Festival & Congress Center
The Festival & Congress Center or the so called festival complex is situated at the hearth of the Varna town, close to the sea garden entry. Every day in the complex are held concerts, cinemas and seminars. It's a place for many international events with its own pride is the international movie festival "Love is a folly". In the complex you can find a restaurant, coffee bar, shop market and others. Also there are 11 halls, the main of which offers over 900 seating places, a 20/14 meters scene, concert organ and 24 channel audio system.
Address: bul. Slivnitza №2
Phone. 052/2-13-31
Fax: 052 / 608 466
Tickets: 052/ 608-457
Work time
mon-fri: 11.00 – 21.00
sat-sun: 10.30 – 21.00
Website: http://fcc.hit.bg/index1.htm
Sport palace
The Sport Palace Center hosts international volleyball, gymnastics, martial arts and table tennis events. Inside you can have fun participating martial arts courses, gym, table tennis, ballroom dancing and gymnastics. Sport palace center is also a place for relax and shopping.
Details: The sport and culture palace is a multifunctional sport complex, with 6 training and competitions halls, rehabilitation and recreation center, 3 gyms, press center, modern business and shopping center.
More info about each of the utilities:
Hall "Congressna" has playing field with dimensions of 50х25x15 meters.
Complex "Mladost" has 5 halls suitable for trainings that can be adjusted with noise-reducing curtains.
"Palace Press" is suitable for press conference, sport events analysis and training. It has video and audio capabilities as well as an Internet.
In the sport-recreating center there are offered saunas, tangentors and physiotherapy, while you can always rest and have a good time in the inner shopping coffee shops and facilities.
Address: bul. Kniaz Boris I №115
Phone: 052/ 601-503, 052/239-430, 052/239-544
Work time: mon-sun 10.00-19.00
The Dolphinarium
The unique dolphinarium of the Balkan peninsula located in Varna is really one of the funniest attractions offering exhibitions at 10.30, 12.00 and 15.30 o'clock daily. There you can meet the 5 dolphins and enjoy their attractive show program, along with the amazing play of the little 3years old baby Bimbo parents. The duration of each show is from 30 to 35 minutes making it one of the greatest attractions in the town. During the actual performance every visitor discovers the intelligent and understanding side of these smart mammals.
An interesting fact is that in 1992 there was born the first baby dolphin. This was perceived as a sign that the animals are getting accustomed to their new home.
The building is opened back in early 11 august 1984 offering 1134 guest seats. During the dolphin play everyone can enjoy their acrobatics, balance and water dancing. You can also find an attractive coffee shop with panoramic glasses while enjoying the underwater dolphin games.
Phone: 052/302-199
The Aquarium
The aquarium was built in 1912 based on the idea of king Ferdinand. Here you can find large collections of the fresh and saltwater flora and fauna species representing the Black sea submerged into their natural habitat. In the various aquarium departments one can find out more about the history and characteristics of the Black sea.
Phone: 052/632-064
Work time: mon-sun 9.00–17.00
The Olympic swimming pool
The swimming complex "Primorski" built on 1964 consists of several swimming facilities. The poll complies with international swimming-federation standards and is one of the best swimming facilities in Bulgaria. It has size of 25/50 meters, where the tribunes capacity is up to 500 seats. The pond is equipped with modern water filter and dosage system for nitrogen and ammonium waste removal while refilling fresh mineral water from an independent source.
The building offers 6 locker rooms, 4 bathrooms, medicine office, training facilities, spa center and special doping control cabinet. In the complex there are also 4 training rooms, 2 judge halls, sport shop and 120 seats panorama coffee shop.
There is also a children pool with its own filter and dosage system.
Beginners enjoy the novice swimming courses, while keen individuals practice water jumping from 3, 5, 7.50 and 10 meters.
The eco park
Located only 15 minutes away from city center the Eco park is a wonderful place to visit and spend a whole day long. For the direction just take the bus towards Golden Sands and ask for the Ecopark bus stop. The entry fare is fairly cheap 1.50lv and the place is everyday open.
Spacious open-wide green spaces are properly maintained and suitable for play, rest and barbecues. Most of the green space is enriched with benches and tables and the small running river gives a natural and cozy look to the whole place. Here everyone can play football, volleyball or other social games. Don't forget that there are also bins present but just in case take some spare waste bags.
Enjoy!
