24 hours in Veliko Tarnovo, the 'city of Tsars' and Bulgaria's cultural capital

The Yantra River curls tightly around Veliko Tarnovo, sculpting its meandering, leafy gorge lined with terracotta-roofed houses. Strategically positioned between the Balkan Mountains and the Danubian Plain, this city rose from a crossroads to become the centre of political and cultural life in Bulgaria, serving as the capital from 1185 until 1393. Outside the gates of the royal Tsarevets Fortress, the city’s writers, craftspeople and merchants all had a hand in shaping its identity. Today, cafes, workshops and museums inhabit its streets, each avenue forged by centuries of trade, conquest and revival. Here’s how to take in Tarnovo’s many layers in a single, well-planned day.

Morning

9am: Summit Tsarevets Fortress
Intended to intimidate invaders, the long, ramped approach to Tsarevets now inspires awe — its walls and towers revealing their scale step by step as you advance towards the hilltop citadel. Paths cut across the peninsula-shaped complex, skirting the ruins of palaces, churches and administrative quarters built between the 12th and 14th centuries when Tarnovo was the seat of the Second Bulgarian Empire. Frequent breaks in the fortifications frame views of the Yantra spiralling below, culminating at the ominous Execution Rock, an outcrop where medieval justice was once carried out.

10.30am: See the murals at the Cathedral of the Holy Ascension
Built at the highest point of the fortress atop Byzantine foundations, the Cathedral of the Holy Ascension is one of Bulgaria’s most unusual places of worship. Its graphic-novel-like frescoes — painted in the 1980s by artist Teofan Sokerov — present key moments from national history in bold tableaux, departing sharply from the saintly imagery typical of an Orthodox church.

11am: Make your way into the old town
Veliko Tarnovo’s historic core is defined by cobbled streets that hug the contours of the hillside. The houses — densely packed with curved rooflines and cantilevered bay windows — are characteristic of the Bulgarian National Revival period, when 19th-century merchants and craftsmen rebuilt the city following liberation from Ottoman rule. Footpaths give way to vertiginous stairways, and the streets twist and taper as you pass bakeries and historic inns. Don’t miss the iconic Monkey House, a private residence built in 1849 by master architect Kolyu Ficheto — look for the mischievous primate carved above the entrance.

Afternoon

1pm: Lunch al fresco
Near to Monkey House, the terrace at Shtastliveca promises an unbeatable view of Veliko Tarnovo’s green hills and ​​red-tiled roofs. The menu leans toward elevated mehana (traditional) tavern fare, such as tangy kashkaval cheese baked in a clay pot with black truffle or pork glazed with Bulgarian rosehip jam.

2.30pm: Visit craft streets and merchant homes
Samovodska Charshiya, the historic market quarter on the edge of the old town, has evolved into a pedestrian street lined with artisan workshops and open studios. Potters, woodcarvers, weavers and coppersmiths delight visitors with ancient craft traditions. Glazed jugs and filigree jewellery are among Veliko Tarnovo’s many specialities. Venture deeper to visit small museums dedicated to cultural luminaries — such as 20th-century prose writer Emilian Stanev — tour Sarafkina House, which preserves the interiors and furnishings of a prosperous merchant home, or browse modern works at Narrativa Gallery. For a pick-me-up, Samurai Specialty Coffee is right next door and roasts its beans in-house.

Evening

5pm: Drinks and a stroll
Before dinner, slip into Creative House ‘The Seeker’  — a cosy, bohemian arts cafe in the Old Town — for a glass of wine. It’s a window onto Veliko Tarnovo’s creative scene, with acoustic music and poetry readings often filling the space after dark. Wander back to Bey House Royal Hotel, your base for the weekend, via the main street. Or, if there's time, take a short detour to explore Gurko Street. Wandering this historic thoroughfare, you’ll pass vignettes of everyday life — laundry lines strung between balconies, cats stretched out across warm stone, voices drifting from open windows — that make a pleasant contrast to the busier districts.

7pm: Dine at imperial digs
Bey House Royal Hotel is housed in the former residence of Veliko Tarnovo’s last Ottoman governor and functions almost like a living museum. Non-guests are welcome to explore or dine, with live folklore music played in the restaurant on weekends and a menu built around herbs and honey from the hotel’s own bee garden in nearby Arbanasi. Expect dishes such as Rhodope tarhana (soup) made with nettle, cream and smoked paprika; traditional kachamak (polenta) with asparagus and walnut-lemon cream; and Balkan trout glazed with Bulgarian truffle.

8.30pm: Seek culture after dark
After dinner, head back towards Tsarevets for a dose of culture. On selected nights throughout the year, the fortress hosts the long-running Sound and Light Show, a spectacle that uses more than 2,400 coloured projectors, lighting effects and the toll of six live bells to animate the fortress walls with episodes from Bulgarian history. For the best views, buy a ticket for the VIP Tsarevets salon, just a two-minute walk from Bey House. In summer, the medieval walls become an open-air stage for opera performances beneath the night sky.