Three days itinerary in Bulgaria

If you plan on spending a long weekend in Bulgaria and want to make the most of it, here’s the best three days itinerary in Bulgaria. 

From the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, to the villages in the Bulgarian countryside, including the many churches and monastery, I’ll show you the ultimate circuit for a three days itinerary in Bulgaria. If you need a weekend itinerary, I’ll also indicate which activities and sightseeing can be forgotten when coming for two days only.

I also made an article about what to know before coming to Bulgaria as well as one about the best food specialties to try out in Bulgaria.

Moving on to this itinerary !

• Day One : Visit Sofia : Square of Tolerance, Regional History Museum (exterior), Council of Ministers, St George Rotunda Church,  Ivan Vadoz National Theater, National Art Gallery (exterior), The Russian Church, St Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, Vitosha Boulevard
• Day Two : Discover the countryside : Koprivshtitsa, Veliko Tyrnovo
• Day Three : Plovdiv, Bachkovo monastery and Bachkovo village

Day One

After landing in Sofia, spend the day visiting the capital. There isn’t a ton to see there, so a day is enough in my opinion.

I have already made a detailed article about the best circuit to discover Sofia in a day.

But to sum up : start at the square of Tolerance (there’s a mosque, a Catholic cathedral, an orthodox church and a synagogue, all near St. Nedelya Square).

Then, on your way to St George Rotunda Church (picture 4 below), you’ll see the Regional History Museum and the Council of Ministers.

After you can see the Ivan Vadoz National Theater (picture 1 below) and the Palace (which is the National Art Gallery).

When the sun start to set, go see the Russian Church (picture 3 below) and St Alexander Nevsky Cathedral (picture 2 below), which are in my opinion the 2 best monuments in Sofia.

Walk along Vitosha Boulevard to finish and to find a nice restaurant ! If you are in need of some food recommendations : read my article about specialties and restaurant in Sofia.

Day Two

On the second day out of this three days itinerary in Bulgaria, I’d suggest exploring the countryside. You’ll get a real feel of Bulgaria.

Start your day by going to Koprivshtitsa. It’s a little museum-village : many poets, writers and revolutionaries settled here, and their homes have been converted into museums. The village preserves a typically Bulgarian architectural style from the 19th century.

In Koprivchtitsa you’ll find the magnificent mountain scenery, its wooden houses coloured blue and red, inner courtyards immersed in greenery and guarded by high stone walls, paved streets, little bridges over the river… : 

On the afternoon, not far from there you can visit Veliko Tyrnovo. It is one of the oldest cities in the whole country.
It was the historic capital of the Second Bulgarian Empire.

Start at the State Art Gallery Boris Denev for the view, then head towards the Stambolov Bridge to get a magical first look at the town :

Then you can wander in the little streets of the old town, look at the different architectures, and go up in the village to have a nice view from there too. If you plan on having lunch or dinner, you can go to Shtastliveca (See my review here).

If you are here at the end of the day, I would recommend heading then towards the Nativity of Mary Cathedral because the atmosphere changes as the night sets.

For more information regarding those villages, check out my article about day trips from Sofia.

Day Three

For the third day in Bulgaria, I recommend heading to Plovdiv. Among all the Bulgaria day trips, if you have to only choose one, it should be Plovdiv !

Plovdiv is Bulgaria’s second-largest city, after the capital Sofia. It is the oldest known inhabited city in Europe. 

The old town preserves important traces of prehistoric, Thracian, Macedonian, Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman cultures.

Start at the center of the old town, with the Ancient Stadium of Philipopolis. You’ll see the remains of a 1st-century Roman stadium that could seat up to 30,000 spectators (first picture below). Next to it there’s the Sveta Bogoroditsa Church, built in the 9th century (second picture).

You can then head towards the Ancient Theatre and the Temple de St. Arachangelli.

My best recommendation is wandering in the old little streets to admire the odd architecture of this town.

Walking along ul. Tsanko Lavrenov, you’ll find the Regional Ethnographic Museum :

Before heading back to Sofia, check out the Bachkovo monastery : this is the second largest monastery in Bulgaria. 

Less touristy than Rila Monastery (being the 1st most visited monastery in the country), it’s more authentic and peaceful (as it should be !).

If you have time after visiting the monastery, you can spend a bit of time to discover the charming streets of the Bachlovo village.

And that wraps up my three days itinerary in Bulgaria !

Overall, it was a wonderful trip, in 3 days you get a really good feel of Sofia as well as the countryside, and can do a lot ! It’s doable in 2 days if you do one day only in the countryside (I’d choose Plovdiv and the monastery).

If you need a personalized itinerary, you can fill this form and I’ll find you the best accommodations, flights and itinerary !