Free Tour in Plovdiv
Plovdiv is one of the oldest cities in the world and my favorite in Bulgaria. From Sofia Central Bus Station, I purchased a bus ticket for $10 lev. Plovdiv is a chill city and seems more like a place for backpackers. Like Sofia, there is also a free tour in Plovdiv, which I took advantage of. Here’s what to expect.
Free Plovdiv Tour
Departure Time: Every day at 11am and 6pm (May to Sept) 2pm (from October to April)
Meeting Place: Municipality building on Plovdiv’s main street
Duration: 2 hours
The tour guide was pretty unenthusiastic, but the actual sites were incredible. Compared to the capital Sofia, Plovdiv was more vibrant and appeared more culturally rich.
Your first few stops will be a couple of government buildings. Not really of any interest, but the outside looks nice though.
You’ll make your way to this statue next. Long story short, this man was deaf and the neighborhood playboy years back. The tour guide placed a lot of emphasis of his “performance.” A legend in the eyes of many locals.
After walking through the city, you’ll be taken to a partially discovered stadium from the Roman era.
I later found out Plovdiv was chosen as the 2019 European Capital for Culture.
The city has a classic feel to it, which is nice. The cobblestone roads evokes images of medieval Europe.
My favorite part of the tour were the hills overlooking the city. This is the definite highlight of the day.
You’ll proceed to an ancient Roman theatre after overlooking the city. This theatre was discovered in the late 1960’s after a landslide hit the city, but unfortunately, we could not enter the site.
Roaming After the Tour
I decided to explore the city with two Romanian tourists after the tour. We didn’t know exactly where we were going, but we felt the tour was lacking a bit and wanted to explore more.
We found a great place along the way completely deserted. I was surprised we didn’t cover this area during the tour, it was scenic and incredibly peaceful.
On our way back, I couldn’t help but notice all the graffiti on the walls.
Plovdiv is a neat city and definitely a lot more interesting than Sofia. Even if you just have two days in Bulgaria, try spending at least one in Plovdiv!
