Description
Varna is the third-largest city in Bulgaria. It is a port city on the Black Sea and a summer residence for everyone, from the Bulgarian nobility to the young holidaymakers. People of all ages will find something to their taste here.
After you have parked your car near the harbour, you will find a huge park that runs along the coast and cuts into the city, the Sea Garden, a national monument of scenic architecture.
Enjoy a leisurely stroll along the wide promenades and flowerbeds and in the shade of the palms and deciduous trees, there is plenty to see and do here.
During this walk you can admire for example some very special sights:
- the statue of Yuri Gagarin: a Russian cosmonaut and the first human to travel in space. He inaugurated this part of the garden in 1961.
- Varna Cathedral
With its shiny copper domes, it is one of the city's postcard scenes. The cathedral was built by the Russians in the late 19th century after the Bulgarian liberation of the Ottomans and was modelled on the temple of the Peterhof Palace in St. Petersburg. The more than 50 icons you can see in the cavernous interior of the church were donated by the Russian Tsar Nicholas II in the early 20th century.
- Museum of the Battle of Varna.
This museum marks one of the pivotal moments in late-medieval European history. In Varna, in 1444 a Hungarian-Polish Christian army was defeated by the Ottoman army of Sultan Murad II. This gave way to several centuries of Turkish domination in the region, which lasted until the end of the 19th century.
Take the time to explore the rest of the park, and stroll back relaxed to the harbour restaurant where you will be welcomed with Bulgarian hospitality and enjoy delicious traditional and Black Sea cuisine, served with professionalism in a pleasant ambience.