Discover Bulgaria's Highlights from Bucharest

Day 1 – Saturday – Bucharest – Ivanovo Monastery – Arbanassi – Veliko (200 km) ROMANIA + BULGARIA

We will leave Bucharest in the morning and head to Bulgaria. After crossing the bridge over the Danube River we will enter in Bulgaria and our first visit will be at Rock-hewn Churches of Ivanovo ( Unesco World Heritage Site ) and noted for its magnificent medieval age frescoes still preserved. Continue with the picturesque Arbanasi village . In the walking tour of the village , we will discover houses that preserves an unique medieval bulgarian architecture and a hidden 16th century Church of Nativity with beautiful and richly inside painted fresco .

Early evening arrival in Veliko Tarnovo , “City of Tsars” , the former capital of the Second Bulgarian Kingdom. Tsarevets Fortress , Monument of the Asenevtsi kings , Samovodska charshia are the main attractions of the city.

Overnight in Veliko Tarnovo in a 4* Hotel.

 Day 2 – Sunday – Veliko – Shipka – Kazanluk – Sofia (320 km) BULGARIA

 After breakfast departure to Sofia . Crossing the Stara Planina mountains , we will stop to visit Shipka Monument (aka "Monument of The Liberty") . The memorial complex was erected in memory of the fallen bulgarian volunteers and Russian soldiers during the Shipka battles in the summer of 1877. Shipka battle plays a crucial role in the Russo-Turkish War and for the liberation of Bulgaria from Ottoman rule. Continue to drive south to the town of Kazanlak located in the pretty Valley of roses at the foot of the Balkan mountains. The natural geographical center of Bulgaria is just here where the roads of home and international tourist routes cross each other. Visit the most important touristic attractions : Thracian Tomb ( Unesco World Heritage Site , the only monument, completely preserved from the Early Hellenistic Period , 4-3 century B.C.) and Rose oil Museum .

In the early evening we will arrive in Sofia . The walking tour of city center will include the gold-domed Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, Saint (Sveta) Sofia Church , Banya Bashi Mosque, the Sofia Synagogue and the main shopping street Vitosha .