Visit Varna

A taste of Varna

Varna is Bulgaria's maritime capital and the unofficial summer capital of the country — a port and resort city whose Sea Garden, an enormous 8km landscaped park running along the Black Sea coast, is the longest of its kind in the Balkans and where the city actually lives during warm months. The compact centre revolves around the gold-domed Cathedral of the Dormition of the Mother of God and the surprising Roman Thermae — the largest Roman bath complex in the Balkans and the fourth largest in Europe, dating to the late 2nd century, now an open-air ruin in the middle of the city. Don't miss the Archaeological Museum's Varna Necropolis gold: discovered in 1972 in a Chalcolithic burial ground from around 4,600–4,200 BC, it's the oldest worked gold treasure in the world. Beach days happen along the city beaches or the resorts north of town — Sunny Day, St. Constantine — with Golden Sands a short drive up the coast. The city hosts an opera festival in summer and ferries connect to Odesa and Istanbul.