Varna – Bulgaria

Varna is the third biggest city in Bulgaria after Sofia and Plovdiv.  On our way to Balchik, we made a lunch stop here, mainly in the town square.

Varna’s history dates back to pre-historic times and many cultures existed here.  In 1972, the world’s oldest worked jewelry and other treasures, dating to some four thousand years B.C. , were discovered in Varna.  This means that there were other civilizations in the Varna region before the Thracian, Greek and Roman Empires.  The treaures are known as the Varna Halkolite Collection and is housed in the Varna Archeological museum, together with a store of other treasures.  The Preslav treasures consist of 170 gold and silver jewelry which probably belong to a princess from the court of Tsar Petar I.  We attempted to get to the museum, but abandoned this idea as by the time we got there, there wouldn’t be enough time to see the exhibits.

At the tourist office, we were told that other points of interest include the Roman Baths and the Sea Garden, which on the map looks like a huge complex.  Unfortunately, apart from the Opera House on the town square, we didn’t have time to explore these other places.  It’s a pity that our base for last night and tonight is at Sunny Beach as Varna would have been a much nicer and more interesting town to be based in.

Helen