Why You Should Go to Shumen & Get Off The Beat Path In Bulgaria

Shumen, Bulgaria, is the right metropolis to expertise actual Bulgarian customized, away from the vacationer bubble and traps. Try my data to town and begin planning your journey!

One summer season season, I stayed all through the Shumen space for months. All via that point, I took half in archeological excavations in Veliki Preslav, the capital of the First Bulgarian Emp.

Then I went on to go to loads of cities in Bulgaria and neighboring locations: Veliki Preslav and Shumen, in actuality, nonetheless furthermore Madara, Sofia, Veliko Tarnovo, Pliska, Varna, Sunny Seashore & Nessebar, Athens, and Bucharest.

Shumen is a metropolis situated in northeastern Bulgaria, an hour away from Varna. It is not going to be the primary metropolis to pop up on a typical vacationer itinerary, nonetheless that’s exactly why it’s so particular. It’s a hidden gem capable of be found.

Personally, it’s the fantastic metropolis to expertise actual Bulgarian customized, away from the vacationer bubble and traps. In case you’re searching for a base for loads of weeks, it’s the right spot: it’s pretty priced, you presumably can preserve like an area, and the cherry on prime – to your following locations, you’ll uncover easy bus journeys to Romania, Greece, and Turkey.

Moreover, for many who wish to be taught concerning the early days of the First Bulgarian Empire, the Shumen province is the place for that.

All in all, Shumen is a superb place to go to in Bulgaria.

Most attention-grabbing Time To Go to Shumen

Shumen is engaging year-round, nonetheless in all probability the best time to go to is through the spring and summer season season, as a result of it must help you revenue from the attractive nature all through the metropolis.

Extreme Sights In Shumen

You’ll uncover on this data my ideas for in all probability the best locations to see and vacationer components of curiosity in Shumen:

Factors To Do In Shumen

1. 1300 Years Of Bulgaria Monument

Let’s begin with almost certainly basically probably the most visited monument in Shumen and with almost certainly basically probably the most well-known monuments all through the nation.

The 1300 Years of Bulgaria monument, as you probably guessed, commemorates the 1300th anniversary of the Bulgarian state. Born out of the brutalist motion, the monument retells the historic earlier of Bulgari in cubist and modernist designs, representing absolutely utterly totally different durations over the previous couple of centuries. The sheer dimension of the monument alone makes it an awe-inspiring sight, so positively undoubtedly definitely worth the detour.

It’s situated on the acute Shumen Plateau, so be succesful to climb to get to the monument.

The Plateau may be an stunning park with many climbing trails, and it’s the starting line for paragliding expeditions. In case you ask me, it’s the right outdoors practice!

2. Madara Nationwide Historic & Archaeological Park

A number of kilometers east of Shumen, solely a quick drive away, is the Madara Nationwide Historic and Archaeological Park, by which you’ll uncover the Madara Fortress and Madara Rider (or Madara Horseman), depicting a knight triumphing over a lion immediately carved on the Madara plateau, correct proper right into a 100-m-high cliff.

This carving entered the UNESCO World Heritage itemizing, as it’s the solely medieval rock artwork work of its choice with no utterly totally different parallel in Europe. The inscriptions all through the rock help retell compulsory occasions of the First Empire and its ki,ngs Tervel, Kormi,sos, and Omurtag.

The park may be dwelling to fairly just a few landscapes, from forests and meadows to caves and waterfalls. There are limitless choices to hike the Plateau, bike, and even bird-watch alongside the paths!

3. Shumen Fortress

Perched on prime of a hill overlooking town, the Fortress is an important monument as accurately. It dates as soon as extra to the early Center Ages, all through the eighth century,y and because it has been witness to many battles and sieges, its ruins are a site of curiosity and 100% price a go to.

This stunning place affords an intriguing peak into Bulgaria’s earlier and a big ranging view of town and the encircling countryside.

4. Tombul Mosque

Inbuilt 1744, the Tombul Mosque might be going considered one of many largest and most stunning Ottoman mosques in Bulgaria and a masterpiece of Islamic development.

The engaging inside and peaceable courtyard are fantastic for loads of hours of solace once you want them.

5. Biserna Cave

You’ll assume visiting a cave is a somber affair. Accurately, not the Biserna Cave.

Because of lights put in and the sparkly stalactite formations, your whole place is glowing. It’s positively an attention-grabbing sight, with the stalactites dripping water, the underground river, and the echo that each noise makes.

6. Regional Historic Museum

This museum reveals the wealthy historic earlier of Shumen and its province. It provides good notion into the power of the First Empire, with artifacts and objects of curiosity from surrounding cities equal to Veliki Preslav, Pliska, Madara, and so forth.

The doorway value to the museum is spherical 2 to three euros.

7. Tasting The Native Delicacies

Shumen is without doubt one of the greatest metropolis to mannequin actual, native meals Bulgarian meals, as a result of town, for almost certainly basically probably the most half, wouldn’t purchase and wouldn’t cater to vacationers. Having visited loads of cities in Bulgaria, I discovered that consuming places in Shumen are the closest you are going to get to my Bulgarian mates’ do-it-yourself meals.

While you’re there, don’t overlook to try the Banitsa, a filo pastry that you could be eat for breakfast.

My personal favourite, Kavarma, is a meat stew slowly cooked to carry out the flavors. Absolutely implausible; I terribly advocate it.

In case you’re courageous, give Shkembe Chorba a try: it’s a soup produced from tripe and flavored with garlic, vinegar, and chili – two years later, I’m nonetheless decrease up on whether or not or not or not I remorse consuming it or not!

And via scorching summer season season days, it is going to be best to eat Tarator, a chilly soup produced from yogurt and cucumbers – kind of like Tzatziki nonetheless as a soup. One small uncover: make sure that to ask for lots a lot much less salt as individuals there could make it fairly salty, in my expertise.

Lastly, you MUST try Rakia, the Bulgarian alcohol which will make your head flip. No journey to Bulgaria could very nicely be full with out testing it. In case you might someway get ahold of do-it-yourself Rakia – and likewise likelihood is you will, for people who make mates in Shumen – even bigger!

Day Journeys And  Areas To Go to Shut by

The fantastic thing about Shumen is that it’s a hub for buses and truly accurately related by apply as accurately, so you will have gotten entry to utterly totally different good cities merely.

From there, I managed to appreciate utterly totally different good locations equal to Varna, Veliko Tarnovo, Sunny Seashore, Athens, and Bucharest.

Pliska

Half an hour away from Shumen is Pliska, the primary capital of the First Empire, the place you might uncover the stays of the Grand Basilica, one amongst many largest early Christian church buildings in Europe.

Veliki Preslav

Veliki Preslav, the second capital of that very same Empire, is often a mere 30 min away.

Fulfilling actuality! Veliki Preslav is the place the Cyrillic alphabet was invented by way of the reign of Simeon The Good (considered one of many important wonderful, if not THE most wonderful, resolve in Bulgaria’s historic earlier).

Nonetheless, personally, almost certainly basically probably the most fulfilling difficulty to go to in Veliki Preslav is the Kostadinov rock monastery, an historic sanctuary immediately carved into the cliffs.

Varna

A well-liked coastal metropolis, Varna is simply an hour’s drive away.

All via my journey, I discovered the Balchik Palace and Botanical Gardens to be ns almost certainly basically probably the most attention-grabbing locations to go to. The archeological museum of Varna furthermore hosts the oldest gold treasure ever discovered.

Sunny Seashore And Nessebar

Whereas I favored Varna, everytime you’ve acquired restricted time, I’d counsel skipping it to go straight to Sunny Seashore and Nessebar. They appear to be a bit additional away (2 hours), in order that they act bigger as a weekend journey spot, nonetheless there you’ll uncover stunning seashores, historic internet sites and implausible nightlife.

Nesseba,r considerably,r is an under-appreciated treasure.

Veliko Tarnovo

Veliko Tarnovo, which is situated 2 hours away by apply, is a gem, and so, so price visiting.

It is potential considered one of many largest locations to see in Bulgaria. It’s a historic metropolis with an stunning medieval coronary coronary heart overlooking the river. It is usually dwelling to the Tsarevets Fortress and the Ascension Cathedral, considered one of many important attention-grabbing church buildings I’ve had the chance to go to.

The place To Maintain In Shumen

Shumen affords various lodging alternatives for each funds and choice.

I terribly advocate Buyer Home Bulgarka, it is type of additional away from town coronary coronary heart, nonetheless that furthermore means it’s all through the countryside. It is usually very stunning and atypical, and that’s why I desire to counsel it.

For one issue extra centrally situated, Avenue is a superb various.

Navigating Spherical Shumen

Getting spherical Shumen is straightforward, due to town’s compact dimension and setting nice public transport system.

I prefer to suggest renting a motorcycle to get spherical and uncover the encircling space and take loads of hours to revenue from the peaceable ambiance, observing the native wildlife, and having gratifying with the Bulgarian countryside.

Shumen FAQs & Vacationers Ideas

• Know Some Bulgarian: in my expertise, few individuals in Shumen speak English, so I would positively make sure that to be taught loads of sentences in Bulgarian, or at the least have a superb connection and a translating app on me on a regular basis!
• Lev Is The Worldwide money: Bulgarians don’t use euros; they use Lev. Change your cash before the journey or use a world card like Clever.
• Use The Vacationer Data Middle: you presumably can at all times get up-to-date data all through the vacationer knowledge coronary coronary heart
• Obtain A Bulgarian Taxi App: Uber shouldn’t be accessible in Bulgaria, so it’s obligatory to accumulate a Bulgarian taxi app. TaxiMe is the one I used most frequently all via Bulgaria, and I discovered it setting nice and useful
• Get A SIM Card: for people who run out of web data, you presumably can merely get a SIM card with a certain quantity of information; no ID or proof of residence is required

Why Shumen Deserves A Spot On Your Journey Tips

There are quite a few factors to do in Shumen, nonetheless above all; town affords the prospect to expertise actual Bulgarian customized in a approach you gained’t uncover in a number of vacationer locations.

It is usually the right place to remain to rearrange day and weekend journeys to those utterly totally different frequent spots that you just merely positively must go to as accurately. We now should do each, in the long run!

All in all, Shumen is a superb place to spend loads of weeks wandering spherical, consuming, exercising, utilizing, and experiencing Bulgarian customized and historic earlier.