Plovdiv, 2019 European capital of culture, is one of the oldest cities in Europe, having appeared around 6000 BC. In roughly 1200 BC, the Thracians established one of the first urban centres in Southeastern Europe, calling it Eumolpias after the mythical Thracian hero Eumolpus, on what today is known as Nebet Tepe. In the 4th century BC, the city was conquered by Phillip II, the father of Alexander The Great, and was renamed Philippopolis. But local Thracians never came to accept the new name and called the settlement Pulpudeva. Later on, the Slavs changed it to nowadays Plovdiv.

In the centre of the big Danubian city of Rousse lie the remnants of an ancient Roman settlement known by the name Sexaginta Prista, or the port of 60 ships. The city was founded in the 1st century AD during the rule of Emperor Vespasian and served as a border castle built on the ruins of a more ancient Thracian settlement. It was an important element in the fortification system along the northern border of the Roman province of Moesia.

The St George Rotunda is the oldest architectural monument in Sofia and the city's only building since the time of the Roman Empire that has been preserved as fully functional. It is believed to have been built by Emperor Constantine the Great in the early 4th century, when what was Serdica at the time was thriving as one of the most significant Roman cities on the Balkan Peninsula.

Etara, the architecture and ethnography reserve and one-of-a-kind outdoor museum which boasts a live and functioning ethnographic exposition is located near the city of Gabrovo. Its name is derived from the ancient name of the Yantra River over whose banks the museum spans. Every visitor of the Etara complex has a chance to travel back in time, share the folk traditions, feel the breath of the olden times and learn more about old Bulgarians' way of life.

The “Vavedenie Bogorodichno” (Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary) Monastery is located in the gorge of the Nishava river not far from the village of Razboishte and some 70 kilometres northwest of the capital Sofia. The area abounds in unapproachable crags, caves and rock niches, which attracted monks in the Middle Ages and lent itself to the building of many churches and monasteries in the rocks.

The Daskalov House in the town of Tryavna is one of the most remarkable Bulgarian architecture monuments of the National Revival period. The house was built at the beginning of the 19th century, circa 1804-1808, by the prominent local merchant Hadji Hristo Daskalov for his two sons. It is famous for its ceilings decorations - wood-carved sun rays which to this day shine over the two guestrooms of the house.

The most important medieval treasure connected to Bulgarian history was discovered and is being kept outside of the present-day Bulgarian state's territory. It was unearthed near the village of Malaja Pereshchepina, in today's Ukraine, and is related to Khan Kubrat.

Nicopolis ad Nestum is just one of a number of ancient cities in Bulgaria, but in the Rhodope Mountains it is the sole well-preserved one from the Roman era. It is located in the south-western part of the country, near the modern city of Gotse Delchev. Built in 106 by Emperor Trajan to commemorate his victory over the Dacians, it came to replace a Thracian settlement of the Bessoi tribe. In Latin its name means Victory City on the Mesta River and it is one of only 10 cities entitled to bear the name of Trajan's father - Ulpius.

Plovdiv, the second largest city in Bulgaria and European Capital of Culture 2019, boasts unique ancient treasures which makes the city one of Bulgaria's most popular tourist destinations. Along with the antique sights, Plovdiv offers an opportunity to follow the development of the Bulgarian culture throughout the period of the National Revival. The Old Plovdiv, located on one of the seven hills of the city, has preserved the greatest number of authentic buildings dating back to this period.

The Holy Trinity Monastery of Divotino, founded way back in 1046 and popular among the locals as “the king's monastery”, huddles in the folds of Mount Lyulin, 5km away from the town of Bankya and 20km from Sofia. It is among the earliest cloisters in the group of monasteries known as the Sofia Sveta Gora.