THE 10 BEST THINGS TO SEE IN PLOVDIV, BULGARIA
With Plovdiv holding the title of the oldest continuously inhabited metropolitan city in Europe and over 6,000 years of history to go along with it, comes a bit of a long list of things to see while visiting Bulgaria’s 2nd largest city.
Plovdiv is mind-blowing. You can feel the weight of all of the centuries past while walking through the streets. Literally. Because there are just ancient ruins everywhere.
Plovdiv sits on top of the ancient Roman city of Philippopolis, which sits on more ancient cities, going all the way back to Neolithic times. During the Roman Empire, Philippopolis was home to over 100,000 people that lived in the city. This place has seen the rise and fall of empires, wars, centuries of history, and generations of people.
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The Ancient Theatre Of Philippopolis
Of course I had to start this off with what Plovdiv is most famously known for (besides its title). Widely known as one of the most well preserved Roman theaters in the world, the Theatre of Philippopolis was built over two thousand years ago in the 1st century A.D.
Up on the southern slope of the hills overlooking the city and the Bulgarian countryside in the distance, the theatre still holds concerts and performances today. Seriously one of my favorite feelings is being in a place like this, being basically the closest that you can get to seeing exactly what those people saw all of those thousands of years ago.
The ancient theatre is open everyday from 9:30am to 6pm, and a ticket to enter will cost around 5 Leva, or around $2.75 USD. You can purchase a ticket at the front gate. I was the only one in the stadium in the morning around 11am, and it was just absolutely unexplainable.
The Old Town Of Plovdiv
Up on the 3 hills that overlook the modern city of Plovdiv where the ancient theatre sits is the old town, with beautiful, small, historic streets that date back over 2,000 years. Lining these beautiful, small, historic streets are traditional Bulgarian houses, medieval walls, old churches, and museums that are so amazingly well preserved.
I visited Plovdiv during late June while the entirety of Western Europe tourism was starting to crazily pick up. I explored the Old Town first thing in the morning on my first day in the city, and I was the only one on the streets. Absolutely insane feeling.
The Roman Forum Of Philippopolis
At the end of the main shopping street in the center of modern Plovdiv lies the incredible ruins of the Roman Forum of Philippopolis, where the center of the ancient city once stood. Built at the end of the 1st Century A.D, what used to be the gathering spot for all of the thousands of people that lived in Philippopolis is now ruins where stray cats roam and children play, underneath the brutalist style central post office.
The Ancient Library Ruins
The ruins of the Plovdiv ancient library are technically apart of the ancient forum, but on the other side of the main shopping street and post office. These ruins were probably my favorite in Plovdiv, especially at night. The energy was so surreal. Locals would just so casually walk through it to cut over from one street to the next and it just blew my mind every single time. I don’t know how I could ever get so desensitized to it.
The Ancient Mosaics & Soviet Mosaics / Art
Along with the Soviet style art on the side of the Central Post Office, and the Soviet style mosaic overlooking the main shopping street, you will also find some beautiful preserved mosaics from the early centuries in the Small Basilica at 31 Maria Luisa Blvd, the Episcopal Basilica of Philippopolis at 2 Maria Luisa Blvd, and the Plovdiv Regional Archaeological Museum.
I highly recommend checking out Mosaic Tour Plovdiv’s website to read more and see all of your options, as there are too many Soviet era mosaics that I completely missed and need to check out next time. They have all of the information and locations that you should need.
The View Terrace At The Temple Of Saint Archangels
Tucked away and hidden beside the Ancient Theatre of Philippopolis is a tiny little church accompanied by a terrace with a view overlooking the city below, and again, the Bulgarian countryside out in the distance. This is a lovely little spot, and the church is beautiful inside as well.
The Main Shopping Street (Knyaz Alexander I) & Ancient Stadium Of Philippopolis
Named after the first prince of Bulgaria, Knyaz Alexander I is the main walking and shopping street in Plovdiv, lined with beautiful buildings and stores, both name brand, and smaller owned stores.
In the center of the street is the Ancient Stadium of Philippopolis built to hold up to 30,000 people in the 1st century as well.
Now, the stadium, lies beneath the main shopping street, and you can even see the ruins exposed below the ground level of the H&M. Crazy. Literally insane.
If you want to take a break from exploring or shopping on the main walking street, you can relax in the literal stadium with a coffee at the cafe, or explore the ruins inside the museum below the street.
The Kapana District
Contrasting from the Old Town and the ancient ruins, the Kapana District is a cute little modern neighborhood full of art galleries, shops, bars, and restaurants that come alive with people at night.
You can easily spend an evening / night into the morning here, and you will probably end up spending most nights in this neighborhood.
The Sveta Marina Church
I wasn’t even looking for it, and I just stumbled upon this beautiful, old, Orthodox Church. It was genuinely the most pleasant little surprise. This is one of my favorite little historical churches that I have ever seen, both for its aesthetics on the outside with the layered clocktower and colors, along with the beautiful frescoes inside.
Tsar Simeon Garden Park
Lined with monuments of Bulgarian historical figures, fountains, and gardens, the Tsar Simeon Garden Park is a perfect spot to sit and relax while having a gelato in-between touring ruins and learning about centuries of history before you.
I am so glad that I visited Plovdiv, seriously, this was such a fabulous first stop in Bulgaria and I learned so much. There are many more little places that you will stumble upon in Plovdiv along with the spots that I listed here, and I will think about all of this constantly until the day that I visit again.
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