ATTRACTIONS IN THE AREA

Balchik – The Palace and Botanical Garden

Balchik is a city which the artists and poets love. It is no accident that the Romanian Queen Maria chose the scenic area around the river to build her residence. This is not a palace that impresses with scale and magnificence. On the contrary - all the buildings in the complex fit organically into the landscape - small stone villas with roofs made of Turkish tiles, which once housed the queen, her family and entourage are scattered throughout the magnificent park. The huge sedges that grew along the river were deliberately bypassed when the lanes were laid, even the three mills are still here.
The residence of Queen Mary together with the University Botanical Garden form the "Palace" architectural and park complex - a group cultural monument of national importance. It is located along the sea coast, on a terrain with a large unevenness with separate terraces - gardens connected to each other by steep stairs, green tunnels and arches. The Botanical Garden was established in 1955 by the University of Sofia with the aim of educating students there. The botanical garden is famous for the presented collections of tropical and subtropical exotics, as well as other unique plants. The collection of large-sized cacti and succulents, exposed outdoors during the warm months on an area of about 1 acre, is noteworthy.
Of interest to specialists and tourists are the exotic species that have been successfully preserved in the park since royal times, such as rubber tree, candy tree, paper tree, ancient ginkgo, metasequoia, large-flowered magnolia, lyre tree, etc. Emblematic is the carpet flowering in the Divine Garden and the beautifully designed parterres and corners of the garden, which feature annual spring and summer flowers, alpine and aquatic vegetation, ferns, protected and rare species, lianas, flowering and evergreen shrubs. Over 4,600 plant species are grown in this unique garden.
Besides a beautiful corner in Bulgaria, the University Botanical Garden in Balchik is a place for research and scientific activity, student practices, initiatives related to environmental education and art.
The garden is a rescue centre for rare and endangered species under the Washington Convention. It is a member of the World Council of Botanic Gardens BGCI, the European Consortium of Botanic Gardens, the Educational Network for Environmental Education in Botanic Gardens (EBGEN). It participates with his collections in the Index Seminum seed exchange with botanical gardens around the world

Cape Kaliakra

Kaliakra is a long and narrow cape on the Bulgarian northern Black Sea coast, located 12 km from Kavarna, 60 km from the regional center Dobrich and 70 km northeast of Varna. Kaliakra is a natural and archaeological reserve and one of the Hundred National Tourist Sites. The coast at Cape Kaliakra is cliff-type, sheer cliffs drop 70 meters down to the sea. The rocks are hard Sarmatian limestone and conglomerates, fused with clay rich in iron oxides, which give the characteristic reddish hue. The surf waves have carved caves, niches, arches and arches at their foot, which can only be reached from the sea.
The bay formed by Cape Kaliakra is a very good shelter in a storm for ships passing through. On the bow there is a museum, restaurant, lighthouse, marine radar station, weather station and chapel. Here nests The Aristotelian cormorant and dolphins can also be seen.
The first records of inhabitants of this territory date back to the 4th century BC. In this period, the area was inhabited by the Thracian tribe Tirizi. They also give his first name - Thyrisis.
The ancient geographer Strabo, describing Calliakra, says that here was the capital of King Lysimachus, one of the successors of Alexander the Great and governor of Thrace. In the Hellenistic era, a second fortress wall was built further inland, and in Roman times the Thracian fortress was expanded. Round towers were completed in 341-342 and there is now an outer and an inner city. In the second half of the 4th century, a third fortification with 10-meter walls, 2.90 m thick, was built even further inland from the end of the promontory. During archaeological excavations carried out in the 20th century, the remains of ancient and early Christian necropolises were discovered on Kaliakra.
The most famous one related to Kaliakra is about the 40 Bulgarian girls who tied their hair together and threw themselves into the sea to avoid falling into the hands of the Ottoman enslavers. One of them was Kaliakra, after whom the cape is named. Now at the head of Cape Kaliakra there is an obelisk called "The Gate of the 40 Virgins" in their memory.
Another legend is about Saint Nicholas, the patron saint of sailors. The saint was fleeing from the Turks and God extended the earth under his feet so that he could escape, thus creating the cape. Eventually he was captured and now there is a chapel built there, restored in 1993, symbolizing his grave. At this place, during the Turkish rule, there was also a dervish monastery, which was said to keep the relics of the Turkish saint Saru Sultuk. A small promontory north of Kaliakra bears the name "Saint Nicholas".

Golden Sands Nature Park

Golden Sands Nature Park covers an area of 13.2 square kilometres and is the second declared park out of the 11 natural parks in the country. It is located 17 km northeast of the city of Varna. It is located parallel to the seashore and surrounds the resort complex of the same name. The length of the park is 9.2 km, and the average width is 1.2 km. The highest peak is Chiplak Tepe - 269 m, and the average altitude is 110 m. To the north, the park borders the village of Kranevo, to the west with agricultural lands, to the east with the road Varna - Kranevo, and to the south with lands of the forest and agricultural fund.
The purpose of creating the park is to preserve and protect valuable plant and animal communities and characteristic landscapes.
When Golden Sands National Park was declared in 1943, no one imagined that in 13 years it would be there that the construction of one of our largest seaside resorts would begin. Golden Sands resort complex is not only located on the former national park, but also takes its name.
The nature park is a Protected Area for the protection of natural habitats and wild flora and fauna, part of the Natura 2000 ecological network.
Five tourist and specialized routes have been developed on the territory of the park, which represent the biological and landscape diversity and are suitable for hiking, nature-knowledge tourism, bicycle tourism, children's tourism, photo tourism, people with special needs. Recreation areas are located along the routes - sheds and gazebos with benches, tables and fireplaces near ancient fountains. Viewpoints reveal panoramic views of the sea, the park and the resort complex. The visitor and information centre of the Golden Sands Nature Park Directorate is located on the road Varna-Golden Sands-Albena, 1 km after the traffic light of Golden Sands Park. During the summer season (May - October) it can be reached from the city of Varna by bus lines 109 and 209 (stop next to Zora Street), and during the rest of the time by bus line 109.
The centre offers:
• route guidance;
• thematic lectures and talks and audio-visual presentation of protected areas;
• information publications about nature parks and nature protection in Bulgaria;
• convenient parking for guests' cars.

Historical Museum Varna

In 1945, the Varna museum was declared state-owned. In 1950, it was given the building of the original school on "Sheynovo" street. His new exposition was opened there in 1952. From March 3, 1983, the first floor of the Girls' High School building with the relevant funds on the ground floor was provided for the exposition of the Archaeological Museum as part of the new History and Art Museum. Since 1993, the building of the Girls' High School has been completely occupied by the restored Archaeological Museum. A new exposition was created with an expanded area of about 2,000 square meters, and a permanent exposition of icons from the 16th to the 19th centuries was presented there.
Today, the Varna Archaeological Museum is among the largest museums in the country. It houses some of the most remarkable and valuable monuments of world culture. It has become a cultural and scientific centre with many highly qualified specialists. The museum and its collections present Bulgaria at dozens of national and international exhibitions. With his solo exhibitions, he visited famous museums in France, Germany (twice), Japan, Israel, Italy and at the world exhibitions in Seville (Spain)–1992 and Lisbon (Portugal)–1998. The monuments from the exposition and the museum's funds are the basis for the work of a number of local and foreign specialists. The exhibits and museum sites Aladzha Monastery and Roman Baths are one of the most visited by the thousands of tourists on the Bulgarian Black Sea coast.