Plovdiv Travel Guide: Is Plovdiv in Bulgaria Worth Visiting?

Plovdiv is the second-biggest city in Bulgaria, located in the south of the country. We stayed for over three weeks, and it kept us engaged and entertained. Plovdiv is one of Europe’s oldest continuously inhabited cities, with a history dating back over 8,000 years.

There are plenty of historical sites to visit, including the ancient Roman theatre, the Roman stadium, and the old town area. There are also churches, museums and interesting architecture.

The city also has 6 hills to climb, which make for great walks and offer brilliant viewpoints, especially at sunrise or sunset. Plovdiv used to have 7 hills; however, they quarried one to build the town.

Is Plovdiv Worth Visiting?

Plovdiv has many places of interest and fun activities and, as a result, is well worth visiting. By European standards, it is good value, so your money goes much further here than on other city breaks. Key sights cover ancient and medieval history. As we stayed for over 3 weeks, I enjoyed a day trip to Hisarya.

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Plovdiv Travel Guide

Here are some practical tips for visiting Plovdiv, including where it is, how to get there, where to stay and what makes it worth visiting.

Where is Plovdiv?

Plovdiv is in southern Bulgaria, roughly three hours by train from Sofia, making it an easy city to add to a Bulgaria itinerary.

What’s Special About Plovdiv?

Plovdiv is home to impressive tourist attractions, including Roman sights. You won’t get bored. Roman sites include the Ancient Theatre of Philippopolis and the Bishop’s Basilica of Philippopolis. You can also visit churches and a mosque. We also found plenty of places to enjoy the outdoors, including pleasant parks for walking the dog.

Dining Out

During our visit, we dined out often and enjoyed many of Plovdiv’s best restaurants, including those serving Bulgarian food. I found places just outside the central areas to be excellent value. In addition to local cuisine, Plovdiv had nice Turkish places to dine out. My favourite meals out included platters served on a hot metal plate. The Bulgarian soups and Kavarma stews were delicious too.

Where to Stay

When we stayed in Plovdiv, we found a good range of accommodation, including hotels, apartments and pet-friendly places. As we were staying for a few weeks, we chose apartments near the centre so we could walk to the main sights, restaurants, and parks. Booking.com is a great place to find a place to stay.

Our first stay was at Ruski Boulevard, close to central attractions and near useful green spaces for dog walks. The apartment had two double bedrooms, a kitchen-lounge area and a wet-room bathroom, which made it comfortable for a longer stay.

For the second part of our visit, we stayed at Elegant Loft 2 through Airbnb. This was also within walking distance of the main sights and had two double rooms, a modern living space and a kitchen. Both places were pet-friendly during our visit, with no extra charges for staying with a dog.

Getting to Plovdiv?

Options include flying, coach, or train. It has an international airport and a busy bus terminal. We visited by rail on the Bulgarian trains from Sofia. We found the Sofia-to-Plovdiv train straightforward, taking around three hours with no changes. When we left, we took a train to Varna, a city by the sea.

Food Shopping

As we stayed for a few weeks in a self-catering place, we cooked using local ingredients. My favourite place to shop for food was the Thursday Market. At the markets, we could purchase a range of ingredients, including fruit and vegetables. They also had places to purchase meats and dairy products. In the central areas, there are independent food shops and some larger supermarkets.

Coworking Spaces

Plovdiv, Bulgaria, offers several coworking spaces. We found NETWORKING Premium Coworking to be the best. NETWORKING Premium Coworking offers various desk configurations and comfy sofas.

It is decorated in a modern style, was the best spot we found in Bulgaria, and should be a role model for other co-working spaces. You’ll also find cafes with internet access suitable for remote work.

Is Plovdiv Dog-Friendly?

Plovdiv is somewhat dog-friendly, and many people here have dogs. Finding quality dog-friendly accommodation was pretty straightforward. We found our holiday accommodation using the ‘pets allowed’ filter on Booking.com. Plovdiv was one of the easier places we visited in Bulgaria with a dog, especially because of the parks, hills and outdoor seating.

There are also lots of cafe bars with outdoor seating, so you can enjoy the city’s many beautiful views. The outdoor seating areas are often dog-friendly, which is ideal for visiting with Henry. Overall, exploring Plovdiv was great when travelling with a dog, especially in the city’s many parks.