In addition to going quite a few times to the beach (Rappongi was the chosen one, which the locals recommend) there are also many things to do in Varna and its surroundings. In this post we give you some recommendations on what to do in Varna on a weekend.

Aladzha Monastery

On the first morning, we did what we wanted most: visiting the monastery of Aladzha (Map; Web), on the outskirts of Varna.

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Declared a National Historic Landmark in 1912, this rock-carved monastery was used by hermit monks during the 12th and 14th centuries. The rooms of the monastery had two floors, and are excavated at almost 40 meters high, being one of the few rock-carved habitats that looked architecturally like monasteries built with common building materials: it is quite an unique place.

There is archaeological evidence that the catacombs were inhabited during the first Christian era (5th and 6th centuries).

After the fall of Bulgaria at the hands of the Ottomans in the late 14th century, the monastery of Aladzha began its decline, and was completely forgotten in the 16th century. In addition, a natural cataclysm in the middle ages resulted in the collapse of the entire front rock facade, which is what you can see today.

How to get to the Aladzha Monastery?

The best way is with a taxi (the company that locals recommend as reliable is Omega) or private car, since this way you can go at the hours you want. If you favor public transport, however, you can take bus 29 from the Train Station or next to the Varna Cathedral at 7:55 and 17:50, and take the one that suits you best back from there (again , only two).

The entrance costs about 5 Bulgarian lev, although if you have the Varna City Card – which we talked about in the previous post – the entrance to the monastery is free.

Around the monastery there is a natural park, through which you can walk quietly, as we did.

Eating in Varna: Casa Al Mare

To eat around the city of the monastery we went to the promenade of Varna, and we stopped at La Casa Al Mare (Map).

This cozy and familiar Italian cuisine restaurant lured us with its spacious terrace on the shade side of the street on a hot day. The restaurant has an extensive menu with fish – always a good option when you are by the sea side, and also has a discount for the holders of the Varna City Card, as we had.

The salad and the meat were quite good, but what really shined for us was the dessert: a very generous portion of cake that provided us with energy for the entire afternoon.

You can see everything in this Instagram gallery.

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Roman Baths of Varna

Within the city, perhaps the most famous attraction are the Odessos Roman Thermae (Map, Web), from the 2nd century A.C.: a large complex of Roman public baths from which its ruins can be visited.

With an impressive 7000 square meters, it is the fourth largest public baths discovered in the European provinces of the Roman Empire. During the crisis of the empire, shortly after the completion of its construction, the city could not keep them operational because of their high cost, and they were abandoned. Large parts of the materials with which they were built were integrated into other constructions, including the nearby small Odessos hot springs, much more modest in size, from the 4th century A.D.

The entrance costs 4 levs, although if you have the Varna City Card it is included, and is quite a nice visit.

Varna Naval Museum

As we mentioned in the previous post, Varna is the main Bulgarian city in the Black Sea, which means of course that it has one of the largest ports in the area and that the sea is important to the city.

Therefore, after the hot springs we went down to the Naval Museum (Map; Web) of the city, to learn a little more about it.

The museum is in a building with two floors (and a half), with different themes depending on each floor. In the lower one – the middle one – we have a picturesque diving scene, for example. On the first floor you can learn more about sailing in the Black Sea and the old Bulgarian sea navigators. On the top floor we can see more about the last century of Bulgarian navigation, with for example the participation of the country during the main conflicts of the 20th century.

Some things to see are: the installation of the bridge of an 18th-century gunboat and the gadgets of a lighthouse (which interested me quite a bit). Likewise, there is now an exhibition of maritime comic strips, which will last a few months and is also worth visiting.

A boat trip along the coast of Varna: the Pinta Varna pirate ship

Although there are many different trips from the Pinta Varna (web, map) – a tourist boat that goes around the coast of Varna – we took the last trip of the day: the sunset trip.

The Pinta Varna is a pirate-decorated ship that offers a tour of about 90 minutes while the sun sets (among other kinds of tours during the day). It offers snacks and drinks on board (for adults, but also for children, being a good plan to do with the family) , with which one can get back to port a bit tipsy, which is always a good thing.

We did have a great time and the super friendly staff is always making sure that everyone enjoys their time, providing with pirate clothing (great for the kids), snacks, drinks and games.

It goes along the north coast or the south coast of the city, depending on the wind and waves of the day, to provide the smoothest experience for the travelers.

The daytime tours of the Pinta Varna can be longer and contain a “water cannon battle” with another ship, which sounds quite fun if you travel with friends! Check out the schedules at the port or on its website.

The pedestrian center of Varna and Primorski Park

The center of Varna is very picturesque, with pedestrian streets dotted with cafes, restaurants and shops that are not overcrowded and leave plenty of room to breathe.

The pedestrian zone starts from the south of the famous Varna Cathedral, and ends in the Primorski Park: it is a very wide area where it is a pleasure to walk around. As we mentioned in our previous post, it is where we stayed over, and that it is a great location to spend a few days in the city.

It is connected to Primorski Park (Map), a large park parallel to the coast where there are all kinds of interesting things to do: dolphinarium, museums, mini-golf, street market, obstacles for skateboarders, bike paths, statues … Or just to walk, Of course, overlooking the sea.

The recommended beaches of Varna

Last but not least, the beaches of Varna, a place where we stayed a decent amount of time relaxing.

In the city itself, the best beach is Rappongi. It is a bit far from the pedestrian center, but it is the best beach area (the one chosen by the locals, as it is far from the port area). We went to it mostly during the days we were.

If you prefer to leave the city, relatively close (and well connected) you have the resort that the young boys and girl go to have a good time: the Golden Sands, a kind of Bulgarian Magaluf. To go to this place you can take the 409 bus from the pedestrian center or from the cathedral (the same line as the airport, but in the other direction). There is one every 15 minutes or so, so you won’t have to wait too long.

If you like good beaches – and who doesn’t – but Golden Sands is a bit too much party for you and you prefer something quieter, the beach of St Konstantin and Helena (map) is for you. You can also arrive with bus 409 but it leaves you a little far from the sea. Bus 31A also does the same, but leaves you very close to the beach.

Finally, the Kabakum beach (map) is another one recommended by the locals, with good water quality. Again, the bus 409 in the opposite direction to the airport will take you there, being the best stop to step down “Journalist” or “Free University”. This is a little further than the St Konstantin, though.

And these were the activities and things we can recommend you! If you have visited any of these places, what did you think of them? Which would you most like to visit if not?

The next step our the trip was Varna, the largest city on the Black Sea coast of Bulgaria.

The idea was, in addition to visiting the other two main cities of the country, staying a few days on the beach (and Varna offered that plus it is the European capital of sports 2019). So we headed towards the Black Sea.

Varna: how to get there

Varna International Airport has quite a few direct flights. You can check here which one is closest to you.

There are flights for example from all the Nordic capitals – at least in summer -, including of course the capital of Finland, Helsinki, and many other places.

If you are already in Bulgaria and prefer train or bus and you’re coming from Sofia, I could not find a route without a significant layover. In this way, plane seems your only option from Sofia to Varna.

If you come from Plovdiv, the second largest city in Bulgaria, there are only two trains and two buses per day, and they make quite a few stops along the way (patience will be a virtue). We took the 6:45 bus from there and arrived around 1pm. Of course, unless you prefer to avoid CO2 emissions, the best option to take is the plane to get to Varna.

Where to stay in Varna

It depends on what kind of plan you have: whether it is beach or city (we wanted both things).

If you prefer city or mixture of city and beach, the best thing is the city center, near the famous Varna Cathedral: it is a pedestrian area with lots of restaurants and cafes, and you can walk 10-15 minutes to the Beach. On the following map, within the red zone, is the recommended area to stay. We stayed in a central Airbnb (this is my link if you don’t have an account yet) to have easy access to everything.

Of course, if you want mostly beach and the city is less important, it is best to stay the closer to the Rappongi beach (map). It is the favorite beach of the locals.

How to get around and what to do in Varna?

That question is what we directed to the city, and they were very kind in answering us.

To get around the city, unless you go to the airport (line 409) or to the spectacular Aladzha monastery (bus line 29 – this and the previous one’s stops are next to the Cathedral), if you stay in the most central places and the beach , you can do everything easily by walking.

As for what to do, the city was very kind to provide us with a couple of Varna City Card (web / Instagram), which gave us a lot of options to do in Varna, something that we thank them from here.

The card includes free admission to 14 museums, including the famous Roman baths, from the 2nd century, a spectacular place that – in addition being a place to visit as a traveler – is still used as a stage for performances and small concerts.

It also includes discounts on a lot of activities like a trip on a pirate ship, where we saw a magnificent sunset at the sea and had a great time.

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If you want to get yours ahead of time on your smartphone this is the place.

In the following post we tell you what we did in Varna during the days we stayed, and what we can recommend you from what we did.

Did you know Varna? Have you visited the Black Sea? Tell us in the comments!