Bulgaria's natural landscape is full of surprises. It has endless, sandy beaches along the Black Sea, wild mountain ranges and lush green hills, fertile plains, magnificent gorges, rivers, health spas and natural springs... It is famous for long balmy Summers, dreamy scented rose fields, richly colored orchards and sun drenched vine-yards...

Nestling at the heart of Central Europe, Bulgaria is a land of unspoiled natural beauty, where time has been known to stand still. It is a country of great contrasts.

A charming and vivid country called Bulgaria has existed for more than 13 centuries in Southeast Europe. This country has an important strategic location playing the role of a cross road between the West and the East.

Marked by four distinct seasons, Bulgaria enjoys a generally favorable climate that is one of the country's best features where summers are typically hot and dry.

It will be omnipresent in your days with unique finds in the museums, including the world's oldest gold; with beautiful collections of works from self-taught old masters to modern painters in the art galleries; with classical concerts and folklore song-and-dance festivals.

Gourmets have long since esteemed the merits of Bulgarian cuisine with the verdict that it is tasty, spicy and varied, appealing to one and all. Indeed, who would not like the abundance of fresh vegetables and fruits, juicy meat, grilled or served with piquant sauces, mouth-watering vegetarian dishes, simmered slowly on low heat, the banitsa ( cheese pie) which simply melts in your mouth, and famous Bulgarian yogurt ? The delicate white wines Dimyat, Misket and Riesling are followed by full reds such as Merlot, Cabernet and Gamza. And the cost of living is about one fifth of the UK's!

General Information

Location
Bulgaria is situated in Southeast Europe and occupies the eastern part of the Balkan Peninsula.
To the north it borders on Romania, to the west on the Republic of Macedonia and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, to the east on the Black Sea, to the south on Greece and to the southeast on Turkey's European part. See it on map
Area: 111.000 sq km.

Relief
Extremely varied: large plains and lowlands, low and high mountains, valleys and lovely gorges.

Climate
Temperate continental with clearly marked four seasons.
A Mediterranean influence is felt in the country's southern regions.
The average annual temperature is 10.5°C.
The average January temperature is around O°C.
Average summer temperatures rarely exceed 30°C.

Population
8,428,006

Language
Bulgarian.
English, German, French and Russian are spoken in the country's resorts, hotels and restaurants.