Varna – The queen on the Bulgarian coast 
       Varna with its area of 205 sq. km is the largest and probably the most beautiful town on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast, it is the 3rd largest town in Bulgaria(after the capital of Sofia and the town of Plovdiv) with a population of about 357 800 inhabitants. Situated along the horseshoe shaped Varna Bay of the Black Sea, the town is a wonderful combination between a modern resort and a big industrial centre, a town which has a long and eventful history.
       Varna is among Europe`s oldest cities. It was the cradle of seven civilizations. It is proved that there was a settlement of Prehistoric men in the area of Varna. The Greek colonizers Apollonians and Milesians founded the colony of Odessos ( town on water) in 585 BC at the site of an earlier Thracian settlement. The town`s best years came in the 2nd and 3rd c. when it was The Roman province of Moesia`s main outlet to the sea. Today`s name Varna ,meaning "black one" comes from Slav origin.In the period of the First Bulgarian Kingdom Varna was the region`s biggest port and an important staging-post for the Byzantine fleet on its way to Danube river. After the Tsar Kaloyan capturing in 1201and thanks to a long period of peace, Varna became a lively center of commerce and maintained trade relations with Constantinople, Venice and Genoa. It achieved the fame of a big administrative and cultural center as well. Declining somewhat under the Turks( 14-18th c., Varna recovered as an important trading center in the 19th c. when the population made it one of the coast`s more cosmopolitan centers.
        Today Varna is among the biggest industrial centers of our country-port, big shipyards, important enterprises, local industries and craft cooperatives complete its industrial aspect. Being a university town, there are many institutions of higher education here. The town has old cultural traditions-two thetres and a puppet theatre, an opera House and a Philharmonic orchestra, a very rich library an d many other cultural places: such as Varna`s Etnographic Museum(one of the Bulgaria`s finest), the Cathedral of the Assumption, Modern art galleries, the Archeological Museum or the Museum of History and Art ( where the Europe`s most ancient gold treasure is housed), Naval Museum, Roman Baths, Battle of Varna Park Museum, Museum of Natural History, Puppet Museum, Health Museum,Dolphinarium, Aquarim etc.
        The name of Varna is above all linked with its resort complexes because of its natural beauty it was used as a resort still in the 18th c. Many travelers along the coast described its beaches and monasteries and how they were used for holiday-making. In or around Varna, in St.Konstantin and Helena resort, Golden sands, Albena or along the Kamchiya river,everybody can enjoy the clean sea, fresh air and fine sand.
      Eating and drinking in Varna - cafes, restaurants, snack bars, sladkarnitsi (selling pastries, banitsa-small savoury pastries filled with sheep`s cheese, small pizzas and other snacks through the day), Pizza Hut, Mc Donalds`s, KFC, bars, fish restaurants, local restaurants etc. Each complex offers excellent conditions for recreation and holidays in modern hotels of 3 to 5 star, and all inclusive as well. In each resort the hotels are surrounded by charming parks, Spas and golden sandy strip. Each hotel has a swimming pool, restaurant, bar, outdoor pool, discotheque or casino.