The northern coast
From Durankulak to Varna the shore is higher and rockier. Here you will find Cape Kaliakra with its red cliffs, Balchik with Queen Marie's palace and the botanical garden, and the resorts of Albena and Golden Sands.
Varna
The third-largest city and the “maritime capital” of Bulgaria. The Sea Garden, the Archaeological Museum with the oldest gold in the world, the Roman baths and the cathedral.
The southern coast
From Burgas to Rezovo – wider beaches, sand dunes and ancient towns.
- Burgas – an industrial city that has turned into a relaxed seaside town with a sea garden and contemporary culture.
- Nesebar – the old town on a peninsula, with Byzantine churches. A UNESCO site.
- Sozopol – ancient Apollonia. Stone houses, narrow streets and an arts festival.
- Sunny Beach – the biggest resort; loud, bright and not for people who want to sleep.
- Primorsko, Kiten, Lozenets, Sinemorets – quieter, with beaches by the Ropotamo and Veleka rivers.
Nature
Lagoons, longoz forests and sand dunes. The mouth of the Ropotamo with its water lilies, Irakli with its wild beach and the Via Pontica, the Black Sea bird migration route – one of the biggest migration routes in Europe.
In Bulgaria the sea is simply called “the sea”. If someone says “I'm going to the seaside”, nobody asks which one. There is only one.