Varna is the third-largest city in Bulgaria and the largest city and seaside resort on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast. Situated strategically in the Gulf of Varna, the city has been a major economic, social and cultural centre for almost three millennia. Historically known as Odessos (Ancient Greek: Ὀδησσός), Varna developed from a Thracian seaside settlement to a major seaport on the Black Sea.

Varna is an important centre for business, transportation, education, tourism, entertainment and healthcare. The city is referred to as the maritime capital of Bulgaria and has the headquarters of the Bulgarian Navy and merchant marine.

The oldest gold treasure in the world, belonging to the Varna culture, was discovered in the Varna Necropolis and dated to 4600–4200 BC.

Landmarks

City landmarks include the Varna Archaeological Museum, exhibiting the Gold of Varna, the Roman Baths, the Battle of Varna Park Museum, the Naval Museum in the Italianate Villa Assareto displaying the museum ship Drazki torpedo boat, the Museum of Ethnography in an Ottoman-period compound featuring the life of local urban dwellers, fisherfolk, and peasants in the late 19th and early 20th century.

You can see the highlight landmarks using Varna City Card – it combines all essential cultural locations, gives many discounts to tourists in restaurants and bars, and overall saves money.

The ‘Sea Garden’ is the oldest and perhaps largest park in town containing an open-air theatre (venue of the International Ballet Competition, opera performances and concerts), Varna Aquarium (opened 1932), the Festa Dolphinarium (opened 1984), the Nicolaus Copernicus Observatory and Planetarium, the Museum of Natural History, a terrarium, a zoo, an alpineum, a children’s amusement park with a pond, boathouse and ice-skating rink, and other attractions. The National Revival Alley is decorated with bronze monuments to prominent Bulgarians, and the Cosmonauts’ Alley contains trees planted by Yuri Gagarin and other Soviet and Bulgarian cosmonauts. The Garden is a national monument of landscape architecture and is said to be the largest landscaped park in the Balkans.

The waterfront promenade is lined by a string of beach clubs offering a vibrant scene of rock, hip-hop, Bulgarian and American-style pop, techno, and chalga. In October 2006, The Independent dubbed Varna “Europe’s new funky-town, the good-time capital of Bulgaria”. 

The city enjoys a nationwide reputation for its rock, hip-hop, world music, and other artists, clubs, and related events such as July Morning and international rock and hip-hop (including graffiti) venues.

The city beaches, also known as sea baths (морски бани, morski bani), are dotted with hot (up to 55°С/131 °F) sulphuric mineral water sources (used for spas, swimming pools and public showers) and punctured by small sheltered marinas. Additionally, the 2.05 km (1.27 mi) long, 52 m (171 ft) high Asparuhov most bridge is a popular spot for bungee jumping. Outside the city are the Euxinograd palace, park and winery, the University of Sofia Botanical Garden (Ecopark Varna), the Pobiti Kamani rock phenomenon, and the medieval cave monastery, Aladzha.

Tourist shopping areas include the boutique rows along Prince Boris Blvd (with retail rents rivalling Vitosha Blvd in Sofia) and adjacent pedestrian streets, as well as the large mall and big-box cluster in the Mladost district, suitable for motorists. Two other shopping plazas, Piccadilly Park and Central Plaza, are conveniently located to serve tourists in the resorts north of the city centre, both driving and riding the public transit. ATMs and 24/7 gas stations with convenience stores abound.

Food markets, among others, include supermarket chains Billa, Kaufland and Metro. In stores and restaurants, credit cards are normally accepted. There is a number of farmers markets offering fresh local produce; the Kolkhozen Pazar, the largest one, also has a fresh fish market but is located in a crowded area virtually inaccessible for cars.

Like other cities in the region, Varna has its share of stray dogs, for the most part calm and friendly, flashing orange clips on the ears showing they have been castrated and vaccinated. However, urban wildlife is dominated by the ubiquitous seagulls, while brown squirrels inhabit the Sea Garden. In January and February, migrating swans winter on the sheltered beaches.

Churches

Notable old Bulgarian Orthodox temples include the metropolitan Dormition of the Theotokos Cathedral (of the diocese of Varna and Veliki Preslav); the early-17th-century Theotokos Panagia (built on the site of an earlier church where Ladislaus III was perhaps buried); the St. Athanasius (former Greek metropolitan cathedral) on the footprint of a razed 10th-century church; the 15th-century St. Petka Parashkeva chapel; the seamen’s church of Saint Nicholas; the Archangel Michael chapel, site of the first Bulgarian secular school from the National Revival era; and the Sts. Constantine and Helena church of the 14th-century suburban monastery of the same name.

The remains of a large 4th- to 5th-century stronghold basilica in Dzhanavara Park just south of town are becoming a tourist destination with some exquisite mosaics displayed in situ. The remains of another massive 9th-century basilica adjacent to the scriptorium at Boris I’s Theotokos Panagia monastery are being excavated and conserved. A 4th- to 5th-century episcopal basilica north of the Thermae is also being restored. There is also a number of newer Orthodox temples; two, dedicated to apostle Andrew and the local martyr St. Procopius of Varna, are currently under construction. Many smaller Orthodox chapels have mushroomed in the area. In early 2009, Vasil Danev, leader of the ethnic Organization of the United Roma Communities (FORO), said local Roma would also erect an Orthodox chapel.

There is an Armenian Apostolic church; two Roman Catholic churches, a thriving Evangelical Methodist episcopal church offering organ concerts, active Evangelical Pentecostal, Seventh-day Adventist, and two Baptist churches.

Two old mosques (one is open) have survived since Ottoman times, when there were 18 of them in town, as have two once stately but now dilapidated synagogues, a Sephardic and an Ashkenazic one, the latter in Gothic style (it is undergoing restoration). A new mosque was recently added in the southern Asparuhovo district serving the adjacent Muslim Roma neighbourhood.

There is also a Buddhist centre.

On a different note, spiritual master Peter Deunov started preaching his Esoteric Christianity doctrine in Varna in the late 1890s, and, in 1899–1908, the yearly meetings of his Synarchic Chain, later known as the Universal White Brotherhood, were convened there.

Architecture

By 1878, Varna was an Ottoman city of mostly wooden houses in a style characteristic of the Black Sea coast, densely packed along narrow, winding lanes. It was surrounded by a stone wall restored in the 1830s with a citadel, a moat, ornamented iron gates flanked by towers, and a vaulted stone bridge across the River Varna. The place abounded in pre-Ottoman relics, ancient ruins were widely used as stone quarries.

Today, very little of this legacy remains; the city centre was rebuilt by the nascent Bulgarian middle class in late 19th and early 20th centuries in Western style with local interpretations of Neo-Renaissance, Neo-Baroque, Neoclassicism, Art Nouveau and Art Deco (many of those buildings, whose ownership was restored after 1989, underwent renovations).

Stone masonry from demolished city walls was used for the cathedral, the two elite high schools, and for paving new boulevards. The middle class built practical townhouses and coop buildings. Elegant mansions were erected on main boulevards and in the vineyards north of town. A few industrial working-class suburbs (of one-family cottages with small green yards) emerged. Refugees from the 1910s wars also settled in similar poorer yet vibrant neighbourhoods along the city edges.

During the rapid urbanisation of the 1960s to the early 1980s, large apartment complexes sprawled onto land formerly covered by small private vineyards or agricultural cooperatives as the city population tripled. Beach resorts were designed mostly in a sleek modern style, which was somewhat lost in their recent more lavish renovations. Modern landmarks of the 1960s include the Palace of Culture and Sports, built in 1968.

With the country’s return to capitalism since 1989, upscale apartment buildings mushroomed both downtown and on uptown terraces overlooking the sea and the lake. Varna’s vineyards (лозя, lozya), dating back perhaps to antiquity and stretching for miles around, started turning from mostly rural grounds dotted with summer houses or villa into affluent suburbs sporting opulent villas and family hotels, epitomised by the researched postmodernist kitsch of the Villa Aqua.

With the new suburban construction far outpacing infrastructure growth, ancient landslides were activated, temporarily disrupting major highways. As the number of vehicles quadrupled since 1989, Varna became known for traffic jams; parking on the old town’s leafy but narrow streets normally takes the sidewalks. At the same time, stretches of shanty towns, more befitting Rio de Janeiro, remain in Romani neighbourhoods on the western edge of town due to complexities of local politics.

The beach resorts were rebuilt and expanded, fortunately without being as heavily overdeveloped as were other tourist destinations on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast, and their greenery was mostly preserved. New modern office buildings started reshaping the old centre and the city’s surroundings.

Culture

Varna has some of the finest and oldest museums, professional arts companies, and arts festivals in the nation and is known for its century-old traditions in visual arts, music, and book publishing, as well as for its bustling current hip hop and pop-culture scene. Over the past few decades, it developed as a festival centre of international standing. Varna is a front-runner for European Capital of Culture for 2019, planning to open several new high-profile facilities such as a new opera house and concert hall, a new exhibition centre, and a reconstruction of the Summer Theatre, the historic venue of the International Ballet Competition.

Museums

National Naval Museum, on display Drazki torpedo boat“Nicolaus Copernicus” Observatory and Planetarium

• Varna Archaeological Museum (founded 1888)
• Naval Museum (founded 1923)
• Roman Baths
• Aladzha Monastery
• Battle of Varna Park Museum (founded 1924)
• Museum of Ethnography
• National Revival Museum
• History of Varna Museum
• History of Medicine Museum
• Health Museum (children’s)
• Puppet Museum (antique puppets from Puppet Theatre shows)
• Bulgar Settlement of Phanagoria ethnographical village (mockup, with historical reenactments)
• Aquarium (founded 1912)
• Nicolaus Copernicus Observatory and Planetarium
• Naval Academy Planetarium
• Museum of Natural History
• Terrarium
• Varna Zoo
• Dolphinarium (founded 1984)

Galleries

• Boris Georgiev City Art Gallery
• Georgi Velchev Gallery
• Modern Art Centre (Graffit Gallery Hotel)
• Print Gallery
• Numerous smaller fine and applied arts galleries

Performing arts professional companies

• Opera and Philharmonic Society (opera, symphonic and chamber music, ballet, and operetta performances; earliest philharmonic society founded 1888)
• Stoyan Bachvarov Drama Theatre (founded 1921)
• State Puppet Theatre Varna (in Bulgarian, founded 1952; often cited as the finest one in the nation, performances for children and adults)
• Bulgarian Theatre
• Varna Ensemble (traditional folk music and dance)

Art networks

• Scenderman art network (music and visual art)

Other performing arts groups

• Morski Zvutsi Choir School (academic choirs)
• Dobri Hristov Choir School (academic choir)

Notable bands and artists

• Brain Terror (metalcore)
• Dim4ou, Madmatic, Qvkata DLG, Varna Sound and many more (hip-hop)
• Daniela Dimova & Janette Benun – Scenderman Network (Sepharadic chamber music)
• Nikolay Yordanov – Scenderman Network (ethno, art, folklore)
• Deep Zone (tech house/electro)
• Dede-dessert (house/electro)
• Alternative Movement
• DJ Balthazar (house)
• The SektorZ (electronic/hard dance)
• Big Sha and the Gumeni glavi (Rubber Heads) (hip hop)
• 100 Kila (hip hop)
• Elitsa Todorova (ethnic & electro)
• Indignity (hardcore)
• Outrage (hardcore)
• Cold Breath (metalcore)
• One Faith (hardcore)
• Crowfish (progressive/punk/indie)
• Maniacal Pictures (alternative/rock/post punk)
• Pizza (punk/ska/rock)
• A-Moral (punk/hardcore)
• On Our Own (hardcore)
• Sealed in Blood (hardcore/metal)
• ENE (alternative/folk/other)
• Gergana (pop/techno/ethnic)
• Zayo Bayo Gives Me The Creeps (death thrash)
• La Migra (funk/jazz/ethnic)
• Georgi Lechev (artist)
• Nikolay Roussev^[80] (artist)
• Stephen Sacklarian (artist)
• Marina Varentzova-Rousseva^[80] (artist)
• Nelko Kolarov (composer, musician)
• Desko Nikolov (musician/folk)
• Gery-Nikol Georgieva, Gery-Nikol (pop, R&B, club)
• Darina Yotova, Dara (pop, R&B)

Concert halls

The Palace of Culture and Sports also hosts trade shows:

• Festival and Congress Centre (in Bulgarian, 1986; concerts, film, theatre and dance shows, exhibitions, trade shows)
• Palace of Culture and Sports (1968; sports events, concerts, film shows, exhibitions, trade shows, sports classes, fitness)

International arts festivals

• In the Palace International Short Film Festival, founded in 2003, annual
• Varna International Ballet Competition, founded 1964 (biennial)
• Varna Summer International Music Festival,^[83] founded 1926 (annual)
• RADAR Festival Beyond Music, founded 2014 (annual)
• Moving Body Festival Archived 3 August 2020 at the Wayback Machine, founded 2016 (annual)
• Without Borders^[84] International art forum and Festival – Varna, Albena, Balchik (biannual)
• Varna Summer International Jazz Festival (annual)
• International May Choir Competition (annual)
• European Music Festival (annual)
• Operosa Euxinograd opera festival (annual)
• Sea and Memories international music festival devoted to popular sea songs (annual)
• International Folk Festival,^[83] (annual)
• Discovery International Pop Festival (annual)
• Song on Three Seas pop and rock competition (annual)
• Brazilian Culture Festival (annual)
• Varna Summer International Theatre Festival (annual)
• Golden Dolphin Intenrtional puppet festival (triennial)
• Under the Stars arts festival (annual, theatre and opera)
• Zvezdna daga children’s competition (annual)
• Love is Folly film festival (annual)
• International Festival of Red Cross & Health Films (biennial)
• World Animation Festival (founded 1979, to resume in 2009)
• International Print Biennial (founded 1981)
• August in Art festival of visual arts (triennial) (in Bulgarian)
• Videoholica international art festival (annual)
• product Festival of Contemporary Art (annual)
• Slavic Embrace Slav poetry readings (annual)
• Fotosalon (annual)

National events

• Golden Rose Bulgarian Feature Film Festival
• Got Flow National Hip-Hop Dance Festival (annual)
• May Arts Saloon at Radio Varna
• Bulgaria for All National Ethnic Festival (annual, minority authentic folklore)
• Dinyo Marinov National Children’s Authentic Folklore Music Festival
• Morsko konche (Seahorse) children’s vocal competition (annual, pop)
• Navy Day (second Sunday of August)
• Urban Folk Song Festival
• Christmas Folk Dance Competition

Local events

• Easter music festival
• Classical guitar festival
• Golden Fish fairy tale festival
• Kinohit movie marathon
• Crafts fair (August 2012)
• Dormition of the Theotokos festival, cathedral patron, Varna Day (15 August)
• Beer Fest
• Saint Nicholas Day (6 December)
• Christmas festival
• New Year’s Eve concert and fireworks (Independence Square)
• Operosa Opera Festival
• Anifest (Anime, Manga and Japanese culture Festival)

Varna in fiction

• In Bram Stoker‘s 1897 novel Dracula Varna was Count Dracula‘s “transportation hub” — the point of origin of the ship Demeter, the initial destination of the Czarina Catherine, and the place where the vampire’s annihilation was planned to be carried out.
• In the Mechanic: Resurrection film, Tommy Lee Jones‘s character Max Adams lives in Varna and the headquarters of his criminal organisation is based there.
• In Andrei Gulyashki‘s novel Avakoum Zahov versus 07 British spy 07 kidnapped Soviet physicist Konstantin Trofimov from a villa in Varna.
• In Geoffrey Trease‘s novel The Hills of Varna “the monastery at Varna” is a fictional place in the Balkans, not related to the real city.
• In All the Year Round (Vol. 30), 1873 Charles Dickens mentioned modern Varna when he visited the city as a war correspondent during the Crimean War in 1854.
• In Garth Greenwell‘s 2016 novel What Belongs to You Varna is the hometown of Mitko, the narrator’s love interest, and a pivotal scene takes place in a hotel there.