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"It'll be fun," we thought when we booked a last minute budget holiday to Bulgaria. Never been there before and sounds more interesting than Ibiza or a Greek island. Hmmmmm. I'm as interested in post-Soviet colonies as the next person and in some perverse way I like the old Stalinist architecture. BUT (and this is a big 'but') I'm not sure spending 2 weeks in an ex-Soviet holiday resort is my idea of fun. Sunny Beach is ugly. It's not overbuilt like the Costa del Sol, it just has random hotels and restaurants dotted around in a totally baffling fashion and the overall result is not very sympathetic on the eye. ...

Straddling a cluster of hills in the mountains of Central Bulgaria, Veliko Turnovo was the capital city of the Second Bulgarian Empire (1180 - 1395) and was where the constitutional convention met in post liberation(1876) Bulgaria to thrash out the constitution of the new state. This town is virtually unspoilt by 50 years of communism, the worst excess being the Balkantourist hotel, which if you are on a budget you'll be staying in anyway (plus it has a fantastic view). Most of the buildings are red roofed low, white buildings. There are also many 19th Century buildings which are mostly wood. Overlooking the town, are the partially reconstructed remains of ...