Festivals in Europe: Horizon Music Festival - Bansko, Bulgaria

The town of Bansko, Bulgaria is already becoming one of the fastest-growing winter holiday destinations in Europe and quite naturally it evelved into a host of one of the newest end of the winter season festivals in Europe.

The first ever edition of the Horizon Festival ( 23.03.2013 - 29.03.2013 ) will give you the opportunity to listen to a great list of various artists on different stages, to enjoy the great ski pistes of the resort and to enjoy Bulgaria at its' best - the great nature, the nice people and the wonderful food.

One of the greatest things of the Bansko Horizon Festival is the fact that the festival entry packeges include the entrance to the events, the accommodation and access to the ski pistes. This makes the festival a perfect destination for all good music and ski fans. The amazing beauty of the Pirin mountain will certainly make you come back for more, as the resort is also a very nice summer destination.

The Horizon Festival line-up includes many well-known names from the electronical music calender, such as: Crazy P, Jackmaster, Mark E, KiNK, Alex Arnout and many many more.

You can tell that Bansko is becoming a witner sensation by the fact that there are events such as the 31.03.3013 free Bob Sinclair DJ Party.

The fact that Bansko is very close to the capital Sofia and its' international airport ( quite conveniently part of the destinations list of most of the low-cost airlines ) will allow you to easily and effertlessly plan your trip.

Detailed information about the festival can be found on its' official web-site:

http://www.horizonfestival.net/

Back to Main Page

Festivals in Europe: July Morning - Bulgaria

July Morning is one of those local and interesting celebrations, which give Europe its variety, culture and excitement. It is a festival for freedom, summer and music and it is loved by free minded people from all ages.

The July Morning event is a Bulgarian annual festival celebrated in the early morning of 1st of July each year and it is basically the waiting of the sunrise over the sea waters of the Black Sea.

The start of the festival was given by a group of friends from the city of Varna in by then communist Bulgaria. As they greeted the rising July sun, they decided that this should become an annual tradition and since then the number of people following their wonderful idea is rising each year.


Nowadays there are many events in all Bulgarian Black Sea cost cities and towns and people gather to spend a beautiful night together and to say hello to the magical summer sun, rising over the sea waters. One of those festivals is for example the "Sozopol July Morning Festival", located near the beautiful town of Sozopol.


The name of the even was strongly influenced by the song "July Morning" by the legendary rock band Uriah Heep and these days two of the bands members ( Ken Hensley and John Lawton ) come each year to Bulgaria to sing their wonderful song along with hundreds of people at the moment the first July sun rays greet the smiling faces of the participants.

Sozopol, Bulgaria - A Traditional And Beautiful Summer Holiday Destination

Sozopol is an amazing small town situated in Eastern Bulgaria, about 30 km from the city of Burgas. It has ancient cultural and religious history, traditional Bulgarian architectural style and amazing nature with both beautiful golden beaches with crystal clear water and nice forests around the bay.

                                                            Location and history

Sozopol is dates back from the 7th century BC and was established by the Greek colonists from the ancient town of Miletus. It has been a flourishing and rich town for centuries mainly due to its perfect location and the trading activities of its citizens with many of the other Greek colonies.

The location of Sozopol makes it presently a nice and well developed holiday traveling destination, which is very close to an international airport. This allows tourists from many countries to visit it each year and gives the town a string economical and cultural development.

Currently there have been significant archeological findings such as parts of bones of the body of St John The Baptist. This, along with the fact that Sozopol has been an important cultural and religious place in the past, gives the town a great opportunity to establish itself as a preferred destination for cultural and religious tourism.

Accommodation

Sozopol has to offer many types of accommodation options for all types of travelers - singles, young couples or families.

The Old Town is preferred by families as it is more quiet that the New Town, it is very close to a nice beach it has a beautiful main walking street with many restaurants on the main and side streets, which give you a spectacular view to both sides of the peninsula. You can at the very same time enjoy the view to the harbor and St John island on one side and the beach and the New Town at the other side. The Old Town can offer many small hotels and apartments, which are mostly build in traditional Bulgarian style and usually have a breath-taking view towards to sea and the beautiful surroundings.

The New Town is a modern holiday town with a beautiful beach, numerous restaurants and bars and plenty of shopping opportunities. There are many beautiful hotels right next to the beach, which gives you a very easy access to everything you need in a several minutes walk. Most seaside rooms have a very beautiful view to the Old Town and you besides visiting the many food and drink places around, you can really enjoy a nice and romantic dinner on the balcony.

Things to do and see in Sozopol

There are several things you should do such as:
-  take a walk on both sides of the Old Town with the harbor and St John island on one side and the ancient fortress wall on the other side
- taste traditional Bulgarian cuisine and fresh sea fish at some of the small restaurants with great sea view
- enjoy the beaches of Sozopol, which have beautiful golden sand and crystal clear water, protected from big waves by the perfect location of the lagune
- visit some of the traditional churches in the Sozopol Old Town. They might not be as spectacular on the outside as the Italian cathedrals, but you will feel their unique atmosphere and will

Sozopol is a wonderful and traditional Bulgarian town and it will give you memories, which will last.

Europe Travel Destinations: Veliko Tarnovo, Bulgaria - A spectacular Sound and Light historical show

Veliko Tarnovo is a former Bulgarian capital during the middle ages and it was the last free major town of the Bulgarian kingdom, which was conquered by the Osman Empire prior to the 500 years enslavement over Bulgaria.

The town has a spectacular beauty, history and location. It holds the fortress of Tsarevets, which was where the royal and the patriarchal buildings of the middle age rulers were located, between the strongly defended fortress walls.

Veliko Tarnovo has many cultural sites such as the Bulgarian revival museums, the archeological museum, picture galleries and theaters. It is also the host town of several annual international musical festivals. The architecture of the town center is in traditional Bulgarian style and the view to the Yantra river gives the town a wonderful calm feeling.

The most spectacular event in Veliko Tarnovo is the Sound and Light Show, which is organized on Bulgarian national holidays ( 3th March, 24th May, 6th September ) and on the town holiday ( 22nd March ). The show is formed of lights and sound effects from installments located on the Tsarevets fortress, which color all parts of the fortress and its surroundings. The sound effects are a sensual and harmonic show of traditional Bulgarian music and combined with the light effects, the visitors witness an unique and unforgettable show, dedicated to Bulgarian history.

Detailed information about the show and the dates can be found on the official Veliko Tarnovo web-site:

http://velikotarnovo.info
http://velikotarnovo.info/id-22/

source: http://velikotarnovo.info

Other European Attractions:

Festivals in Europe: International Fireworks Festival Cannes

Europe Travel Destinations: Brussels Gourmet Tram

Europe Attractions: The Prater in Vienna 

Festivals in Europe: San Fermin Festival - The Running with the Bulls, 6-th July - 14-th July  

Festivals in Europe: Las Fallas Festival - Saint Joseph, Valencia, Spain

Festivals in Europe: Corpus Domini, Orvieto, Italy 

Concerts in Europe: Elevation Music Festival 2012 - Sofia, Bulgaria

Summer is the best time for visiting great musical events and this summer of of the best musical festivals will take place in Sofia, Bulgaria - the Elevation 2012 Music Festival.

The festival will present performances by:

Fatboy Slim
Erikah Badu
Groove Armada
Kosheen
Roni Size
Run D.M.C.
Parov Stelar
and more

The available variety of musical styles and the opportunity to spend fantastic three days in the Elevation 2012 open air venue makes the festival one of the most expected musical events of the summer.

Combining the festival with few days for visiting the nearby interesting places around Bulgaria` capital - Sofia, can give your holiday an additional experience and fun, while enjoying some interesting traditional and modern amusement possibilities.

Detailed information for the festival can be found here:

ELEVATION 2012 - Sofia, Bulgaria

Europe Travel Destinations: Perperikon, Bulgaria

Perperikon is the name of a temple/fortress in South-East Bulgaria, which dates back from some 7000 years ago. It is one of the very few places on Earth, which can really be called cultural and historical birthplace of the modern culture.

It is already scientifically proven that Perperikon has been the temple of Dionysus, which was visited by known historical figures such as Alexander the Great and the Roman ruler Octavian in order to ask the ancient Gods if their quests for glory will be successful.

Once you start climbing the hill where the fortress is built you immediately know how hard it has been for any army to conquer it. Even when you go on top of the hill and reach the entrance of the fortress, you encounter several doors between rock walls, which have been defended with various methods and almost impossible to go through.

In the different eras Perperikon has been populated by several empires, and each and every one of them has acknowledged it as a place with special powers and great importance.

Perperikon is situated in a truly magical place - the Rhodopes mountains, which has been an area ruled by the Thracians, people with astonishing knowledge for nature and astronomy. These mountains are a place where you can visit both natural phenomena and small historical cities, which have kept their looks and culture and are welcoming tourists from all over the world.

Perperikon should be visited by all travelers, who are eager to go to the places of historical significance and they witness the greatness, which has survived through the thousands of years.

You can stay at some of the small villages surrounding the Kardzhali lake, which are some 30 to 50 km from Perperikon and will welcome you with great Bulgarian hospitality.

Detailed information about Perperikon and its history can be found here:

http://www.perperikon.bg