One of the best things about travelling is that you get to experience life the way people from distant lands experience it – it’s about immersing yourself in the local culture and expanding your world-view. As they say, variety is the spice of life, so if you really want to season your vacation, here is how Bulgarians spend their weekends:

All good days start with a delicious breakfast. There are food stalls all across the city that sell a large variety of breakfast foods, all tasty and filling, and you don’t even have to sit down for them, as they are meant to be eaten on the go. The banitsa is the most iconic of these breakfast foods. It’s a pastry most often filled with a type of feta cheese called sirene, though other varieties exist – you may also encounter banitsa with sirene and spinach, or with minced meat, or with cheese. Another dish you might be interested in trying is the tutmanik – a very fluffy type of bread filled with sirene. A kifla may resemble a croissant due to its horned shape, but it is actually a type of soft sweet bread filled with apple marmalade. Every breakfast food stall offers these and more, as well as variations, and trying as many as you get a chance to on your trip is encouraged! They all go with boza – a sweetened barely-fermented drink made of wheat; and airian – liquid yoghurt with a dash of salt. A somewhat unusual but interesting breakfast dish is Shkembe chorba, or tripe soup, found in most restaurants.

After breakfast you’ll find yourself with the whole day ahead of you, and still not enough time to do everything there is to be done in Plovdiv.

You may want to go on a nice stroll through the Tsar Simeon Garden. Adjacent to Central Square, you can enter a few of its lanes directly from there. With its beautiful greenery and fountains, the park is a landscaping feat that’s impossible not to enjoy, and the shade of the trees is especially welcome during the hot summer days.

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Since you’re already there, why not continue your walk down the Main Pedestrian Street? Now might be a good time to do some shopping – stores line the street all the way to its very end on the other side of the Maritza river.

There are so many options for lunch you won’t be able to decide where to eat. You can sit at a nice restaurant – we recommend you use this opportunity to try our Shopska salad – or get some Turkish Shawarma from any of the shawarma places on the Main Street.

As anyone from Plovdiv will tell you, the most Bulgarian way to spend your afternoon is at a café with friends. You can order whatever you like – it doesn’t even have to be coffee. The point is to spend quality time with some pleasant company, and your stay at the café can last as long as the conversation itself – hours if need be.

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Late afternoons around sunset are particularly beautiful in the park around the rowing canal. You could rent a bike and go for a ride, or you could simply take another walk and enjoy the quiet, away from the more urban areas of the city.

Finally, in the evening, it’s time to try out the local nightlife. Dance clubs, karaoke bars, live performances – Plovdiv has it all! Don’t forget to check for any events that might be scheduled during your stay.