Varna, Bulgaria, had been on our travel bucket list ever since we spent a month in Sofia, Bulgaria a couple of years ago. As the third-largest city in Bulgaria and one of the most highly recommended destinations in the country and a popular beach escape on the Black Sea coast, it was a place we had originally hoped to visit, but timing and logistics didn’t work out. Ever since then, we knew we wanted to come back.
Fast forward two years later, and we finally made it happen. While searching for flights to Varna from Toronto, we came across a great airfare that included a few convenient connections. One thing led to another and before we knew it, our trip had grown into a 12-day adventure across 5 countries, starting in Edinburgh, Scotland and Bratislava, Slovakia, before finally reaching Varna, Bulgaria, followed by stops in Rome, Italy, and a longer stay in Seville, Spain.
From beautiful beaches and waterfront walks to fresh seafood and fascinating history, Varna was well worth the wait. We spent 3 nights and 4 days in Varna, which we found to be the perfect amount of time. We were able to explore the city, relax by the Black Sea, enjoy the local food scene, and not feel rushed. It also gave us time for a day trip to a nearby city, which ended up being one of the highlights of our time on this Bulgaria trip.
In this Varna, Bulgaria travel guide, you’ll find the best things to do, where to stay, the top beaches to visit, and the best day trips to help you plan your own trip.
Note: Bulgaria officially adopted the Euro on January 1, 2026, replacing the Bulgarian lev and becoming the sole legal tender in the country by February 1, 2026. During our visit to Varna, everything was priced in Euros, and card payments were widely accepted, making it easy to travel without needing cash on hand – but it’s always useful to have some in case.
A Little History About Varna, Bulgaria
Varna, Bulgaria, is known as the marine capital of Bulgaria, and it is often seen today as a relaxed Black Sea beach city, but its history runs much deeper than most visitors expect. The area was originally settled by the Thracians before becoming the ancient Greek colony of Odessos around the 6th century BC. Later, it was incorporated into the Roman Empire, and the remnants of that period still exist today.
One of the most remarkable discoveries here is the Varna Necropolis, just outside the city. It’s home to the oldest known gold treasure in the world, dating back over 6,000 years, offering a glimpse into one of the earliest advanced societies in human history.
Over the centuries, Varna became an important port city due to its strategic location on the Black Sea. It later developed further under Byzantine, Ottoman, and Bulgarian rule, each leaving their influence on the city’s architecture and culture.
In the 20th century, Varna grew into Bulgaria’s maritime capital and a key industrial and naval hub. Today, it blends that history with a modern seaside identity, making it one of the most unique coastal cities in Europe.
How To Get To Varna, Bulgaria
When we first looked at visiting from Sofia, we struggled to make the logistics work. Bus schedules didn’t line up well with our timing, and nothing felt convenient enough for a short trip, which is one of the reasons we ended up skipping it that time.
On our return trip, we approached it differently and decided to fly to Varna from Toronto. While there weren’t any direct options, we found a great fare with layovers and decided to turn them into mini trips of their own. For us, flying ended up being much more convenient than trying to coordinate buses and overpriced flights from Sofia around limited schedules. If you don’t mind a few stops along the way, it can be a great opportunity to see more destinations while making your way to Varna.
Flying To Varna (VAR)
Varna has its own international airport, located just outside the city. In peak summer, there are more direct and seasonal routes from major European cities, while year-round connections usually route through hubs like Istanbul, Vienna, or other European capitals (I came by Bratislava, Slovakia). From the airport, it’s an easy 15-to-20-minute taxi or transfer into the city center.
Getting From Sofia To Varna
If you’re already in Sofia, you can reach Varna by bus, train, or domestic flight. The bus is the most common option and takes around 6.5 hours, depending on the route. Trains are slower and less direct, while flying is significantly faster but often requires planning around limited schedules and transfers.
I recommend checking out Rome2Rio for ways to travel from Sofia to Varna and decide which form of transportation fits you best.
Where To Stay In Varna, Bulgaria
The best area to stay in Varna depends on the type of trip you’re planning, but for most visitors, I would recommend staying in or near the city center. This area offers the best balance of convenience, attractions, restaurants, and walkability. You’ll be close to Varna’s historic landmarks, shopping streets, cafés, and public transportation, while still being within walking distance of the Black Sea waterfront.
If you’re looking for a traditional beach resort experience, Golden Sands is another popular option located about 20 minutes north of Varna. However, for first-time visitors who want to explore both the city and the coast, staying in the city center offers the most flexibility.
During our time in Varna, we stayed at the Grand Hotel London, a 5-star historic boutique hotel located in the heart of the city center. The location made it easy to walk to restaurants, attractions, and the waterfront, while still providing a comfortable and quiet place to return to after a day of sightseeing and exploring.
The hotel room was large, spacious, and very comfortable, giving us plenty of room to relax. The hotel also features an on-site restaurant, bar, and fitness center, making it a convenient base for our stay. One of the things we appreciated most was the hotel’s historic character. Housed in a beautiful early 20th-century building, Grand Hotel London combines old-world elegance with modern comforts. After 8 PM, you will need your key card to even enter the hotel, providing an extra level of security, even though the city was more than safe.
One of the things we appreciated most was being able to explore much of Varna on foot without relying on taxis or public transportation. For travelers looking for a centrally located hotel with character and easy access to the city’s main attractions, Grand Hotel London is a great choice. Another hotel that comes highly recommended is Panorama Hotel, which is directly across Varna Beach.
How To Get Around Varna, Bulgaria
Getting around Varna is relatively easy, thanks to its walkable city center. You can also use the many available e-scooters as well for short distances. For destinations that are farther away, Varna has an extensive and inexpensive public bus network that connects the city center with the airport, beaches, and surrounding neighborhoods. Taxis are also readily available and reasonably priced. If you choose to take a taxi, make sure to use an official metered taxi or arrange one through your hotel.
There is currently no Uber service in Varna, so we took a taxi from Varna Airport to the Grand Hotel London in the city center, which cost approximately €8-10 and took around 15 minutes.
If you’re planning to visit places outside the city, such as Golden Sands, St. Constantine and Helena, or nearby coastal towns, both buses and taxis provide convenient transportation options.
The Best Things To Do In Varna, Bulgaria
Beyond Varna’s reputation as a Black Sea beach destination, it also has an extremely rich history, a lively waterfront, beautiful parks, and plenty of spots to eat, walk, and unwind. This was one of the cities where we were really able to slow down, and have an itinerary where we can take our time and just truly enjoy this area of Bulgaria. During our time here, we split our days between the beach, enjoying good food, exploring the city center and cultural attractions, and even have a day trip to a nearby city, which ended up being the perfect mix of relaxation and exploring. Below are the best things to do in Varna, including the highlights you shouldn’t miss.
Retro Museum
Time Spent – 1 to 1.5 hours
Why You Should Visit – A complete departure from Varna’s ancient history, the Retro Museum focuses on Bulgaria’s communist era and offers a nostalgic look back. It features vintage cars, household goods, and recreated street scenes that reflect daily life during the years of 1944 to 1989. It’s surprisingly engaging even if you have no personal connection to the era.
Dormition Of The Mother Of God Cathedral
Time Spent – 15 to 20 minutes
Why You Should Visit – Built between 1880 and 1886 after the liberation from Ottoman rule, this Eastern Orthodox church is the largest in Varna and the third largest in Bulgaria. The cathedral stands out in Varna with its golden domes, detailed frescoes and stained-glass interior. It’s still an active place of worship and one of the most photographed buildings in the city.
Twistie Buns
Time Spent – 20 to 30 minutes
Why You Should Visit – These are some of the best cinnamon buns with plenty of flavors to choose from, paired with really good coffee, and friendly staff; It’s a simple spot, but everything is fresh, made right in front of you, and perfect for a quick break.
Opera Varna
Time Spent – 1 to 2 hours if attending a performance, otherwise a quick photo snap
Why You Should Visit – Located in the city center, the Opera House is part of Varna’s cultural identity. Founded in 1947, it hosts opera, ballet, and classical concerts throughout the year. Their ensembles also frequently tour across Europe and internationally, sharing their authentic classical productions. Even if you don’t go inside, the surrounding square is lively with many shops, restaurants, and cafés and is worth passing through during a walk downtown.
El Kapan
Time Spent – 1 to 2 hours
Why You Should Visit – One of the more highly rated restaurants in Varna, if you love to enjoy a meal by the water and have delicious food with a large food and drink menu – this is it! The food was so fresh and you could just sit back, relax, and just enjoy life by the beach.
Varna Museum Of Archaeology
Time Spent – 1.5 to 2 hours
Why You Should Visit – One of the most important museums in Bulgaria, this is where you’ll find artifacts from the ancient city of Odessos, Varna’s original Greek settlement. It is also home to the famous Varna Gold Treasure, considered the oldest processed gold in the world, excavated in 1972, dating back to 4600 to 4200 BCE – over 6,000 years. It has over 3,000 gold artifacts that were unearthed at the nearby Varna Necropolis. It’s one of the most impressive collections in the country and gives real context to just how old this region is.
Ethnographic Museum
Time Spent – 45 minutes to 1 hour
Why You Should Visit – Located in a preserved 19th-century house, this museum showcases Bulgarian life from the Black Sea region in the latter half of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century. Inside, you’ll find folk costumes, tools, crafts, and household items that give insight into everyday life before modernization.
Roman Thermae
Time Spent – 30 to 45 minutes
Why You Should Visit – This complex is the largest preserved Roman baths in Bulgaria and the fourth largest in Europe. Dating back to the 2nd century AD, it highlights how important Varna (then Odessos) was as a Roman port city. You can still walk through the remains of over 7,000 square meters and get a clear sense of the scale of the original complex and where many people had socialized. If exploring ruins is your thing, this might be interesting to you. But to be honest, I did find that it was just mainly open ruins without much interpretation signage, so it’s more about the scale and history. There was not too much to see aside from the photos I’ve shared. So if you want to save some time and money, this is skippable – but it is kind of cool to walk through and see how truly big the grounds are.
BM Gulf
Time Spent – 1 to 2 hours
Why You Should Visit – A little farther down the beach, this spot feels like a bit of a hidden gem. They serve traditional Bulgarian dishes made with fresh ingredients, and it’s also where I had my second favorite salad ever (the first place still goes to a spot in Sofia, so be sure to check that blog post out for all the food recommendations). It’s right by the beach, so it’s the perfect place to sit down for a long, unhurried meal
Varna Beach
Time Spent – 1 to 2 hours
Why You Should Visit – Varna Beach stretches about 3 kilometers on golden sand along the Bulgarian Black Sea coast and it is just a 15-minute walk from the city center, making it one of the most accessible city beaches in Europe. Its soft golden sand, calm waters, and lively atmosphere make it the perfect place to unwind after sightseeing. You’ll find this lively area of Varna full of beach clubs, restaurants, and bars where you can enjoy the views of the Black Sea or the live music and events during the summer months.
Sea Garden / Seaside Park
Time Spent – 1 to 2 hours (or longer if you’re relaxing)
Why You Should Visit – The Sea Garden is Varna’s most iconic green space and one of the oldest and largest seaside parks in the Balkans. Stretching along the Black Sea coast, it was originally designed in the late 19th century after Bulgaria’s liberation and has since become the city’s main leisure area. Today, it’s filled with walking paths, fountains, viewpoints, cafés, cultural spaces, and direct access down to the beach. It’s the natural bridge between the city and the sea, and one of the best places to slow down and take in Varna’s coastal settings.
Cosmetics Bulgaria
Time Spent – 20 minutes
Why You Should Visit – Bulgaria is famous for its rose oil production, especially from the Rose Valley, and you’ll find that heritage reflected in many local skincare and cosmetics stores. It’s worth stepping into at least one shop to try natural rose-based products, from perfumes to creams, which are made using locally sourced ingredients and make for a nice, authentic souvenir from your trip.
Monument of the Bulgarian-Soviet Friendship
Time Spent – 5 to 10 minutes
Why You Should Visit – While it’s not an essential stop for every itinerary, it’s worth visiting if you’re driving toward nearby attractions (listed next). Built in 1978, this monument sits on a hill overlooking Varna, and it reflects the country’s Soviet-era history and offers one of the best panoramic viewpoints over the city and coastline. It commemorates the friendship between Bulgaria and the former Soviet Union – but of course, some locals see it as an important historical landmark, and others view it as a symbol of the country’s communist past.
Aladzha Monastery
Time Spent – 1 to 2 hours
Why You Should Visit – About 20 minutes outside Varna, this medieval rock monastery is one of the most unique historical sites and it’s carved directly into limestone cliffs. Dating back to around the 12th century, it was once home to hermit monks. When the Second Bulgarian Empire was at its height. It was abandoned after the Ottoman conquest, but many of its chapels, chambers, and passageways remain, offering a fascinating look into monastic life hundreds of years ago.
Evksinograd Palace
Time Spent – 1 to 2 hours
Why You Should Visit – Just north of Varna along the Black Sea coast, this palace was built in the late 19th century as the royal summer residence of Bulgaria’s monarchy. Inspired by French châteaux, the estate is surrounded by beautifully landscaped gardens featuring rare trees and plants from around the world. The grounds are also home to a historic winery established by Prince Ferdinand in 1891, where wine is still produced today. Although the estate continues to serve as an official government residence, guided tours allow visitors to explore parts of the palace, gardens, chapel, and winery – making it one of the most elegant and historically significant attractions near Varna.
Day Trips From Varna, Bulgaria
While there are plenty of things to do in Varna itself, one of the best parts about staying here is how easy it is to explore more of Bulgaria’s Black Sea coast. I highly recommend taking at least one day trip, especially if you’re renting a car.
Nessebar
If you only have time for one day trip from Varna, make it Nessebar. This UNESCO World Heritage Site quickly became one of the highlights of our trip. It’s the kind of place where you’ll want to wander without an itinerary (it’s compact enough that you won’t even get lost), stopping for lunch by the water, and exploring the narrow streets at your own pace.
Travel Time
Approximately 2 to 2.5 hours each way by bus or about 1.5 hours by car
How To Get There
If you’re driving, getting there is straightforward and definitely the easiest option. We traveled by bus, which was more complicated but absolutely worth it. We almost skipped this day trip because we were worried about transportation, but I’m so glad we didn’t. One tip I’d highly recommend is buying your bus tickets in person at Varna Central Bus Station instead of online. When we checked online, it showed our bus as sold out, but when we arrived at the station, there were only about 6 to 8 passengers onboard including us, so it was far from full and there was plenty of space. It was a very comfortable ride with air conditioning, and it only cost €8 per person. Now getting from Varna to Nessebar was the easy part.
Getting back from Nessebar requires a little more effort and planning. Even though it said that we could buy return tickets at the location where we got dropped off, it must’ve been outdated information since there was nowhere that we could find to do so. We found it easier to take a local bus (you pay the bus fare after the bus departs and someone will come to collect it from each passenger, so don’t be confused) to nearby Sunny Beach, where there’s a larger bus station with more frequent departures to Varna and even Sofia. The system is quite old-fashioned, with printed timetables and departure boards rather than live digital updates, so be prepared to check the schedules carefully and possibly wait a while for the next available bus.
If you want to make things easier for yourself, you can also book a guided tour that’ll take you from Varna straight to Nessebar.
How Much Time Is Needed
We spent about 4 hours here, and it was a good amount of time, but I think we could’ve stretched it for another hour or two easily.
Why You Should Visit
Often called the “Pearl of the Black Sea”, Nessebar is one of the oldest continuously inhabited towns in Europe, with a history stretching back more than 3,000 years. Originally founded by the Thracians before becoming a Greek colony known as Mesambria, the town later grew under Roman, Byzantine, and Bulgarian rule, leaving behind layer upon layer of history. Today, its UNESCO World Heritage-listed Old Town is filled with cobblestone streets, medieval churches, traditional wooden houses from the Bulgarian Revival period, and remnants of ancient fortification walls overlooking the Black Sea. Beyond its historical significance, Nessebar has a relaxed coastal atmosphere, waterfront restaurants serving fresh seafood, and countless scenic viewpoints.
Where To Eat
There are many restaurants here, but we dined at Plakamoto, which is rated among the top eats in the area, and with a gorgeous view of the water in the outdoor dining area. We absolutely loved the food, the staff was very friendly, and the view was fantastic. I also recommend getting gelato from Raffy, especially the yogurt flavor!
Money-Saving Tip
The Nessebar church and museum pass (combined ticket) grants visitors access to museums and most of the churches in this town. It’s a cost-effective way to explore this UNESCO World Heritage Site to the fullest, and it pays for itself if you plan to visit 4 or more venues. The Church of St. Stephen also has bathrooms, so you don’t need to pay to use the public ones.
Other Great Day Trips From Varna
Golden Sands
Travel Time – 25 to 30 minutes
Time Needed – 3 to 5 hours
Why You Should Visit – Golden Sands is Bulgaria’s most famous beach resort, known for its long sandy coastline, beach clubs, and summer nightlife. It sits inside a protected natural park, which is why you’ll see forest right behind the beach in many areas. While it’s more tourist-heavy than Varna, it’s worth visiting for a classic Black Sea resort experience.
St. Constantine And Helena
Travel Time – 15 to 20 minutes
Time Needed – 2 to 4 hours
Why You Should Visit – This is the oldest seaside resort on the Bulgarian coast, dating back to the early 1900s. Unlike Golden Sands, it has a much quieter and more relaxed atmosphere, with small coves, shaded parks, and natural mineral springs that have been used for centuries. It’s a good option if you want a slower beach day without the crowds.
Sunny Beach
Travel Time – 1.5 to 2.5 hours
Time Needed – Full day (otherwise 1 to 3 days is recommended)
Why You Should Visit – Sunny Beach is the most developed and busiest resort town on the Black Sea coast, known for its long stretch of sand and high-energy nightlife. It was largely developed during the late 20th century as a major tourism hub, and it attracts a very different crowd compared to Varna’s more laid-back and relaxed atmosphere.
Cape Kaliakra
Travel Time – 1 hour 15 minutes
Time Needed – 2 to 3 hours
Why You Should Visit – Cape Kaliakra is one of the most dramatic coastal landscapes in Bulgaria, with 70-meter-high red cliffs dropping into the Black Sea. It also has deep historical roots, with evidence of Thracian settlement and later a medieval fortress that once controlled the coastline. Today, you can still see the ruins along the headland, along with sweeping ocean views that make it one of the most photographed spots in the region.
Balchik
Travel Time – 40 to 50 minutes
Time Needed – 2 to 4 hours
Why You Should Visit – Balchik is a small coastal town best known for the Balchik Palace and its botanical gardens. The palace was originally built in the early 20th century as a summer residence for Queen Marie of Romania when the area briefly belonged to Romania between the World Wars. Today, the mix of seaside cliffs, historic architecture, and beautiful gardens makes it one of the most visually unique day trips from Varna.
If you’re planning your next trip and want more destination ideas like this, check out my other travel guides!