location

Located 34 kilometers south of Bourgas on a slender rocky peninsula, Sozopol is the oldest of Bulgaria's coastal towns. Founded in 610 BC by Miletian Greeks, their colony of Apollonia thrived as a middleman between the Greek world and the indigenous Thracians. Today, this charming place is a popular tourist resort best known for its casual ambiance, two sandy beaches, and distinctive nineteenth-century stone and wood houses, some 45 of which are designated national cultural monuments. While Sozopol is a bustling place during July-August, in the off-season it reverts back to a sleepy fishing village and is a favored haunt of artists, writers and other contemplative types.

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Sozopol

The best beach in the area is at Dyuni, an upscale Austrian-designed resort village complex six kilometers south of Sozopol. Past Dyuni, the coast road passes by the Arkutino swamp, a 62 hectare area of floating water lilies, irises and creeping liana vines. A few kilometers further south is the Ropotamo river nature reserve; tour boats routinely ply the verdant-rich lower stretch of the river to the sea (one-hour round trip;$4).