Old Town
AtmosphereThe cobbled hill of painted merchant houses, the Roman theatre and the best views. Steep, and quiet at night.
Plovdiv city guide
Things To Do In Plovdiv
Older than Rome and Athens, with a Roman theatre still used for concerts, painted merchant houses on a hill, and an artists' quarter in a former tobacco district.
4
Hostels in the city
8.7
Average, from 3,586 reviews
8,000
Years of continuous settlement
2nd c.
The Roman theatre, still in use
2019
European Capital of Culture
One of the oldest continuously inhabited cities on earth
Plovdiv has been lived in for around 8,000 years, which makes it older than Rome, Athens and Constantinople, and it has been Thracian, Macedonian, Roman, Byzantine, Bulgarian and Ottoman in turn. Most of those are still visible.
The Roman theatre from the second century was buried by a landslide and only rediscovered in the 1970s, and it now seats 3,500 people for concerts and opera through the summer.
The old town climbs a hill in painted National Revival houses with overhanging upper storeys, and below it Kapana — "the trap", a grid of former craft streets — has become the artists' and bar quarter that carried the city's 2019 Capital of Culture year.
Two days, and it is the city most people who travel Bulgaria end up preferring.
Where to stay
Three hills, an old town on one of them, and a flat centre between.
Kapana
Nightlife and foodThe creative quarter below the old town: galleries, bars, street art and the liveliest evenings in the city.
Centre and Glavnata
First-timersAround the main pedestrian street and the Roman stadium, flat, central and close to everything.
Orange labels are neighbourhoods, dots are the 4 top-rated hostels. Map © MapTiler © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Things to do
Things to do in Plovdiv
The Roman theatre is the one. Built in the second century, buried by a landslide, rediscovered in the 1970s and restored to working use — it seats 3,500 and hosts opera, concerts and film through the summer. Entry is a few euros, or buy a ticket to something and see it properly.
The old town is a climb through National Revival houses, several open as museums with painted ceilings and merchant furniture. The Balabanov and Hindliyan houses are the two worth paying for.
Under the main pedestrian street, the Roman stadium of Philippopolis is partly excavated and visible through glass, with a section you can walk into.
Kapana is where the city lives now: a grid of small streets full of bars, studios and street art, and it is best simply wandered in the evening.
Nebet Tepe, the hill at the top of the old town, has Thracian foundations and the best sunset in the city, free.
Free things
Free things to do in Plovdiv
Nebet Tepe at the top of the old town is free and has the whole city and the plain below it at sunset.
Walking the old town cobbles, looking at the painted facades, costs nothing — only entering the house museums charges.
Kapana is free to wander and the street art changes constantly.
The main pedestrian street, one of the longest in Europe, runs past the exposed Roman stadium which you can see from above for nothing.
Tsar Simeon's Garden and the Singing Fountains are free, and the free walking tour leaves daily from the municipality building.
Food and drink
Eating and drinking in Plovdiv
Thrace is Bulgaria's wine country and Plovdiv is its capital, which shapes eating here. Mavrud, the local red, grows on the plain around the city, and a glass is €3 to €5 with cellars an hour away in either direction.
Food is Bulgarian: shopska salad, grilled kebapche and kyufte, kavarma in a clay pot, and banitsa for breakfast. A full meal with wine is €10 to €16.
Kapana has the newer places — craft beer, third-wave coffee and small kitchens — and the old town has the traditional mehanas with folk music.
The Saturday market and the covered halls are worth an hour for cheese, honey and the local rose products.
Nightlife
Going out in Plovdiv
Kapana is the whole answer. A grid of narrow streets that was a craft district and is now wall-to-wall bars, with tables outside and a mixed crowd of students, artists and visitors.
It runs from about nine until two or three, and a beer is €1.50 to €3.
The university keeps term time livelier, and there are clubs along the river and in the centre for anything later.
The Roman theatre hosts summer concerts and opera, which is a different kind of night out and worth checking — seeing something performed in a second-century theatre is the best thing this city offers.
Getting around
Getting around Plovdiv
The centre is flat and walkable, and the old town is a steep cobbled climb from it — worth knowing if you have luggage, because taxis cannot get up most of it.
Buses cost about €0.80 and cover the rest of the city.
Sofia is two hours by bus or train for about €8, with buses more frequent and more reliable than trains.
Veliko Tarnovo is three hours, the Black Sea coast about four, and Bansko around three.
Taxis are cheap and metered — agree the meter is running, as in Sofia.
Costs
What Plovdiv costs
Cheap, and slightly below Sofia. Dorms are €9 to €18, a full meal €10 to €16, and a beer €1.50 to €3.
A day is €25 to €42.
The Roman theatre and the house museums are €3 to €6 each, and a combined old town ticket covers several.
Bulgaria switched to the euro on 1 January 2026, so prices are in euros and the lev is no longer in use. Cards work widely; carry some cash for small places.
Safety
Staying safe in Plovdiv
Plovdiv is a safe, relaxed city and the centre and Kapana are comfortable at night.
Petty theft happens in the pedestrian street crowds and at the bus and train stations.
The old town cobbles are large, rounded and steeply laid, and they are slippery in rain — this is the most common way visitors get hurt here.
Summer heat on the Thracian plain is severe, regularly above 35 degrees in July and August, and the old town has little shade.
Taxi overcharging is less of an issue than in Sofia but the same rules apply. Emergency number is 112.
Day trips from Plovdiv
Monasteries, wine and a Thracian tomb, all within two hours.
Bachkovo Monastery
The second largest monastery in Bulgaria, from 1083, in a wooded valley with frescoes and a covered ossuary.
Asen's Fortress
A medieval church on a rock spur above the Chepelare gorge, with a dramatic approach.
Starosel Thracian tomb
A fifth-century BC royal Thracian tomb complex, the largest found in the country.
What's on
What is on while you are there
Opera in a second-century Roman theatre is the one to plan around.
June to July
Opera Open
Roman theatre
Opera and ballet staged in the second-century theatre. The best thing in the Bulgarian cultural calendar.
Early June
Rose Festival
Kazanlak, 1.5 hours away
The rose harvest in the Valley of Roses, with picking at dawn and a festival around it.
Several times a year
Kapana Fest
Kapana
The creative quarter closes to traffic for street food, music and art.
September
Night of Museums and Galleries
Citywide
Museums, galleries and studios open late across the city, mostly free.
1 March
Baba Marta
Nationwide
Red and white martenitsa tassels exchanged and worn until spring is seen.
Hostels
Where to stay in Plovdiv
A small, good scene split between the old town and the centre near Kapana. Live from Hostelworld.
When to go
Spring and autumn. The Thracian plain is punishing in midsummer.
Jan
Cold and quiet. Cheapest beds
Feb
Still cold. Very few visitors
Mar
Thawing. Baba Marta on the first of the month
Apr
Excellent. Green and mild
May
The best month. Warm, and the rose harvest starts nearby
Jun
Hot but good. Roman theatre concerts begin
Jul
Very hot on the plain. Evenings in Kapana
Aug
Peak heat, often above 35°C
Sep
Superb. Harvest in the vineyards and cooler evenings
Oct
Excellent value and autumn colour
Nov
Grey and cooling
Dec
Cold and quiet, with a small market
Bar height is temperature. Colour is how busy it gets:
quiet
busy
peak
Average highs. Plovdiv sits on the Thracian plain and is one of the hottest cities in Bulgaria, regularly passing 35°C in July and August.
What your trip will cost
Pick how you travel. Per person per night, in euros.
Wine tours at €35–55 are the main extra.
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- Beds—
- Food and drink—
- Getting around—
- Doing things—
Plovdiv travel questions
The ones we get asked most.
Is Plovdiv older than Rome?
Yes. Continuous settlement here goes back around 8,000 years, which makes it older than Rome, Athens and Constantinople, and it has been Thracian, Roman, Byzantine, Bulgarian and Ottoman in turn.
How long do you need?
Two days. One for the old town and the Roman sites, one for Kapana, the museums and a day trip to Bachkovo or a winery.
Sofia or Plovdiv?
Sofia is the capital with the mountain and the transport links; Plovdiv is smaller, older, prettier and has a better evening scene for its size. Most people who do both end up preferring Plovdiv. They are two hours apart.
What is Kapana?
A grid of narrow former craft streets — the name means "the trap" — now full of bars, galleries and studios. It carried the city's 2019 European Capital of Culture year and it is where the evenings happen.
Can I see something at the Roman theatre?
Yes, and you should. It seats 3,500 and hosts opera, concerts and film through the summer, with the Opera Open season in June and July. Watching a performance in a second-century theatre is the best experience the city offers.
Is it cheap?
Yes, and slightly cheaper than Sofia. Dorms €9 to €18, a full meal €10 to €16, and a day around €25 to €42.
When should I go?
May, June, September or October. July and August regularly pass 35 degrees on the Thracian plain and the old town has very little shade.
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