It's one of the oldest cities in Europe

Plovdiv is Bulgaria's second-largest city, located on the banks of the Maritsa River in the ancient region of Thrace. Plovdiv is Bulgaria's cultural capital and the European Capital of Culture in 2019. It is a vital economic, transportation, cultural, and educational hub. In 2016, Plovdiv became a member of the UNESCO Global Network of Learning Cities. Plovdiv has a strong claim to be Europe's oldest continuously inhabited city. While summarizing 6,000 years of apparent history is difficult, one clear highlight is the massive, partially discovered Roman stadium beneath the main thoroughfare.

Only ten paces away, the 600-year-old Dzhumaya Mosque continues to serve Turkish families who remained when Ottoman authority ended. Plovdiv's old town is ideal for a leisurely evening stroll, with its meandering cobblestone lanes and exquisite revival-era homes. The ruined stronghold of Nebet Tepe commands the heights above the ancient town. The original settlers on this location were Thracian tribesmen, who erected a fortification that was later expanded by Macedonians and eventually Romans. When the Ottomans expanded their imperial borders beyond Plovdiv, they partially dismantled the stronghold to prevent Bulgarian rebels from using it; yet the remnants that remain are magnificent, especially at night.