The food and wine scene is incredible

The Western Thrace wine area - one of Bulgaria's most recognized wine regions and the wine region that surrounds the town of Plovdiv - is home to some of the top boutique wineries in the country. Western Thrace is the origin of one of the primary local types, Mavrud, which can be found in practically every winery's tasting menu. This journey will take you to Plovdiv, Europe's oldest continuously inhabited city. Experience the colorful atmosphere of Plovdiv and be transported back into the lengthy and turbulent history of Europe's oldest living city and one of the world's oldest. Witness the remnants of long-gone civilizations that once held Plovdiv as their stronghold.

Everyone has left their stamp on Plovdiv, including the Thracians, Romans, Byzantines, Greeks, Ottomans, Slavs, and Bulgars. On every street corner, fatty cheese-filled pastries called banitsa are sold, which are best washed down with boza, a wheat-based malt drink. Tarator, a cool soup of yoghurt, garlic, and dill, is delicious on a hot summer day, as is shopska salata, a salad of tomato, cucumber, onion, parsley, and shredded sirene cheese. This hardly scratches the surface of what Plovdiv has to offer. Pavaj is a tremendously popular local favorite, serving a variety of less typical regional dishes as well as an a la carte menu.