Burgas is the largest city in Southeastern Bulgaria and the 4th largest by population in the country after Sofia, Plovdiv and Varna. Burgas is an important economic, transport, administrative and cultural center in Southeastern Bulgaria. The city is the administrative center of the namesake municipality and region. Population: 206,038 residents as of 2013. Burgas is located on the western coast of the Burgas Bay of the Black Sea, at the easternmost point of the Burgas Plain. The city is 385 km from Sofia, 267 km from Plovdiv and 133 km from Varna.
In the 20th century, the city developed actively, and today it is a major industrial and tourist center. In the built-up area by the sea, surrounded by the lakes of Burgas, the climate is fairly moderate, with comparatively cooler summers and a warm winter.
The history of Burgas is long: scientists say it has been inhabited since ancient times. But it was difficult for the city to compete with the then leaders in trade, Nessebar and Sozopol, so for a long time Burgas was simply a territory with small fishing villages and sea fortifications. Everything changed with the opening of the city port, which made Burgas the largest port in the country and the second-largest city after Varna.
Today, Burgas is not the country’s main tourist center. But its convenient location near the lakes and more historic towns nevertheless brings tourists here. Burgas has ethnographic, archaeological, historical and natural science museums, numerous exhibition venues, and interesting natural attractions in the surrounding area. The center of Burgas is especially interesting from an architectural point of view. It has preserved many residential buildings in Art Nouveau style, built at the beginning of the 20th century, as well as residential buildings in Rationalism style, constructed in the 1930s. Not far from Burgas, there is the balneological mud-bath resort “Burgaski Mineralni Bani”.
ClimateThe climate of Burgas is wonderfully suited for a seaside holiday. There is no extreme heat, because the sea breeze brings refreshing air, and nights are cool. The best time to visit Burgas is in the summer months-July and August-when warm, sunny weather sets in and the thermometer rarely rises above +30 °C. The number of sunny days in summer is about 24-27 per month. August-September is the best time for a resort holiday in Burgas. The proximity to the Black Sea makes winter warm and mild, with only minor snowfall. The average winter temperature in this area is above 0 °C. The reason lies not only in Burgas’s proximity to the sea, but also because of the Stara Planina mountain, which blocks the cold northern winds.
