Nessebar might be the most adorable town in Bulgaria. To me, it’s the Cape Cod of the Black Sea. It has a ton of charm, lots of cute little shops and is infinitely photographable. As such, this post is heavy on the pictures, light on the words.

The town of Nessebar is over 3000 years old and actually sits on both the mainland (the newer part of town), and a little peninsula that was once an island (the main attraction and historic area). Since there are so many well preserved historical buildings on this former island, the entire old town has been declared a UNESCO Would Heritage site.

The bus drops me off where the road meets the island and I  begin my journey to explore every inch! I wish I had a warmer coat though. That sea breeze whips right through my lighter-weight clothes like they aren’t even there.

While originally a Thracian, then Roman city, most of the ruins in Nessebar are from the Byzantine period, which you can tell from the red brick mixed with the stone.

The homes are mostly medieval, with their narrow bases and wider second and third stories.

I start my explorations walking around the perimeter of the peninsula before heading in towards the center.

In the summertime, this is one of the major seaside resorts in Bulgaria and is swarming with tourists. Today I practically have the whole place to myself. I see a few guided tours with mostly European and Russian tourists, but it’s otherwise very quiet.

I spend most of the day just wandering around, taking pictures of this charming town. There are plenty of places to eat, and of course all the souvenir shops you could ever want.

But the main attraction here is really the ruins of all the churches. There are so many, I can’t believe there was ever enough population to fill them all!

My favorite of them all is this one almost right in the center of the old town.

Eventually I make my way back towards where the bus dropped me off and walk down the isthmus to this funny little windmill thing. I’m not exactly sure what it is, but it’s interesting to check out.

After several hours exploring Nessebar, it’s time to head back to Varna. Maggie and I decided on a whim to take the overnight bus to Istanbul for 2 days and we leave tonight! Even though it’s only 8 hours from Varna, she has never been, and I of course, would love to see another new city. Should be a lot of fun!