Bulgaria travel guide

The EU's newest member is surrounded by bigger guys with (history tells us) bigger trumpets – Greece, Turkey, heck even Romania has Dracula – but surprisingly mountainous Bulgaria has great (and popular) Black Sea beaches, cheap ski slopes, and the best red wine 50 cents can buy. With so much change in the air, so this is the time to go. Many visitors hop off the train in the capital, Sofia, and wander around the golden-yellow paved streets around the parliament building, and then walk down ritzy Vitosha Boulevard to a park with a hilariously dilapidated communist-era statue. More rewarding destinations are wee ancient Veliko Tarnovo, nestled in an S-shaped valley in the Stara Planina mountains, or Plovdiv, a mid-sized city littered with Roman ruins and cute 19th-century homes. Buses and trains connect Bulgaria's far-flung highlights, but consider renting a car. Main towns rent cheapies for 20 dollars a day, and save for a speed trap or two, the driving's problem-free.