Resting near the center of the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast, Nessebar is one of the country’s most popular summer getaways. Alongside its access to beaches—including the popular Sunny Beach resort just up the coast—Nessebar is known for its peninsular old town, where traditional stone and wooden houses line cobblestone streets. Most of the cultural things to do in Nessebar involve visiting the old town’s ancient churches and ruins, while a slew of water parks near the city provide family-friendly fun for those who don’t want to swim at local beaches.
Beaches and water parks around Nessebar fill with people during the summer, but July and August are the best times of year to visit and cool off. Summer also brings the Day of Nessebar, a citywide celebration with concerts, events, and religious ceremonies on August 15. Those who are more interested in sightseeing than swimming benefit from fewer people and pleasant weather in the shoulder months of May, June, September, and October.
Both Nessebar’s old town and new town are best explored on foot, with a narrow causeway connecting the two parts of the city. Visitors coming to the old town by car must park in a large lot outside its walls before walking in. Local orange buses operate between the old town, the new town, and the nearby beach resorts of Sunny Beach and Ravda.
Aside from its beach, the new town doesn’t offer much for visitors to do. But this modern center of Nessebar does have accessible hotels, plenty of restaurants, and a broader range of shopping boutiques compared to the old town’s souvenir shops. Nessebar’s water parks are almost all located well outside the new town, but the parks run shuttle buses to make it easier to get to them from this part of the city.
