Bulgaria at glance

1.  Geographic location

Bulgaria is situated in the South-Eastern part of the Balkan Peninsula. The country borders Greece and Turkey to the South, Macedonia and Serbia to the West, the Danube River and Romania to the North and the Black Sea to the East. 

2.  Time zone: East European time (UTC+2); in summer (UTC+3)

3.  EU member state: Within the European Union, citizens of the EU member states may travel just with an ID card.

4.  Currency: Bulgarian Lev pegged to Euro at an exchange rate of  EUR 1 = BGN 1.95583

5.  Official language and alphabet: Bulgarian; Cyrillic alphabet

6. Most popular foreign languages spoken: English, German, Russian, French, Spanish, Turkish

7.  Religions: Eastern Orthodox (85%), Muslims (8%)

8. Population: 

Sofia capital city: 1.3 million people

Bulgaria: 7.4 million people

9.  Gross monthly wage: about EUR 360

10.  Climate and weather

Before traveling to Bulgaria, you may check the weather at http://weather.sinoptik.bg. 

The climate in Bulgaria is continental. Winter is usually snowy with snowfalls in the mountains until April. It is much harsh in northern Bulgaria with temperatures reaching -10 oC while in southern part of the country the Mediterranean influence is felt, and the eastern part is along the Black sea coast. Summers are usually warm with occasional afternoon thunderstorms. Rainfalls are concentrated in spring and autumn.

Climatic treatment in cases of allergic and chronic diseases of the respiratory tract is widespread in Bulgaria; the most popular climatic resorts are Sandanski, Velingrad, Albena, Pomorie, Hisarya, Varshets, Devin, Katarino, Kyustendil and Shipkovo.

11. Mineral waters and balneotherapy

Bulgaria is among the top countries worldwide in terms of mineral water resources. There are more than 600 mineral springs in operation in Bulgaria with a flow of over 5000 l/sec. Most of the balneotherapy resorts are located in ecologically clean areas and nature parks. Most popular balneotherapy resorts: Sandanski, Kyustendil, Pomorie, Hisarya, Velingrad, Varshets, Devin, Shipkovo.