Europe's oldest continuously inhabited city — Roman theatres, Ottoman bazaars, and Bulgaria's arts capital
Plovdiv is Bulgaria's second city and arguably its most rewarding — a place where 8,000 years of layered civilisation are visible in a single afternoon walk. The Old Town sits on three hills: Roman amphitheatre ruins rise from the hillside, Ottoman mosques stand beside medieval Bulgarian churches, and 19th-century National Revival mansions (with their distinctive overhanging upper stories) line cobblestone streets. The Kapana ('The Trap') arts district below has transformed into a hub of cafes, galleries, and craft breweries. European Capital of Culture 2019 accelerated the transformation alr…
Plovdiv claims to be the oldest continuously inhabited city in Europe — there is evidence of habitation since the Neolithic, and the settlement has been known by different names to each civilisation: Eumolpias to the Thracians, Philippopolis after Philip II of Macedon conquered it in 342 BCE, Trimontium to the Romans (who made it the most important city in the Balkans after Constantinople), and Filibe to the Ottomans. Ottoman rule from 1364 to 1878 gave the city many of its mosques and bazaars; the Bulgarian National Revival of the 19th century gave it the painted mansions. It was the capital…