Visit to Nesebar and Sunny Beach on the Black Sea Coast

Another excursion with Bob Pharoah was to his favourite spot on Bulgaria's Black Sea coast, a 3-hour car journey from our base in Biser. We drove NE via Elhovo to the port of Burgas, then 35 km up the coast, past the salt pans of Pomorie and over the causeway to Nesebar (ancient Greek Mesembria), its slender peninsula protected since antiquity by massive ramparts. It was early September, the high season over, the weather still golden, a freshening sea breeze. The car park charged a bargain 5 lev (€2.5) for the whole day (even space for motorhomes, with an overnight rate). We lunched on the terrace of the Romantic Panorama restaurant, overlooking the harbour, before wandering the narrow cobbled streets.

A thriving port, colonised by Greeks and Romans, Nesebar became an important staging post between Constantinople and the Danube during the Byzantine era. It changed hands between Byzantines and Bulgars several times from the 9thC onwards until it fell to the Ottomans. Even then, it remained the seat of a Greek Orthodox Bishopric. We admired the 19th century half-timbered houses that overhung a rash of souvenir stalls, cafes and trinket shops. Many Byzantine churches in various states of preservation are tucked away, beyond and behind the tourists, though most were locked and some had become art galleries. The earliest remains are the ruins of the Old Metropolitan Church in the historic centre of the old town, dating from the 5thC.

After walking round the peninsula above its rocky shores, we went over to Sunny Beach (Slanchev Bryag), a purpose-built high-rise resort basking along a perfect stretch of sand only 3 km from Nesebar. The small ferry was asking 15 lev per person for the short but choppy crossing. Knowing that parking in Sunny Beach would be virtually impossible, we left Bob's car in Nesebar and took a taxi: quicker, smoother and cheaper than the boat.

Expecting a brash package holiday place, we were pleasantly surprised at the quality of the hotels and the cleanliness of Bulgaria's largest coastal resort. Bob reminisced as we took coffee in the hotel where he stayed last summer – a visit which changed the course of his life, since he now lives in a Bulgarian village! The Blue Flag beach stretches for 8 km and we walked the length of the main strip before resting over McMuffins and ice cream! Rows of empty sun beds lined the shore and a machine was cleaning the pristine sands at the end of another day. From night clubs to pirated DVD's to bungee jumping, it was all there.

For more images, click: Black Sea Sights  For more information, visit www.nesebar.com.