Things to Do in Plovdiv, Bulgaria: Walking Guide

When planning what to see in Plovdiv, visitors find a unique blend of ancient architecture, Ottoman history, and vibrant cultural spaces spread across the city’s historic landscape. As you look for the best things to do in Plovdiv, exploring its ancient monuments, museums, and religious heritage reveals the depth of one of Europe’s oldest cities. To help you discover every site at your own pace, Neywo provides a free audio guide for Plovdiv featuring 119 narrated places.

Historic Landmarks and Cultural Sites to Explore

Plovdiv and its surrounding region offer a rich collection of architectural and sacred monuments that reflect centuries of diverse influences.

• Cathedral of St Louis: Built between 1858 and 1861, this Roman Catholic church is dedicated to Saint Louis, King of France. Designed in the Neo-Baroque style, the cathedral features a bell tower added in 1898 with five bells gifted by Pope Leo XIII. Inside, visitors can view the marble sarcophagus of Maria Luisa of Bourbon-Parma, wife of Tsar Ferdinand I, created by Italian sculptor Tomaso Gentile.
• Şahabettin İmaret Mosque: This notable Ottoman building was constructed in 1444 or 1445 by Şahabettin Pasha near the Maritsa River. For over four centuries, an associated public kitchen distributed daily food to people of every faith. The mosque features a distinctive T-shaped plan, a five-arch northern porch, and a minaret with zigzag brickwork.
• Small Basilica: Known locally as Malka bazilika na Filipopol, this early Christian monument dates from the second half of the fifth to the sixth century. Discovered in 1888 and restored between 2010 and 2013, it highlights the exceptional craftsmanship of ancient Philippopolis mosaic makers.
• Veren Stambolyan House: Located on Dzhambaz Tepe, this strikingly symmetrical two-storey building features preserved interior furnishings and a history deeply connected to the city’s artistic community. During the 1970s and 1980s, it served as the House of the Artists and later became an international cultural centre.
• Hindliyan House: Built in 1848 within the Old Plovdiv Architectural and Historical Reserve, this museum house preserves its original symmetrical design and features the only known preserved bathroom with running hot and cold water. It now functions as a museum and cultural venue for exhibitions.
• Church of the Holy Mother of God: Serving as the cathedral church of the Plovdiv Diocese of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, this important Orthodox landmark stands within the historic fabric of Plovdiv’s Old Town.
• Bachkovo Monastery: Situated near the village of Bachkovo in the Asenovgrad municipality, this is Bulgaria’s second-largest monastery after Rila. As an Orthodox stavropegic male monastery, its architecture reflects a meeting of Byzantine, Georgian, and Bulgarian traditions.
• Red Church: Preserved in ruins near Perushtitsa, this Christian site functioned from the fourth through the fourteenth century. The structure includes a central hall with four apses, a baptistery with a pink marble pool, and early floor mosaics and frescoes.

Explore Plovdiv with a Self-Guided Audio Tour

Discovering these historic locations is simple when you take a Plovdiv audio guide along for your journey. Neywo offers 3 walking tour routes and 1 bus route to help you navigate the city. You can choose from itineraries such as the 2.45 km, 100-minute walk covering 11 stops across the forum and early churches; the 1.4 km, 89-minute walk featuring 12 stops among the Revival houses on the three hills; the 2.87 km, 89-minute walk with 9 stops through gardens, stages, and minarets; or an 8 km, 34-minute bus route spanning 8 stops.

Each story plays automatically as you reach the place, allowing you to walk entirely at your own pace with no tour groups and no rigid schedules. Narration is available in 11 languages, making it easy to learn the history of Bulgaria while travelling independently. From Plovdiv, you can also easily continue your journey to nearby destinations such as Sofia, Pamporovo, Koprivshtitsa, Veliko Tarnovo, Varna, or Nessebar.