Burgas Bulgaria – A Quick Guide

What to do in Burgas Bulgaria for Affordable Luxury Travel:

• Explore Sea Garden Park
• Lounge on the Beach in Burgas
• Explore the Urban Side of Burgas on Bogoridi Blvd.
• Enjoy Amazing Bulgarian Food

Burgas Bulgaria is a hybrid between a beach town and a small European city.

So you can enjoy a mix of beach and water as well as city life!

Bulgaria Tours, Tickets, Activities & Things To Do

Getting to Burgas Bulgaria from Sozopol Bulgaria

Burgas was our second stop out of 4 Bulgarian Black Sea Beach towns: Sozopol, Burgas, Sunny Beach and Varna.

Regular bus service covers the 40 kilometers or so between Sozopol and Burgas.

But we were up for a little bit of affordable luxury so we booked a car to take us directly from our homestay in Sozopol to our homestay in Burgas.

This gave us the opportunity to enjoy the scenery between the two Black Sea beach towns.

Where to Stay in Burgas Bulgaria for Affordable Luxury Travel

Leisure life in Burgas is centered around two areas:

The Sea Garden Park and the beach just beyond it provide relaxation and lounging.

The bustling pedestrian-only Aleko Bogoridi Boulevard serves as the urban core of the city.

Homestays and hotels are clustered around these two features.

Booking.com

We chose a homestay apartment in the center of Burgas at the beach.

It was extremely convenient and central to everything we wanted to see and do in Burgas.

Burgas Bulgaria for Affordable Luxury Travel: Sea Garden Park and Burgas Beach

Sea Garden Park is a sprawling urban park that stands between the city and the beach.

This approach to urban planning is very similar to the arrangement farther north in Varna, Bulgaria.

Sea Garden Park

The park is beautiful and all the shade makes for a cool stroll even on a hot afternoon.

And the park is full of surprises!

For example, the 1981 Monument Pantheon stands as a memorial to anti-fascists and has an “eternal flame” in the center.

Next to the monument there is an entrance to the exhibition area of the sea garden.

The expo center is famous for hosting Flora Burgas, an annual flower exhibition. While we were there, though, it was hosting a baby convention and exhibition!

And a little bit north of the expo center is the Swimming Complex Flora. It’s a swimming complex with two outdoor pools.

We took advantage if this great complex by swimming laps on two of our days in Burgas. Entrance fee was about $6 US.

The park is also full of ice cream and corn stalls, cafes, small amusement rides and other amenities.

Night Walk in Sea Garden Park

After our dinner at Neptune Restaurant (see below), we decided to walk through the park on the way back to our homestay flat.

It turned out to be one of the most interesting and glorious walks we took on the Bulgarian Black Sea!

The Beach in Burgas Bulgaria

Just beyond Sea Garden Park is the beach and the sea.

Because the park buffers the beach from the city the Burgas beach doesn’t feel like an urban beach.

On the beach itself there are free zones where you can lay your own towel or plant your own umbrella in the sand.

Or for a small fee you can rent an umbrella and loungers.

But make no mistake: while Burgas is a tourist town the main economic driver of the city is its port.

So unlike Sozopol to the south or Sunny Beach and Varna to the north, it’s not all about the beach all the time in the Bulgarian Black Sea city of Burgas.

And that’s reflected in the fact that there is so much more to Burgas than just its beach.

Burgas Bulgaria for Affordable Luxury Travel: Aleko Bogoridi Blvd.

For example, Aleko Bogoridi Boulevard in Burgas is a classic European pedestrian-only walking street.

You can think of Aleko Bogoridi Blvd as a longer but less crowded version of Sofia’s Vitosha Blvd.

It is lined with shops, stores, cafes, restaurants and bars. And this is Europe so lots and lots of ice cream stalls too!

Every evening Bogoridi Boulevard is bustling with locals as well as Bulgarian and international tourists.

This is the place to be in Burgas whether you are looking to take a stroll, find a coffee, have a drink or settle in for a long dinner.

And along the street is the (somewhat) famous Burgas Gramophone.

The Gramophone is a symbol of the city. About 2 meters tall the installation is interactive and has a water feature around it. So on warm days there are often children around it splashing and competing to turn the handle.

In fact, legend has it that when you turn the gramophone handle and listen carefully you can hear the gramophone play the name of your one true love.

Dining Recommendations in Burgas Bulgaria

As noted, Aleko Bogoridi Blvd. is lined with restaurants.

The most popular seemed to be the Bulgarian chain restaurant Happy Bar and Grill situated at the western end of the Boulevard.

We ate lunch twice at the Happy location across from our AirBnB flat so skipped this location for dinner.

Burgas Restaurant Recommendation: Restaurant Rosé

We ate dinner at Restaurant Rosé on the eastern end of the Aleko Bogoridi Blvd.

It was a good keto friendly meal.

But it’s also the perfect spot for outdoor dining and people watching in the pedestrian area. We enjoyed a long leisurely dinner there!

Burgas Restaurant Recommendation: Incanto Restaurant

Another night we had traditional Bulgarian food at Incanto Restaurant.

We would have preferred to sit outside on their patio but it was full on a Sunday night!

Nevertheless we had a really tasty and keto friendly traditional Bulgarian dinner!

Burgas Restaurant Recommendation: Neptune Restaurant

We also ate dinner at Neptune Restaurant and Bar.

This affordable upscale restaurant is literally ON the beach and offers a mix of food but specializes in seafood.

The atmosphere on the beach deck at night is just perfect.

So even though the service was a bit off we recommend it for an affordable luxury dinner.

Bottom Line – A Quick Guide

Burgas Bulgaria has a lot going for it: An airport with flights from Sofia and other European cities. A lovely park and beach. And a vibrant city life.

The focus of the town is split between beach culture and city culture.

So it’s not all about the beach like in Sozopol nor the nightlife like in Sunny Beach.

It makes for some diversity during a stay in Burgas Bulgaria.

And as in all of Bulgaria you can find cheap luxury accommodations, meals and things to do!

Other Articles About Bulgaria

• Nessebar Bulgaria – A Quick Guide
• Sozopol Bulgaria – A Quick Guide
• Varna Bulgaria – A Quick Guide
• Burgas Bulgaria – A Quick Guide
• Plovdiv Bulgaria – A Quick Guide
• Sunny Beach Bulgaria – A Quick Guide
• Bansko Bulgaria – A Quick Guide
• What to do in Sofia Bulgaria for Affordable Luxury Travel
• Bulgarian Train Service
• How to Take the Bus Between Burgas and Sunny Beach Bulgaria
• Bus From Plovdiv to Bansko Bulgaria
• Eating Keto Diet in Bulgaria (Low Carb)
• 3 Reasons Why Bansko Bulgaria is a Digital Nomad Hub
• Bulgaria Air Review: Sofia to Burgas