Plovdiv, Bulgaria

Plovdiv Bulgaria is an obscure little town in the middle of Bulgaria with a population of 330,000. Although many have not heard of it, it is the oldest continuously inhabited city in all of Europe starting from around 6000 BC. Although Matera, Italy is thought to be older, it is not known for certain.

Plovdiv is very multifaceted from a tourism stand point. The "Old Town" is full of beautifully painted traditional buildings from the 1800s filled with craft shops and restaurants. The new town is a mix of communism concrete towers and newer trendy shopping plazas. The downtown is full of excavated Roman ruins from antiquity. The most amazing of which is the Ancient Stadium of Philipopolis. While only a small portion can be seen today, a nearby model reminds you the whole thing is longer than two NFL fields (250m) and could hold 30k spectators.Read more