Gabrovo

Gabrovo (Bulgarian: Габрово) is a city in the Balkan region of Bulgaria. The city is also home to two museums, several historical churches and monuments in and historic bridges over the Yantra River, all popular destinations for tourists and sightseers.



Understand
Once an industrial city which produced much of Bulgaria's textiles, carpets and clothing, Gabrovo has reinvented itself since the fall of communism as a popular tourist destination, providing a comfortable place to stay, shop and dine and quick access to many local destinations. The town won one of the biggest prizes in a national survey for "The best living town in Bulgaria": Gabrovo won the "Greenest (Ecological) city" and came in second in readers’ choice contest.

Gabrovo began as communities harnessing the power of the Yantra River for mills and water wheels. A result of this legacy makes Gabrovo the longest city in Bulgaria as it follows the river, running north from the Balkans Mountains.

Climate
The city has a continental climate, owing to its position close to the Balkan Mountains and distance from the Black Sea. Gabrovo has hot summers and cold, snowy winters – which is good for the popular ski resorts in the nearby Uzana area. This part of Bulgaria has all four seasons, although spring is brief and falls mainly in April. The average high daily temperature in summer is about 27 °C and in winter about 4 °C.

Get in
Its favourable geographical location, at the geographical centre of Bulgaria, makes it possible for Gabrovo to provide quick connections to airports, river ports and seaports across the country. Convenient roads connect the Gabrovo Municipality to many surrounding municipalities and towns.

By car
Gabrovo is at an intersection point of two of the national arterial thoroughfares, which are of great significance to the European road network, i.e. road E-85 as part of the trans-European transport corridor № 9 (Helsinki - St. Petersburg - Kyiv - Bucharest - Ruse - Veliko Tarnovo - Gabrovo - Dimitrovgrad with deviations to Greece and Turkey) and Hemus Motorway Sofia – Varna.

By bus
Regular daily buses connect Gabrovo with most of the other major cities in Bulgaria, including Sofia, Plovdiv, Varna, Burgas, Rousse and others. These may be dedicated lines, serving only Gabrovo and the other city, or Gabrovo may simply be one stop among many.

By train
Gabrovo may be accessed through a railway spur at an intersection with the European railway line C-E 95 (which runs north-south) in the small village of Tsareva Livada. Stops on the mainline to the north include historic Veliko Turnovo and the major transport hub of Gorna Oryahovitsa and stops to the south include the mountain villages of Tryavna and Raduntsi and the city Stara Zagora on the southern side of the Balkan Mountains. The spur line from Tsareva Livada runs several times a day, though there are sometimes two-hour layovers at the Tsareva Livada railway station between the Gabrovo train and trains running on the main north-south line.



By plane
There are no airports in Gabrovo or the neighbouring cities of Kazanluk or Veliko Turnovo. However, arranging transport by bus or train from one of the Bulgarian cities with an airport to Gabrovo is relatively simple.

Gabrovo's distance from Bulgarian airports:
 * Sofia – 220 km
 * Varna – 274 km
 * Bourgas – 234 km
 * Plovdiv – 150 km
 * Gorna Oryahovitsa – 60 km

Get around
Gabrovo is home to many taxis, marshrutkas, 11 urban bus lines bus lines, four urban trolley lines and five urban minibus lines, all of which offer quick transport at low cost to destinations across the city. The municipal government building, cultural centre, library, theater, the city bazaar (vegetable and farmer's market), several restaurants, bars, shops, hotels, and both museums are also close to the centre of the city, placing them all with in easy walking distance of each other.

By bus
Bus transportation is available all around the city. Thanks to the Municipal passenger transport (Общински пътнически транспорт ГАБРОВО) there are around 30 bus lines, which can get you wherever you want to go in Gabrovo city. Some of the buses are new. Ticket price is 1 лв. The official website of Public transport in Gabrovo can be found here. A timetable of all bus stops and routes can be found here.

Buy
Gabrvo offers a profusion of shopping opportunities, including the Central Mall of Gabrovo (just south of the city center), the Terra Mall (north-west of the city centre by about 1 km), a Technopolis (north-west of the city centre by about 3 km) and a Billa Supermarket (north-east of the city centre by about 1 km). In addition are many shops selling souvenirs, clothing, shoes, books and numerous Bulgarian delis, which are referred to as magazines.

Drink
Drinking establishments are common in Bulgaria and Gabrovo. Beer and alcohol are available at almost all coffee shops, restaurants and shops where food and refreshments are available. There are few establishments which serve only alcohol.

Go next
Hiking, biking and camping opportunities are widely available in the nearby Central Balkan National Park and in the Nature Park Bulgarka, which is home to Ethnographic Complex Etara, Dryanovo Monastery, Sokolski Monastery, Shipka Pass, and the Uzana area. Also, the Gradishte Trail (Екопътека Градище) leads from the city centre to the ruined fortress overlooking Gabrovo. The Bozhentsi Trail (Екопътека Боженци - Дряновски манастир) leads to the village and the Dryanovo Monastery.