 Bulgaria's natural landscape is full of surprises - it has endless, sandy beaches along the Black sea, wild mountain ranges and lush green hills, fertile plains, magnificent gorges, rivers, health spas and natural springs... It is famous for long balmy summers, dreamy scented rose fields, richly coloured orchards and sun-drenched vineyards...
Location
South-eastern Europe, bordering the Black Sea, between Romania and Turkey
Area: 110,910 sq. km
Coastline: 354 km
Elevation extremes
Lowest point: Black Sea 0 m
highest point: Mousala 2,925 m
Population: 7,796,694 (July 2000 est.)
Climate
The climate in Northern Bulgaria is moderate continental, while the climate in Southern Bulgaria is intermediate continental close to Mediterranean. The climate in the regions with altitude of 1900-2000 m above sea level is mountainous and along the Black Sea coast it is maritime. The climate of the seaside regions is milder in the winter and cooler in the summer than the climate of the interior of the country. The average annual temperature is 10,50°C, in winter about 0°C.
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Currency
The Bulgarian national monetary unit is the LEV. Coins of 1, 2, 5, 10, 50 stotinki and banknotes of 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50 leva are in use. The exchange of currency is unrestricted and there is no compulsory exchange. Upon departure from the country any unused Bulgarian currency may be changed back into the respective foreign currency. |
Official Holidays
1 January - New Years Day, 3 March - National Liberation Day, Easter (normally a week later than in Western Europe), 1 May - Labour Day, 24 may - National Day of Slavonic Culture and Script, 25 December - Christmas Day
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Working Hours
Offices - 09.00-17.30 Monday-Friday,
Banks - 09.00-16.00 Monday-Friday,
Shops - 10.00-20.00 Monday-Friday and half day Saturday. |
Languages
Bulgarian, secondary languages closely correspond to ethnic breakdown |
Time
GMT + 2 hours, CET + 1 hour. Clocks in Bulgaria are advanced one hour between April and the end of September. |
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