We continue one of our favorite series with three locals who feel Plovdiv not only as of the place they currently live but also as the city where they are happy to be lost

 

Cover photo: Free Plovdiv Tour

Rossi is the lady in today's article that has devoted her daily routine to the marketing business of a company producing high-quality bio and spelt cookies and her spare time to writing poems

Describe Plovdiv in a few words

For me, Plovdiv is a place where you can lose yourself in the trap of dreams. Where there is always spring with the bright colors of the houses, the smell of roses in the streets, the flags in the trap.

Your secret place                             

The streets of Old Town

Favorite bar/restaurant etc...

Otsreshta, of course!

The most underestimated place

Maybe the courtyard of Contrabas bar

Where would you take someone who is not from here

The Balabanov House

Ivan and Velislav are part of the Free Plovdiv Tour project. Walking tours are one of the things we recommend to do if you are in Plovdiv for the first time. They give you a perfect initial look at the sights that are worth visiting. The information presented by the team is always very useful and told with a great sense of humor, which turns out the whole two-hour walk into well-spent time.

Velislav:

Describe Plovdiv in a few words

The city I always come back to. Calm, smiling, Aylyak! So I imagine it if it was a human.

Your secret place

At the end of the Rowing Channel, there is a rope bridge. And it's no longer secret, is it ?!

Favorite bar/restaurant etc...

STENATA

The most underestimated place

Boulevard Maritza, lol, because I drive a lot. My favorite boulevard, beautiful, without a single traffic light and it crosses the whole city east-west. And it is also pretty colorful - there is a stretch through the Gipsy Quarter too

Where would you take someone who is not from here

Bunardzhika, Nebet Tepe, Sahat Tepe, Kamenitza restaurant, Ancient Theater, Dolce Fellini Centre for a cup of coffee, Stenata – for a sundae, Rahat tepe – for ribs, and over the village of Boykovo for a panoramic view of the city. :)

Ivan:

Describe Plovdiv in a few words

Hospitable, peaceful, cozy, colourful

Your secret place

The paths around the Maritsa River in the area of the Rowing Channel - a wonderful place for a walk after the morning run

Favorite bar/restaurant etc

For meatballs - Pavaj, if looking for satchove (grilled meat and vegetables on skewers) – Rahat Tepe, for pleasant conversations, accompanied by a nice meal and a glass of wine - thEATer (in the courtyard of the DramaTheater), for  sweet temptations - the coffee of Dzhumaya Mosque, for Turkish cuisine - Sofra. Well, there are a lot…

The most underestimated place

Sahat tepe. Located in the most central part of the city, it is easily accessible, it is suitable for walks during the day and evening, but it is not well kept and does not attract businesses and locals.

Where would you take someone who is not from here

Surely I would make a very detailed tour - a walk along Ivan Vazov Street, through Tsar Simeon's Garden and the Singing Fountains, a tour of the Main Street, Kapana creative district and the Old Town, and if there is still energy – going up to Sahat Tepe and Bunardjik.

The evening would be good for a walk in the villages around Plovdiv (Markovo, Belashtitsa, Brestnik), then a drink in Kapana and a nice nightclub.