Bansko

Bansko is the big daddy of Bulgarian ski resorts, continually bulldozing new trails and roads, increasing hotel occupancy, and enhancing its entertainment options; indeed, with over 100 hotels and pensions, the once-quiet village now has more beds than permanent residents. In winter, hordes of Brits, Russians, Israelis, Germans, Bulgarians and others bear down to ski (and party) in this sunny yet snow-filled resort. However, in summer things are quieter and you will see old women in traditional dress chatting on their doorsteps.

Built in the 10th century over an ancient Thracian settlement, Bansko became wealthy by the mid-18th century, well-positioned on the caravan route between the Aegean coast and Danubian Europe. Eminent traders, craftsmen, icon painters and woodcarvers hailed from Bansko, as did Otets Paisii Hilendarski, the 18th-century monk who helped create Bulgarian ethnic nationalism with his literary work and travels.Bansko’s considerable ties with this past include several museums and more than 150 cultural monuments, most from the 19th-century National Revival period. These stone-and-timber houses were buttressed by fortress-style walls, with hidden escape routes, protecting their inhabitants from the rapacious Turks. As elsewhere in Bulgaria, many have been reincarnated as mehanas or guesthouses, and there’s an old quarter with lovely (and slightly hazardous) cobblestone lanes.