The republic of Bulgaria is situated in the south-east part of Europe and more precisely in the eastern part of the Balkan peninsula. On the north it has a common boundary with Romania and on the west with Yugoslavia. On the south-west it is conterminous with Macedonia while on the south-east it is contiguous to Turkey. On the east the country is bounded by the Black Sea. The total length of the Bulgarian border-line is 2245 km, 1181 of which are land frontier, 686 km. are river and 378 km sea-frontage.

That’s why Bulgaria is often called “Switzerland of the Balkans” or “The new Toskana“. But from invesing point of view we call it “THE HIDDEN TREASURE”.

Bulgaria is one of the cheapest countries in Europe with a good quality of life and beautiful nature. No wonder it attracts tourists but their quantities are still small and most of the country is very quiet and peacefull.

Together with the cheap property this makes Bulgaria a better place to invest in villa/second home, hotel or other real - estate property than Spain, Greece or anywhere else.

Bulgaria in facts

Location: South East Europe, at 42 paralel;

Borders: Black Sea, Turkey, Greece, Macedonia, Serbia, Romania;

Territory: 111 000 sq.km.

Population: 7 322 858 (July 2007 est.)

Settlements:5406

Capital city: Sofia, with 1 188 000 inhabitants

Larger cities: Plovdiv (340 000 inhabitants), Varna (312 000 inhabitants), Bourgas (196 000 inhabitants), Rousse (153 000 inhabitants), Stara Zagora (142000 inhabitants), Pleven (116 000 inhabitants)

Highway network: 36 720 km

Railway system: 4 300 km

Airports: Sofia, Varna, Bourgas

Harbours: on the Black Sea - Varna, Bourgas, Balchick, Nessebur; on the river Danube - Vidin, Lom, Oriakhovo, Nickopol, Svishtov, Rousse, Toutrackan, Sillistra

Monetary unit: lev (1.95583 lev = 1 Euro), with bank-notes (bills) of 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 leva

Official language: Bulgarian - the oldest written Slavonic language.

Money unit: Lev ( 1 Euro = 1,95 Leva, fixed );

Black Sea Coastline: 450 km;

Sand beaches: 120 km;

Mineral & Thermal Springs: about 4000 ( 70% drinkable, curing over 60 deseases );

Forests: 35% of the territory;

Lakes: 200;

Rivers: over 2 000 km, incl. BG part of Danube;

Hunting reservation: over 1 000 000 acres;

Mountains: 35% of territory, peaks up to 3 000 m;

Air Temp - Summer: 25/40 C, Winter: -5/+15 C;

Sea Temp: 16/27 C ( May-October );

Snow depth: up to 300 sm

Ski track length: 600 km;

Hotel beds: 450 000;

Tourist per year: 5 000 000 ( excluding transit );

Transport and accommodation: Daily flights from most of the Europian capitals and big cities. Domestic flights from Sofia to Varna and Burgas at the sea coast. Train and bus lines covering all europian and domestic destinations. Sofia aiport phone: +3592 720 672. Taxis are very chip – 0,30-0,40 Euro per km.

Major rent-a-car companies available. 2000 hotels of 2 to 5 stars, accepting major credit cards.

Phones: The code for Bulgaria – 359, Sofia – 2. All mobile phones will work as there are 3 operators. Police - 166, Fire Brigade - 160, Road Duty - 146, First Aid - 150

Electric network: 220 volts, euro plugs. UK citizens – take plug adaptor with you.

Driving: Leftside wheel same as Europe. UK citizens – watch out.

Food: Any food available in supermarkets. All popular kitchens available in restaurants. Fantastic, delicious and cheap Bulgarian kitchen served everywhere.

Shopping: Very good value for the money, probably the cheapest place in Europe to by anything – from cigarettes and drinks to clothes, cars and property.

Types of tourism: sea holidays, diving, windsurfing, yachting, rafting, skiing, extreme, snowboarding, golf, cultural, balneo recreation, SPA, fishing, paragliding, dental, medical, hunting, birdwatching, eating, ecological, sightseeing, business, historical, tracking, alpine climbing, rural-country, horse riding, wine tasting, picking mushrooms, flowers, berrys and m.o.;