Arrive in Sofia on suggested flights and make your way to the hotel. Renaissance Tours or your travel agent can assist you with your flights and other travel arrangements including travel insurance (a condition of travel), a private hotel transfer, accommodation before or after the tour and a room category upgrade.

At 18:00, join Alex McKay and fellow travellers for a welcome briefing at the hotel, followed by a welcome dinner.

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Following a morning talk by Alex, enjoy a walking tour of Sofia’s old town and discover the ruins of the ancient Roman city and the red-brick Rotunda Church of Saint George.

After lunch, visit the National Museum of History, located on the outskirts of the city and home to 650,000 artefacts including the famous gold Panagyurishte Treasure. The building was once the residence of Bulgaria’s last Communist leader, Todor Zhivkov, and is one of the largest museums on the Balkan Peninsula.

Return to the hotel in the late afternoon and enjoy an evening at leisure.

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Depart Sofia and travel to Plovdiv, Bulgaria’s second largest city and one of its most ancient. Discover the Regional Archaeological Museum and its rich collection of Thracian, Ancient Greek and Roman art.

Explore the charming, cobbled streets of the old city, which contains a living museum of the various phases of Bulgarian domestic architecture, including the unique buildings of the National Revival style. A highlight of Plovdiv is the second-century Roman amphitheatre built during the reign of Emperor Trajan. In the lower town, see the remains of the Roman Stadium, built in the second century and modelled after the Greek stadium of Delphi.

(BLD)

This morning, travel to Kazanlak, located in the Valley of the Roses, the geographical centre of Bulgaria. Visit the replica of the Thracian Tomb, a round burial chamber decorated with lively murals representing the military and the political life of the Thracian leader. Continue to the “beehive” tomb of Thracian King Seuthes III, who ruled in the fourth century BC, and to the Thracian tomb at Shushmanets.

After lunch, visit a local rose distillery and learn about the area’s long history of rose cultivation and distillation.

Return to Plovdiv in the late afternoon for an evening at leisure.

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Today, check out from the hotel and walk to the Bishop Basilica. Built in the mid-fourth century AD, the basilica’s floor is covered with intricate mosaics featuring birds, eternal knot symbols and geometrical designs.

  Afterwards, return to Sofia to visit the National Art Gallery, housing over 50,000 pieces of Bulgarian art. The gallery is the largest in Bulgaria and representative of new and contemporary art dating back to the nineteenth century, since Bulgaria’s liberation from the Ottoman Empire.

Continue to the National Archaeological Museum, housed within the oldest former Ottoman mosque in the city, with a large collection of pieces from Prehistory through the Thracian and Roman periods to Byzantine art.

Check in to the hotel in the late afternoon before dinner at the hotel’s restaurant.

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Depart Sofia and travel to Rila Monastery, a UNESCO World Heritage site. Founded in the tenth century, it became the primary spiritual and cultural centre of Bulgaria. Devastated by fire in 1833, it was rebuilt and stands today as Bulgaria’s most impressive example of National Revival architecture.

Continue to the Bulgarian-North Macedonian border and checkpoint. Following passport formalities, drive to Skopje, the capital of North Macedonia, arriving in the late afternoon.

Tonight, dinner is at the hotel’s restaurant.

(BLD)

Depart Skopje and travel south to Ohrid, located on the north-eastern shore of Lake Ohrid. Throughout the Middle Ages, Ohrid was among the most important religious centres in the Balkans, with 365 churches erected in the small city.

After lunch at a local restaurant, explore Ohrid’s Byzantine and Slavic Orthodox monasteries, including the Church of Saints Clement and Panteleimon, the Church of Saint John the Theologian and the Church of Saint Sophia, home to eleventh- to fourteenth- century frescoes and paintings.

The evening is at leisure.

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After breakfast, drive southwards along the eastern lakeshore to Saint Naum Monastery, built in the tenth century on the shores of Lake Ohrid close to the Albanian border. The significant monastic complex includes the Church of Saint Naum where his grave and paintings of his miracles are located.

En route, stop at the Bay of Bones for a visit to the Museum on Water. Built over the water on wooden piles, the museum holds Bronze and Iron Age artefacts that were found in the waters surrounding the museum. Between 1200 and 600 BCE, the site was home to a settlement who lived on a platform supported by up to 10,000 wooden piles anchored to the lakebed.

Tonight, enjoy dinner at a local restaurant.

(BLD)

In the morning, transfer to the North Macedonian-Albanian border and checkpoint. Following passport formalities, continue to Berat in Albania.

Arrive in the afternoon in Berat, an elegant stone-and-alabaster city built on the steep slopes of Mount Tomorri that remains a rare example of a well-preserved Ottoman town.

In the evening, dinner is at the hotel’s restaurant.

(BLD)

After a morning talk, explore Berat’s lower town and Mangalem area, where many Ottoman houses are scattered across the hills, and some of its old mosques, including the Sultan’s Mosque, one of the oldest in Albania.

Then, discover the old town and the impressive medieval citadel situated above the village. Visit the Church of Saint Mary and its museum that displays outstanding icons from the sixteenth century.

(BL)

This morning, visit the large Apollonia Archaeological Park. Established in the sixth century BCE on a hilltop by Corinthian colonies, the ancient city took its name from the god Apollo. Among the ruins of Apollonia are the portico of a temple, an Odeon theatre, surrounding walls and a stadium.

Continue to the hillside town of Gjirokaster, arriving in the late afternoon.

The evening is at leisure.

(BL)

Begin the day with an exploration of Gjirokaster’s old town, one of the best examples of Ottoman towns in the Balkans, that comprises over 600 Ottoman houses. Wander through the picturesque, cobbled streets, visit a traditional Ottoman house and the old bazaar that sits beneath the castle walls.

Then, continue to the Butrint archaeological site located near the Greek border. Founded by the Greeks in the sixth century BCE, Butrint became a prominent trading city, was later converted to a Roman centre, then a bishopric and then finally abandoned in the late Middle Ages.

Arrive in the nearby coastal city of Saranda, located on the shores of the green-blue Ionian Sea, in the late afternoon and enjoy dinner at a local restaurant.

(BD)

Today, travel north along Albania’s rugged coastline, stretching along the Adriatic and the Ionian seas, with scenic vistas and turquoise waters.

Visit Durres, established in the sixth century BCE by the Greeks, that became an important port and trade city during the Roman period. Discover the Roman amphitheatre, one of the largest in the Balkans, the Byzantine forum and ancient city walls.

Continue to Tirana, the capital of Albania, arriving in the late afternoon.

Tonight, enjoy dinner at the hotel’s restaurant.

(BLD)

This morning, explore Skanderbeg Square, the main plaza in the city centre named after the Albanian national hero Skanderbeg, see the old Ottoman Mosque Et’hem Bej and the Clock Tower surrounding the square.

Then, visit the National Museum of Fine Arts, home to over 5,000 artworks, including a collection on Socialist Realism art and works of well-known Albanian artists such as Kole Idromeno and Sadik Kaceli.

Tonight, celebrate the conclusion of the tour with a special farewell dinner with Alex and fellow travellers.

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Tour arrangements conclude after breakfast.

For those returning home today, make your way to Tirana Airport for suggested flights to Australia or New Zealand. Renaissance Tours or your travel agent can assist you with your flights and other travel arrangements, including a private airport transfer, additional nights’ accommodation either before or after the tour and travel insurance (a condition of travel).

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