Once you've been to Veliko Tarnovo, your heart is forever captured by its magical beauty and splendour. It is a magic, called love. A love, that teems in everywhere. Finally, you become an inseparable part of its magnificence and eternity.
This is a place on Earth where the future meets the past to build the present. This town went through many centuries of tragedy as well as of glory. The air is filled of the breath of many national heroes and many legendary men. When you walk around you can feel the holly atmosphere and the energy of a place like this.
...And after dark the Yantra River embraces the town and every night tells you a new story of the past times 'until the end of the time'.

The first traces of human nature discovered on the territory of Veliko Tarnovo date back to the 4th Millenium B.C. Archaeologists found a settlement in the western part of Veliko Tarnovo. One of the most popular historic places is Trapezitsa Hill. It had been inhabited as early as the 3rd millennium B.C.
Tsarevets Hill is the most attractive place for the numerous visitors of the town, because of its great historical importance. At the end of the 2nd millennium B.C. a Thracian settlement was raised on its slopes and on the banks along the bed of the Yantra River. During the period between the 5th and the 6th centuries on the hills of Tsarevets, Trapezitsa and Maiden's Fortress there had been built the first fortified town. And in the 12th century its ruins on the Tsarevets Hill had become foundations of the medieval citadel.
During 1185 - 1393 Veliko Tarnovo was the capital of the Second Bulgarian Kingdom. In 1185 when the town was proclaimed for the capital of the Bulgaria, the Byzantine chronicler Nikita Honiat had praised it as "the most beautiful town among all the towns along the Hemus". For more than 200 years it had been glorified in the European royal circles as "the third town after Rome and the second after Constantinople".
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Veliko Tarnovo is a historical, cultural, transport, industry and tourist centre of the modern Bulgaria. To begin with we have to mention that Veliko Tarnovo is one of the educational centres of Bulgaria. There is the biggest university for military service - "Vassil Levski", called after the greatest national hero and one who fought against the slavery not only in Bulgaria but all over the world. There is the second big university in Bulgaria The University of Veliko Tarnovo "St. Cyril and St. Methodius". The two brothers Cyril and Methodius gave the alphabet to the Slavs in Europe and taught them how to read and write. In Veliko Tarnovo there is the only office of the Council of Europe. There are also many foreign centers Japanese, Austrian, British, Spanish, German, Polish, and European. In Veliko Tarnovo there is the second Bulgarian high technology center in Bulgaria. The region is famous of its winery, sewing industry and agriculture.
Veliko Tarnovo is a place where you can find whatever you want. There are historical sites, monuments, monasteries, the unique Sound and light show as well as a theatre, cinemas, discotheques and night clubs, hotels, restaurants, cafes, cocktail bars.
The indescribable architecture and situation of the town make a town with no analogue in the World.

The "Sound and Light " audiovisual show is an unique attraction in Europe. There are less than three similar spectacles all over the World. For instance a show like this often takes place on the Egypt pyramids. A dramatic music and flashing lights, lasers, heavy church bells combined together tell the glorious and tragic story of the Second Bulgarian Kingdom. It is one of the biggest magic of the town of Veliko Tarnovo and it is made by the hands of men. The first show took place in 1985 when 800 years from the Assens riot were celebrated. Since then the Light Show is one of the symbols not just of Veliko Tarnovo but of Bulgaria.
All the flashing lights of hundred colours and the three lasers present some moments of the Bulgarian history, the Battles against the Ottoman hordes, the years of Turkish tyranny, the liberation movement and then the Liberation itself. They are supported by especially composed music, performed by the world famous kaval player Theodossy Spassov and the woman with thousand voices Yalduz Ibrahimova. The whole show is conducted by a computer.
The medieval fortress springs back to life and takes the spectator to the Glorious Town of the Kings. A Spectacle, which should not be missed! There is a special place for the best watching of the Show. It is on the Assen II Square in front of the Central Gate of the Tsarevets Hill, as well as from the terrace specially made for the purpose in the Historical Museum building.
There is a booking procedure for tourist groups. The Show is on the schedule of every group of visitors of Veliko Tarnovo. Taking pictures with a camera with a flashlight is not forbidden but is not recommended, because it disturbs the other spectators. Anyway in the shops of Veliko Tarnovo there are many postcards with moments of the marvellous Spectacle.