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Shumen was a nice city to visit. There’s not an overwhelming amount to see, but it has a beautiful pedestrian street, some interesting monuments, and the biggest mosque in the country.
I spent a full day in Shumen exploring the sights. A tourist information center is open along bulevard Slavyanski for ideas on what to see in town.
Getting There
The bus station and railway station share a parking lot on the east side of town. I arrived on a bus from Ruse and departed on a bus to Varna. The railway station has service to Sofia.
Getting Around
Most of the things I wanted to see were within walking distance, but when I needed a taxi, it worked out well. I used three taxis, each one was fair and we got around the language barrier when I needed them to wait. One was even nice enough to call a friend who spoke English to communicate effectively.
Hotel Minaliat Vek
I stayed at Hotel Minaliat Vek. It’s set in the 18th century home of Bulgarian educator Racho Rachev. It was a very comfortable place to stay and didn’t feel like a hotel at all.
Popsheytanova Kushta
My dinner was at Popsheytanova Kushta. They serve decent traditional Bulgarian food and have big portions.
Shumensko Pivo
No matter where you eat, you should try the locally produced beer, Shumensko Pivo. It’s distributed all over Bulgaria and the brewery is in Shumen. It’s also the oldest brewery in the country, founded in 1882.
3 Comments
Very much enjoy your Shuman posts. Any comments on language barriers with English? I’m curious to plan an Eastern Europe journey, thanks
Thank you! I’ll be posting more about Bulgaria in the next couple months.
I was worried about the language barrier when I visited Bulgaria, Albania, and Romania, but things worked out well. Many restaurants had an English or photo menu and some museums/archaeological sites had a sheet of paper/audioguide in English. Several university students and hotel/hostel workers spoke at least basic English so there was always someone I could count on to answer my questions. The toughest part was transportation. Bus and train stations rarely had English speakers working and schedules could be a bit strange, but the people were very helpful. If I mentioned the destination to a worker, they would take me directly to the bus or ticket office. I didn’t use many taxis but drivers were usually honest, except in Varna.
Good luck! If you decide to travel through Eastern Europe, it’ll be a rewarding experience, and I’m happy to answer any more questions you may have.
good info, enjoy your posts and safe travels!