The lev is history, the Romanian border is open, and taxis still love a "broken" meter: a practical guide to money, transport and safety in Bulgaria without the forum myths.

Why shopska salad comes with rakia, where to find fresh banitsa before ten, which grape grows nowhere else on earth, and the three signs of an honest mehana.

Rila Monastery frescoes, Plovdiv's Roman theatre, a royal fortress above the Yantra and two old towns by the sea: how to fit Bulgaria into a week, with an honest downside for each stop.