Within a former Turkish town hall built in 1872, this is where Bulgaria’s first National Assembly was held to write the country’s first constitution in 1879. The ground floor charts administrative and daily life in Veliko Târnovo from the 15th to 19th centuries, using costumes, books and photos, building up...

　　The Forty Martyrs Church, in the old Asenova quarter, was built in 1230 to celebrate Tsar Asen II’s victory over the Byzantines. It was used as a royal mausoleum and then as a mosque by the Turks, before its reuse as a church after Bulgaria's liberation in 1878. ...

　　During its 19th-century heyday, this lane hosted dozens of vendors from local villages, who carefully laid fruit and vegetables, butter and cheeses onto small carpets on the cobbled ground. Inns, blacksmiths and craft shops helped Samovodska Charshiya grow into Veliko Târnovo's biggest market square in the 1880s. Today it retains...

　　Across the river, enclosed by a high wall, is Târnovo’s oldest church, the beautifully proportioned Church of Sveti Dimitâr. Built in the so-called Târnovo style, it was named after St Dimitrios, patron saint of Thessaloniki (Greece). During its 1185 consecration, Tsars Asen and Petâr proclaimed an uprising against Byzantine rule,...

　　The inescapable symbol of Veliko Târnovo, this reconstructed fortress dominates the skyline and is one of Bulgaria’s most beloved monuments. The former seat of the medieval tsars, it hosts the remains of more than 400 houses, 18 churches, the royal palace, an execution rock and more. Watch your step: there...

　　In the shape of a sky-piercing sword and dominating Veliko Târnovo's river views, this 1985 monument celebrates medieval Bulgarian might. The horsemen flanking its central column are Asenevtsi brothers Asen, Petar and Kaloyan and Asen's son Ivan, under whom Bulgaria flourished in the 12th and 13th centuries. The surrounding greenery...

　　Built for a wealthy banker in 1861, this National Revival–style house-museum spans five storeys. Within, 19th-century earrings, bracelets and other delicate silverware are on display, alongside antique ceramics, woodcarvings and traditional costumes and jewellery. 　　Sarafkina Kâshta offers insights into the wigged world of Veliko Târnovo's 19th-century society women, a ball-frequenting,...

　　The oldest street in Veliko Târnovo, ul Gurko is a must-stroll with arresting views towards the Yantra River and Asen Monument. Its charmingly crumbling period houses – which appear to be haphazardly piled on one another – provide a million photo opportunities and conversations that start with 'Imagine living here…'...