Posted July 30, 2014

Posted July 30, 2014

WAGNER’S RING CYCLE OPERA TOUR, 2015 BULGARIA (July 3 – 9, 2015) – forwarded to WSNC from Magic Tours, Bulgaria:

04.07.2015 Saturday: Das RHEINGOLD
05.07.2015 Sunday: DIE WALKÜRE
07.07.2015 Tuesday: SIEGFRIED
09.07.2015 Thursday: GÖTTERDÄMMERUNG
        
Director: Plamen Kartaloff
 

Sofia (7 nights)/8 Days

D1. 03.07.2015 Friday
 Arrive Sofia Airport
Transfer to your hotel in Sofia.
 Dinner at the hotel

D2. 04.07.2015 Saturday
Breakfast at the hotel.
09:30 – 11:30
Walking sightseeing tour through the downtown area: St. George’s Rotunda (4th century), famous for its original structure and unique frescoes; St. Sophia Basilica (6th century), one of the most valuable pieces of early Christian architecture in the Balkans; The magnificent splendidly decorated Alexander Nevski Memorial Church built in the period 1904–1912 to the designs of the Russian architect Pomerantsev.
11:30 End of sightseeing.
Time at leisure.
Lunch: Free.
Early dinner; (about 4:15)
Das RHEINGOLD   (2 hours, 40 minutes, no break).
Walk back to the hotel.

D3. 05.07.2015 Sunday
Breakfast  at the hotel.        
10:00 Depart hotel by coach for the outskirts of Sofia (30 minutes drive).
10:30 – 11:15 Boyana Church,  a remarkable UNESCO World Heritage Site. The murals of this famous church reflect both Byzantine and local traditions of the preceding two centuries. One of the portraits in the church is unanimously considered a genuine masterpiece of 13th century painting, created 200 years before the European renaissance.
Lunch.
 DIE WALKÜRE  (5 hours, 2 breaks).
Walk back to the hotel.

D4. 06.07.2015 Monday
Breakfast at the hotel.
One day excursion: Sofia – Rila Monastery, UNESCO Site – Sofia.
We take one-day excursion to Rila Monastery, 90 miles south of Sofia, in the majestic Rila Mountains. The monastery is an original national museum with a century-old history that dates back to the 10th century. The present building was built in mid-19th century (1816–1848). Located in the gorgeous mountain scenery of the mountains, it is considered the highest achievement of Bulgarian monumental architecture of the National Revival period. It is also a monument of international significance, an UNESCO World Heritage Site.Of particular interest are the Museum, and also the 1335 Hrelyo’s Tower in the courtyard, which is actually the oldest preserved building, standing alongside the big five-dome church Assumption of the Holy Virgin, which has splendid frescos by some of Bulgaria’s finest artists of the time.
9:30 depart for Rila monastery, UNESCO Site.
12:30 – 13:30 Lunch en route.
14:00 – 15:30 Visit Rila Monastery with local guide
15:30 With bus back to hotel in Sofia.
17:30 Back in hotel.
Time to rest and fresh – up.
19:15 Dinner

Day 5. 07.07.2015 Tuesday
Breakfast at the hotel.
Back stage tour of Sofia Opera ( 45 minutes long).
Early dinner ( about 4:15 p.m.)
SIEGFRIED  (6 hours, 2 breaks.)
Walk back to the hotel.

D6. 08.07.2015 Wednesday
Breakfast at  the hotel.
One day excursion: Sofia- Plovdiv-Sofia
The distance from Sofia to Plovdiv is 150 km and takes about 2 hours drive in one direction.
Plovdiv is majestic!  Bulgaria’s second biggest city treasures a history that goes back thousands of years, traces of which have survived to the present day. The Thracians founded Plovdiv during the Neolithic period in the 2nd millennium BC. Later, during the period of the Roman Empire, it was a major centre of the province of Thrace; many archaeological finds dating from the 2nd – 3rd century, testify for those glorious times. The Old Town was built in the 18th-19th centuries as the centre of the Bulgarian National Revival architecture. Along steep cobblestone lanes, behind stone walls and iron-studded heavy oak gates, one could glimpse at verdure and flowers, surrounding the typical Plovdiv symmetrical houses with their painted facades, oriels and jetties and grid windows. The St. Constantine and St. Helena Church completed in 1832, contains murals painted in 1836 by Zachary Zograph, the best known Bulgarian National Revival painter.
We will see The Roman Forum, Stadium, Fortress Walls. We will visit  the ffabulous Amphitheatre, which was built during the time of Emperor Trajan (98-117). It has 28 rows with tiers of marble seats, which can accommodate over 3 500 spectators and today is still functioning. We will immerse in the majestic atmosphere of the Old Town with the spectacular architecture of the National Period (18th – 19th century) will visit a house  museum in the Old Town.
Lunch at your own.
Drive back to Sofia.
Dinner in Restaurant

D7. 09.07.2015 Thursday
 Breakfast at the hotel.
We visit the fabulous Archaeology museum housed in a former mosque, built in 15th century that treasures breathtaking archaeology finds.
Early dinner:
GÖTTERDÄMMERUNG  (6 hours, 2 breaks).

D8. 10.07.2015 Wed
Breakfast at the hotel.
Check out Hotel Best Western Plus City Hotel.
Transfer to Sofia airport.
End of program.
 

For more information, contact Valentina Stoeva:  info@magictours-bg.com

Magic Tours was established in 1992. Since 1996 we are travel agency partner for Bulgaria for Andante Travels, UKhttp://www.andantetravels.com/
Since 2000 we are travel agency  partner  for Bulgaria for RoadScholar/Elderhostel ,US http://www.roadscholar.org/
We are travel agency partner  for Bulgaria for Labrys  Reizen, The Netherlands http://www.labrysreizen.nl/ and Hannick Reizen, The Netherlands http://www.hannick.nl/