The city of Yambol really isn’t all about Kabile anymore, in fact, there’s everything from paint-balling and vineyard tours, to elegant dining and post-impressionist art – the secret is just knowing where to look!
While Yambol might not have the beaches of Burgas, Sofia’s capital status, or even Plovdiv’s hipster scene, it still has a whole lot of great things to do.
Located only 50kms north of Konna Baza Sakar on the vast Thracian Plain, Yambol is our nearest city. Small in comparison to many of Bulgaria’s cities (75,000), the local economy is based primarily on agriculture, with an emerging viticulture scene expanding year on year.
Although Yambol may have taken a little more time to ‘find its feet’ than many of its Bulgarian ‘sister-cities’… today, it’s clearly on the up!
Welcome to Konna Baza Sakar’s Top 7 things to do in Yambol…
Dine. PoNoti
New York style dining comes to Yambol in the form of the gorgeous new Po-Noti restaurant. Lunches are particularly popular with a whole range of locally sourced and beautifully presented salads, snacks and meals. The restaurant regularly hosts community childrens’ projects and is known for its attentive staff, extensive wine selection and topnotch coffees- seriously, what’s not to love?
Details: Serving breakfast, lunch, dinner and drinks. Accepts Visa/Mastercard, location: Tsar Osvoboditel 2, Yambol, Tel: 089 588 9824. For more information on Po-Noti visit their Facebook page- here.
Explore. Museum of Combat Glory
Tucked away in an old city army barracks ‘The Museum of Combat Glory,’ offers those interested in military history, possibly the largest global collection of WW2 Panzar IV and Stug III tanks and several unique Jagdpanzer IV/l48 tanks.
As with many things in Bulgaria, the tanks have a bizarre and unusual history. After WW II they were buried and used as fortifications along the Turkish border. In 2008 the Bulgarian government excavated the relics and advertised their auction, which immediately had collectors around the globe salivating in anticipation. However, shortly before the sale date arrived, officials cancelled the plan and instead donated the collection to the Yambol museum for restoration.
In addition to the tanks, the museum offers many other indoor and outdoor exhibits, and visitors continually highlight the curator’s passion for his job, his fluency in English and highly recommend his personal museum tours.
Details: Entrance costs 3 Leva per person. The museum is notoriously difficult to find and currently has no website, for a map see- here.
Drink. MarVin wines
For a really good selection of red AND (surprisingly, for many Bulgarian vineyards), white and rose wines, visit the MarVin vineyard. Located outside Yambol only 500m before the A1 motorway the vineyard boasts, “our doors are always open for wine tourism travellers,” and with a slew of national and international awards already in-hand, plus a well-stocked wine shop onsite, this little vineyard is certainly worthy of a stop.
Details: The vineyard is open 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday, weekend visits are available, however, customers need to contact the vineyard prior to planning their trip. For more information visit- here.
Read more: Discover Castra Rubra Vineyard in Karlovo
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Play. Paintball Legion
Get your teams together and go wild at Paintball Legion’s urban warfare base, complete with burned-out van, smoke-shields and additional team building games. Located on the south side of Yambol, its easy to access and for around 25 leva per 200 balls, it’s pretty affordable too!
The company is currently in talks to secure an additional forest paint-balling location, also in Yambol, which should be available sometime later in 2019.
If you’re just taking the kids, there’s also a comfortable shaded seating area, vending machines and toilet/washroom facilities. Just remember to call/message ahead for bookings.
Details: All information for Paintball Legion is available on their Facebook page (location map etc), available- here.
See. George Papazov Gallery
Housed in Yambol’s Synagogue complex, the George Papazov Gallery offers visitors a significant collection of both Bulgarian and international art. Works on show include those by Yambol’s great masters including; The Master-Vladimir Dimitrov, Vasil Barakov, Zlatyu Boyadzhiev, Stoyan Venev, Vera Nedkova, Dimitar Kazakov, Atanas Yaranov and Svetlin Rusev.
The gallery’s international collection is no less impressive, with examples from David Robards, Auguste Renoir, Juan Miro, Roger Somville, Francisco Dosamante, Atsuo Sakatsueme, Zoran Todovich – Dado and others.
There’s also an extremely valuable collection of 16 to 20th century religious icons and the venue hosts numerous additional visiting exhibitions, art shows, theatre and author visits.
Details: Open 8.30am to 6.30pm Monday to Friday and 10am to 2pm Saturday. Address: Tsar Samuil Street, Yambol. Tel: 046 661 010.
Stay. Apartment Comfort
Having such a great time in Yambol, you don’t want to leave? Then check out the city’s ever expanding AirBnB options. We love the beautifully renovated and uber-sleek Apartment Comfort, tucked away in an inconspicuous old-style building in the city-centre.
Your host for the night is Vesela, who’s always on hand for any questions, suggestions and issues, plus she not only speaks English and Bulgarian, but French and Russian too!
Details: Apartment Comfort costs 79 Leva per night. Address: Tsar Ozvoboditel Street, (opposite Municipality Buildings, central Yambol. For more information see: here.
For more AirBnB options in Yambol see: here.
Relax. Miki
Miki has been a firm Yambol favourite for over 25 years now. This little bar/cafe/bistro/live music venue offers a laid-back feel and super-friendly service, making it the ideal spot for everything from garden coffees through to late-night, live-music.
Details: Serving food and drinks from 8am to midnight daily. Address: Number 11 Bogomil Street, Yambol. Tel: 042 054 365
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