The main attraction of the Bulgarian seaside is its variety and divine nature, with a large part of it being declared a natural reserve or protected area. The coast combines perfect beaches with crystal and warm water, slopes of mountains submerging steeply into the sea and thick forests offering a cool shadow during the hot summer.
  To the south, the coast is flatter and wilder, with the thick forests of the Strandzha mountain contrasting breathtakingly with hundreds of cozy beaches stretching between the jutty rocks of the mountain. Settlements here are small and picturesque with the most beloved one being Sozopol for its unique architecture and ancient spirit. To the north, the coast is steeper though more developed in terms of tourism facilities, while views down to the sea are unforgettable. Save for Sozopol, which lies to the south of Bourgas, the north concentrates the key tourist destinations for foreign tourists, such as the sea resorts of Albena, Zlatni Pyasatsi, Slanchev Bryag, the Bulgarian Riviera. The so-called sea capital of the state, Varna, can be also found here, together with the ancient town of Nessabar, which rivals the charm of Sozopol for its well-preserved remains of ancient times.

Similarly to Kavarna, the town of Balchik is also a relatively large settlement along the Northern seaside with its population numbering 13,766 people and a harbour used for medium-sized passanger and commercial vessels. It is situated 31km north of Varna in a beatiful inlet.
The place was first inhabited by lonians in the 5th century BC. At that time, the settlement was called Kmuni or Krounoi after the Greek word for springs, due to the abundance of karst springs in the area. Later on it was renamed Dionisopolis after the name of Dionisius, the Greek god of wine and feasts. According to one of the most popular explnations, the town received this name after a statute of Dionisius was dragged there by the sea. The god’s image appeared also on the the coins minted there. Noteworthy, the town was a rather important centre on the northern Black Sea coast till the beginning of the new era and it was second in significance only to Varna (named Odessos at that time). Later on the town was included in the territory of Bulgaria. Around the 13th - 14th century AC it was moved to a natural fortification, called Dzhina Bair. Following tis rule by the Boyar Balik, it received its present-day name of Balchik. The town flourished and grew into a big corn-trading centre after the Crimean War (1853-1856). Yet after the Balkan War which ended 1913, it was annexed to the territory of Romania. Struck by the natural beauty of the place, The Romanian Queen Maria built a summer palace and a botanical garden there. The royal complex also included a chapel and a villa for Romanian aristocrats. The town turned into a luxurious resort at the time. After 1940 Balchik was again included in Bulgarian territory.

The city of Varna is the third largest city in Bulgaria with its population of 314,539 people. It is widely called the seaside capital of Bulgaria as it is the biggest city at the Bulgarian coast. The city lies in the Bay of Varna, nestled in a deep valley between the Frengen Plareau and the Avren Plateau. Varna is over 11 km long, while its width, including newly erected residential quarters, is nearly 9km. The city's structure resembles an amphitheatre as it follows the curves of the Bay of Varna. It is surrounded by gardens, vineyards and groves.
The city of Varna is about thousand years old. Due to its favourable geographic location, the place was first inhabited by an ancient Thracian tribe, Corbisi, which had a small fishermen settlement there. In the 6th century BC a Greek polis, named Odessos, emerged there. The town became a fishing and farming colony, which soon turned into commercial hub. The town fell under the siege of Alexander of Macedonia's troops in the 4th century BC, but after the siege did not succeed to subject it, the town was given autonomy within the limits of his Empire. Up to the 1st century BC it was an independent polis, which minted its own coins with the image of its god. Later on, conquered by Mark Lukulus' legions, it became a Roman centre though gradually it lost supremacy in the region. In the 9th century it was already called Varna. The town was included in the territory of Bulgaria in the beginning of the 13lh century during the reign of King Kaloyan. Despite its strong defence system, the town was conquered by the Turks in 1391 which gradually transformed it into an oriental city with konaks (town-halls), Turkish baths and mosques. In 1878 Varna was finally liberated from Ottoman rule and became the most important Bulgarian seaport. Even if the city was industrialised, it also developed into a seaside resort, and a favourite holiday place for the Bulgarian cultural elite. The city carried the name of Stalin for a short time, but after 1956 it returned the name of Varna.

The town of Sozopol has population of about 7,000 people and is situated 31km south of Bourgas. The town lies on a small rocky peninsula in the farthest southern part of the Bourgas Bay. A one hundred-metre long strip of land connects it to the mainland. From 1925 on, the town has expanded in the direction of the Harmanite Area (the so-called 'new town').
The earliest settlements in the area belonged to the Thracian tribes of Nipsei and Skirimian. In the 7th century BC Greek colonisers settled there and called the town after their god of Apollo, Apolonia. To the honour of Apollo, the construction of a thirteen-metre high bronze statute of the god was carried out by a sculptor named Kalamis. Apolonia developed mainly as a trading centre for honey, wax, corn, wine, olive oil, olives, textiles, jewellery, and pottery. Apolonia was frequently in economic and political disputes, including occasional wars, with the Doric inhabitants of Messembria (present-day Nessebar). Apolonia was included in the territory of the Macedonian State at the time of Alexander the Great. It was frequently subject to, but warded off, invasions of Nomads. The town fell under Roman domination in the 1st century BC after it was severely ruined by the armies of Marcus Lucul. The latter sent the famous statute of Apollo to Rome as a symbol of his victory. Yet Romans quickly restored the ruins, built new temples. Already in the 6th century BC Apolonia minted coins of its own. The high level of cultural development of the town at that time is testified by items found in its necropolis - ceramics, vases made of Egyptian glass, silver and golden decorations. The upturn of the town was so great, that Sozopol managed to establish its own colony, Anhialo (present-day Pomorie).

The resort of Zlatni Pyasatsi (Golden Sands) is the largest one on the northern Black Sea coast as it is built on more than 1,800 hectares of land. It is situated 18km north of Varna and is bordered on the north by Kranevo and on the south by the St. St. Konstantin and Elena Resort. The beach of the resort stretches over some 4km with width of up to 100 metres. Almost the entire coast along the resort falls within the boundaries of the Zlatni Pyasatsi natural park, which stretches over 1,320 ha. The Frengenskoto Plato (Frengen Plateau) of limestone structure, liable to landslide and erosion, is perking just above the resort. The area is famous for the purest sand on the Black Sea coast and also abounds of trees and bushes. Mineral water springs, as well as the marvelous wood bordering the Frangen Plateau turn Golden Sands into one of the pearls of the Bulgarian coast. A constant temperature of about 27°C throughout the summer season makes it a wonderful place for a summer holiday.
In Turkish times the area was called Quzounkoum, meaning literally "long sands". It was not inhabited up to the 50ies of last century. The resort's construction started in 1957 and in about two decades, the area was transformed into a modern holiday complex with more than 100 hotels, numerous restaurants, bungalows, camping sites, etc.

The town of Primorsko is relatively small as it has population of about 2,500 people. 52km south of Bourgas, the town lies on a cape jutting out between the Stamopolo Bay and the Dyavolski (Devil's) Bay. The town has two beaches, the Northern and the Southern ones. The former is more open and offers rough sea, which makes it treasured by surfers, while the latter is smaller and calmer, and hence preferred by families. Traditionally, the Southern Beach gets overcrowded during the top season, which makes holidaymakers sunbathe at nearby beaches, such as the one of the International Youth Centre. The youth centre is situated only 1-2 km to the south of the town and represents a typical holiday city for young people with plenty of villas, bungalows, hotels, bars, discos, and various sports grounds. The area is forested with deciduous trees and vegetation and is arranged as a cultivated park in an old oak wood. The centre was built in socialist times in a bid to promote interaction among youngsters from Soviet Bloc countries.
The Ottoman-time village of Chenger (later known as Kyupria) grew into a modern resort only after the Liberation in the second half of the 19th century.

Sunny Beach (Slanchev Bryag) Resort is situated 42 km north of Bourgas. Practically, the resort occupies the entire territory stretching from the village of Vlas to the north and the town of Nessebar to the south. The resort offers more than 120 hotels and two camping sites, and is rich in entertainment facilities.
The resort's construction began back in communist times, in 1958. Construction works began at a site, where two old wells supplying Nessebar with water in ancient times and during the Middle Ages, had been.

The town of Nessebar has about 10,000 inhabitants and extends over a small peninsula. It lies 37km northeast of Bourgas. Its beach is considered to be one of the finest along the Black Sea coast due to a large sandy strip of land between the town and the village of Ravda, covered with clean golden sand.
The present-day town is the successor of a Thracian fishermen's settlement named Menabryia (meaning literally 'the town of Mena'), the foundation of which dates back to the 2nd century BC. Later it remained the only Doric colony along the Black Sea coast, as the rest were typical Ionic settlements. The Greeks named it Messembria (which was later transformed into Nessabar by the Slavs), and it grew into a big and well-fortified town-state. The town benefited from natural protection from both the land and the sea. Remains suggest the existence of aqueducts, a sewerage system, fortified wails, an amphitheatre and numerous cult edifices (including an impressive temple of Apollo) at that time. The town became a popular commercial centre as a variety of goods from the Aegean and the Mediterranean regions were traded there and it also minted its own coins in the 5th century BC. Two centuries later, it founded its own colony called Navlohos near Obzor. The whole land between Nessebar and Obzor used to be a granary that supplied the two colonies with food as well as goods of exchange. In the 1st century BC the town surrendered to Marcus Lukulus' legions and was subjected top Roman domination, during which the construction of a second colony of Messembria began and was finished. The second colony, built to the south of Nessebar, was named Anhialo (present-day Pomorie).

The resort of Albena is situated 32 km north of Varna and just 12km south-west of Balchik on a long sand stretch in the open northern part of Varna Bay. The resort's errection was started in 1968, which makes it one of the most modern holiday cities along the Bulgarian coast. The complex lies beneath a relatively high hill and is given particular charm by the near-by forest of Baltata, a part of which is declared a protected area. The latter is also called Batova Gora (Batova Forecast) after the Batova river, in the valley of which it grows. The resort's architecture resembles one of Walter Gropius' urban models as most of the hotels have a terraced structure aimed at providing as much sun as possible in summer days. To the north the coast is steep, featuring yellow sandstone and limestone typical of the area. It is in fact this stone slope that was the main source of construction material for the resort.
According to some legends, Ovidius came here on his way to the country of his exile - Tomi (present Kyustendzha in Romania). The resort was given its present-day name by Albena, a female protagonist of the great Bulgarian writer Yordan Yovkov, gifted with extraordinary beauty.