Shumen, Bulgaria

Lying midway between Veliko Tarnovo and Varna, SHUMEN is the obvious base from which to explore the historical sites at Madara, Pliska and Preslav. The city itself has a fair share of ancient monuments and memorial houses, not least a spectacular medieval fortress that once guarded the road to Preslav. Although the imposing Ottoman fortifications are no more, the thriving market town that existed within is still present in the shape of one surviving mosque, the Tombul Dzhamiya. Modern Shumen presents a good example of what state socialism brought to urban Bulgaria. Well-built, prestigious civic buildings line a showcase main boulevard, just seconds away from neglected, pot-holed side streets, where single-storey shacks rub shoulders with grey high-rises.