The Museum in Nesebar is one of the most visited attractions in this coastal town. | Photo by Westher/Flickr

The Balkan countries don’t offer just amazing beaches, nightclubs and restaurants – the cultural offering of these lands is extremely rich, too and worth making a detour to see.

Those planning to travel through Croatia, Bulgaria or Greece have a breath-taking list of possibilities to choose from, but some places deserve special attention.

Bulgaria’s museums:

For travellers seeking a rich experience, Bulgaria is a regular jewel, with its protected nature reserves, colourful old cities and fortresses and fascinating museums.

The museums in Tsarevets and Nesebar are both must-sees. These are not just places displaying heritage. They also tell wondrous stories of the lifestyle and history of the land’s inhabitants.

Located on the Tsarevets Hill in the old part of the town of Veliko Tarnovo, in north-central Bulgaria, the Architectural and Museum Reserve of Tsarevets is one of the most visited sites in Bulgaria.

It once housed the medieval palaces of Bulgarian emperors. Today, the road leading to the main entrance, with its great gate, imposing walls and turrets and Baldwin’s Tower, has been masterfully restored. On the top of Tsarevets Hill is the Patriarchate, which was reconstructed in 1981.

Its scale and architecture are impressive, with striking iconography depicting the rise and fall of the Second Bulgarian Empire. Visitors can climb to the top of the bell tower, which affords a panoramic view of the town.

The Sound and Light audiovisual show is an attraction in the evening that uses three lasers, variegated lights, dramatic music and church bells to tell the story of the fall of Tarnovo to the Ottomans, as well as other key moments of the history of Bulgaria.

On the other hand, the Museum in Nesebar is one of the most visited attractions in this coastal town, preserving the millennial history of the town and presenting it in a modern, attractive way.

The museum has four exhibition halls, chronologically following the development of the town through different historical periods.

In the first hall, the heritage from the early period of Thracian rule is displayed, up to 9th century BC.

In the second hall, Greek Antique artefacts such as funeral urns and gold adornments are shown.

The third contains the Roman and Byzantine heritage of the city, along with artefacts from the time of Bulgarian conquest in the beginning of the 9th century, and beyond, from the period of the reigns of Tsars Ivan Asen II (1218 – 1241), Theodore Svetoslav (1300 – 1322) and Tsar Ivan Alexander (1331 – 1371). There is also a tombstone of the Byzantine Princess Mataisa Kantakouzene Palaiologina who died in 1441.

The special, fourth hall in the Archaeological Museum is dedicated to iconic art. After Bulgaria fell to the Ottomans in the 14th century a local icon-painting school grew up in Nesebar, which reached its zenith in the 16th to 17th centuries. Around 250 icons painted by local icon-painters survive to this day.

Diocletian’s palace:

Croatia’s Palace of Diocletian is one of the most intact remains of a Roman palace in the world. | Photo by Edwhitaker/Flickr

The coastal city of Split, the second largest city in Croatia, was actually built around a Roman palace.

One of the most intact remains of a Roman palace in the world, the UNESCO-protected Palace of Diocletian holds an outstanding place in Mediterranean, European and world heritage.

Built in 305 AD for the retirement of the Emperor Diocletian, after his 21-year-long rule, it combines the qualities of a luxurious villa with those of a military camp, with huge gates and watchtowers. The emperor lived here only for six years, dying at the age of 66.

The palace, enclosed by walls, at times housed over 9,000 people. It is remarkable for its diversity of forms, which include the octagonal domed mausoleum – now the cathedral of St Domnius – the rectangular Temple of Jupiter, the cruciform lower level of the Vestibule, and circular temples to Cybele and Venus.

The palace is now a commercial and residential centre. There are plenty of hotel rooms to rent here while Bacvice beach is less than a kilometre away.

Monasteries on the rocks:

Meteora, with its amazing monasteries on top of the rocks, is a must see. | Photo by Lanka005

If you are planning a trip to Greece’s summer tourist resorts, make a short turn to Meteora, with its amazing monasteries on top of the rocks at the northwest edge of the Plain of Thessaly near the Pineios river and Pindus Mountains, in central Greece.

At the end of the 14th century, the Byzantine Empire’s 800-year reign in northern Greece was increasingly threatened by Turkish raiders who sought to control the fertile plain of Thessaly. The Orthodox monks, seeking to retreat from the expanding Ottoman Turks, found the inaccessible rock pillars of Meteora an ideal place of refuge. More than 20 monasteries were built there beginning in the 14th century, six of which remain today.

The six monasteries are built on natural sandstone rock pillars. All are perched on high cliffs and are accessible only by staircases cut into the rock formations by the monks and nuns.

Much of the architecture of these buildings is Athonite [based on Mt Athos] in style, which means that the domes and choirs have the form of a cross-in-square. Of the six intact monasteries, the Holy Monastery of St Stephen and the monastery of Roussanou belong to nuns.