Location

© Valentin Dzhigovski, 2016

Plovdiv/Пловдив

Plovdiv, the oldest continuously inhabited city in Europe, is a hub of history and culture. The city is famous for its well-preserved Roman ruins, Thracian heritage, and architectural monuments. Located along the Maritsa River and spread across seven scenic hills (tepeta), Plovdiv has maintained its unique charm since antiquity. As Bulgaria’s second-largest city, Plovdiv boasts a lively nightlife and a distinctive culinary scene.

In case you are visiting Bulgaria for the first time, this website might be useful.

Visa

Bulgaria is a member of the European Union and part of the Schengen area.

Please check if you need a visa to enter Bulgaria. In case you do, please apply as soon as possible: we have lost a few students already in previous years because of visa issues :-(

Travel

🛫 SOFia airport (Летище София)

To reach Bulgaria, the easiest option is to fly to Sofia. There are flights from all major airports in Europe, including some low-cost airlines.

Organized transport

On Sunday 21 September at 17:00 there will be a shuttle-bus from Sofia Airport (SOF) to our accomodation in Plovdiv.

Tips for reaching Plovdiv independently

🚌 Direct bus from Sofia airport
Check the bus schedules at Busradar or Omio
Advice: Prices vary a lot, due to tourist traps. If possible, look for a bus from Union Ivkoni, Karat-S or Group Plus. The more expensive options are FlixBus and Traventuria.

🚌 Bus from the Sofia, Central bus station
If there isn’t a direct bus from the airport at the desired time, it’s recommended to catch a bus from the central bus station. Tickets can be purchased online. The busses to Plovdiv run every hour, or so.

Ⓜ️ Public transport SOF Airport to SOF Central bus / railway station:

  • price: 0.8 EUR, contactless bank card payment possible inside vehicle
  • From Terminal (T1): catch the free airport shuttle to T2. They run every 40 minutes.
  • From T2: Take yellow metro line M4 direction Obelya/ Slivnitsa (Обеля/ Сливница) for 12 stops
  • on station Serdika (Сердика) transfer to the blue metro line M2 direction Obelya (Обеля) for 3 stops
  • Reach the Central Railway station
  • Follow the signs towards the central bus station. If lost, ask somebody for directtions. Bulgarians are friendly.

🚕 Taking a Taxi SOF Airport to SOF Central bus / railway station:

  • price: around 15 EUR
  • safest option is to get the TaxiMe App
  • don't follow a person offering you a taxi in the airport building
  • go to the proper taxi stand outside. Or call a taxi
  • Reliable options:
  • Yellow Taxi, Tel.: +359291119
  • OKSupertrans OKSupertrans, Tel: +35929732121
  • ! Check the phone numbers properly, scammers usually change 1 digit.

🚆 Train to Plovdiv

  • Follow the directions above to reach the Central Railway Station
  • Train tickets could be purchased online. Get the РЕДОВНА ТАРИФА (regular price). There might be works on the tracks, that’s why we don’t recommend this option

Important stations

Sofia (София)

Plovdiv (Пловдив)

Accommodation

We secured a deal with the Grand Hotel Plovdiv in the center of Plovdiv: https://grandhotelplovdiv.bg/en/

Participants will be accommodated in twin-rooms (two gender-matched persons share one room with separate beds) with a breakfast buffet and private bathroom for 36€ per night per person.

If you have declared that you don’t want to participate in the deal you’ll have to take care of accommodation yourself. Please note that there is a fair going on in Plovdiv at the same time as ASPP, so most hotels and AirBnBs are full already.

Venue

All lectured will take place in the Plovdiv branch of the Technical University of Sofia located at ul. “Tsanko Dyustabanov” 25, 4000 Plovdiv (ул. “Цанко Дюстабанов” 25, 4000 Пловдив).

Magic map

This map will soon contain all important landmarks. Click on the markers to show a description:

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