THE VISIT TO THE CASTLE AND BOTANICAL GARDEN IN BALCHIK, BULGARIA - ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW
Realizing that sitting on the beach is not for me and that choosing to plan a vacation only for sunbathing at the Black Sea was not a good idea, I started looking for places to visit near Romanian coast, where I had already been. That's how I came across the "Castle and Botanical Garden" in Balchik, whose existence I already knew, but I hadn't managed to visit them.
The location has important historical value for Romania, although this territory belonged to it for a short time. Balchik Castle was the summer residence of Queen Maria of Romania, at the time when the southern Dobrogea area belonged to Romania. Being a great lover of the sea, the queen found the ideal place to build the much-dreamed-of summer house. I was expecting something much bigger and grander, but probably this queen wanted...something simple, not luxury, not opulence, not expensive marble, but rather a connection with nature, with the sea, with the sunrise that you can admire it from the terrace, with the smell of roses, with the sound of the waves. The construction was thought to be a complex, with several buildings, including a monastery and six houses, but also with a huge garden.
In this article I will tell you about the Balchik Castle and Botanical Garden, but I will also leave you with some useful information, if you want to spend more time in the area. Balchik offers enough from a tourist point of view, so that you can organize either a whole stay, in which you visit the whole town and stay at the beach, or you can only visit the castle and the botanical garden in a day trip , as we did.
HOW TO GET TO BALCIK:
The closest airport to Balchik, where international flights are operated daily, is the one from Varna.
The options to reach Balchik are the bus, if you are in Varna, from where there is a direct connection, or in the organized excursions offered by the all-inclusive hotels in the well-known Bulgarian resorts, such as Varna, Golden Sands, Albena, or Konstantin and Elena.
WHERE ARE YOU STAYING IN BALCIK:
Among the accommodations available on Booking, the ones that caught my attention are:
Balchik Sea View Apartments in Princess Residence - apartment-type accommodation unit, with its own kitchen, which can accommodate from 2 to 4 people. It is located near the beach and has private parking;
Hotel Samara - accommodation unit rated at 3 stars, with double or apartment-type rooms, which can accommodate up to 6 people + 2 children. It has an outdoor pool and is close to the beach;
Helios Hotel - accommodation unit rated at 3 stars, which has double rooms or apartments. The hotel is equipped with an outdoor swimming pool, spa area, restaurant, bar and parking.
Lighthouse Golf Resort Private Properties - apartment type accommodation unit within a bungalow complex. Apartments with one, two or three bedrooms are available for rent. The complex is equipped with two swimming pools, fitness room, bar and private parking.
VISITING THE CASTLE AND THE GARDEN:
The complex is open for visits everyday, from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. during the summer, and from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. in the cold season, when the day is shorter. The price for visiting the castle and the garden is 30 leva. 15 leva is paid for visiting the castle, and 15 leva for visiting the garden. Tickets can only be bought together (I didn't understand why they need to be paid separately) and only cash payment, in leva, is accepted. It is best to have the money ready, because there is no ATM in the area. To visit this location, it is enough if you reserve two hours, maybe a little less during the winter, or a little more during the summer, if you choose to go to the beach as well.
Finding a parking space can be problematic, especially at the end of the week, so I recommend getting there as early as possible in the morning to avoid congestion. The parking is charged separately.
In the promenade area, before reaching the ticket office, there are several restaurants where you can eat.
ABOUT BALCHIK CASTLE:
The castle, also called the "Lonely Nest" is the main building of the complex, which was built between 1925-1929 by two Italian companies, following exactly the Queen's specifications. This building represents a combination of architectural styles with both oriental and Bulgarian influence.
As I said at the beginning of the article, the building was thought to be a holiday home, as a result the name "castle" does not fit it completely, potentially creating unrealistic expectations for tourists. The location is very small and simple, not extravagant at all. Personally, I compared this location to the one at Bran Castle, in terms of the interior and furniture.
Unfortunately, there is not much information inside the palace, so if you would like to learn more about the history of the place, I recommend using an audio guide (they don't have an English-speaking tour guide).
Inside the complex there is also a place for prayer, a small church, which the Queen requested in her will as the place to keep her heart after her death. Her wish was respected until 1940, when the Quadrilateral returned to Bulgaria, and the Queen's heart was moved.
ABOUT THE BOTANICAL GARDEN:
The complex in Balcic would certainly not be as famous among tourists, if it wasn't for the superb botanical garden, which hosts over 3000 species of plants, some of them very rare. The garden is built in steps, following the shape of the terraced relief.
It is a very vast garden, in which you can easily get lost. The main attraction area is the cactus area, which, I must admit, was my favorite. The succulent garden is considered to be the second largest in Europe. It stretches over a length of one thousand square meters and has a greenhouse.
The cactus exhibition can be admired in any season, including winter, both in the greenhouse and outside. Outdoor cacti are also resistant to low temperatures.
From the entrance, we were greeted by a carpet of colorful flowers. In this area there are also benches, perfect for relaxing, a pond with water lilies and an artesian fountain.
For botany enthusiasts or those who want specific information about the plants from Balcic, I leave a link to the complete list here.
Inside the garden there is a spring that forms a small pond and later, by joining several water sources, a waterfall. In addition to the multitude of flowers, there are also many areas shaded by all kinds of trees, and the whole garden looks like a small green paradise. The Botanical Garden is structured into 12 smaller gardens. In the image below, Waterfall Garden.
In the Rose Garden, you will find these absolutely gorgeous arches. The location is called the Temple of the Waters or Nympheus. The term "nymphaeum" comes from antiquity. The nymph was considered a young woman who was part of the retinue of a god or goddess. The nymph was the architectural structure dedicated to nymphs, built near water sources, a kind of dwelling for these mythological characters.
After visiting the castle and the garden, at the end of the day, you can enjoy the sun and the sea. From what I noticed, there is direct access from the garden to the beach. There are several beaches that you can choose from, with sunbeds, umbrellas, bars and restaurants. There is also an area for towels.
And because the location is related to Queen Maria, I leave a link to a video clip about it, very nicely made. Link here.
CONCLUSIONS ABOUT THE CASTLE AND BOTANICAL GARDEN FROM BALCIC
For the botanical garden, the star of this complex, the best time to visit is from the end of May, until the end of July, or even August, while the roses and other flowers are still in their peak blooming period, and everything is full of color
Our visit to this wonderful place, with an important history for our country, was a very pleasant one and far exceeded our expectations. If the villa is not the most impressive, certainly, the garden and the sea view are really special. I recommend that you reserve a whole day to enjoy this location, maybe even combine it with relaxing at the beach.
Before ending this article, I want to mention that every experience is different, even though we are talking about the same location. In recent years, with the increase in popularity of this place, a lot of dissatisfaction among tourists began to appear, related to parking, crowding, paying tickets, or related to rude staff.
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