The Palace and the Botanical Garden in Balchik, joined in an architectural and park complex, are a piece of heaven on Earth and one of the must-see tourist sites along the Bulgarian Black Sea coast. They are located about 50 km north of Varna.
The complex was created at first as a summer residence of the Romanian Queen Marie (1875-1938). When she saw the place she fell in love with it. Architects from Italy designed the Palace. The construction began in 1924 and it was finished in 1936.
Small chapels, yards, parks, fountains were created as well as a number of buildings in various architectural styles – Protobulgarian, Byzantine, Roman-arabic, Mauritanian, Transylvanian, etc.
The Queen required those random architectural styles of the buildings. She was a Baháʼí Faith follower – a religion teaching the essential worth of all religions, and the unity of all people.
Jules Jeannys, Swiss botanist, designed and built a park complex as part of the summer residence in 1926. 29 years later, “St. Kliment Ohridski” Sofia University created on this same area a botanical garden.
Nowadays The Botanical garden is famous worldwide because of large-sized cactus species exhibition. It is the second of its kind in Europe after the one in Monaco. There are exotic plant species presented as well interesting for guests and botanic specialists.
Spring and summer flowers are presented, Alpine plants, water plants, fern, protected and rare species, lianas, flowering and evergreen plants.
In this unique Botanical garden you would enjoy more than 3000 plant species from all over the world.
You can easily reach the “Palace” and the Botanical garden with an intercity bus line from Varna bus station.
Bus lines schedule you will find here.
Admission:
The “Palace”: adults – 15 BGN, children (7-18years) – 3 BGN, children up to 7years - free
The Botanical garden: adults – 12 BGN; students and seniors - 5 BGN; children up to 7yrs – free
Opening hours:
Summer: 08:00 – 20:00hrs, without a day off
Winter: 09:00 – 17:00hrs
Contact details:
Balchik, 1 “Acad. Daki Yordanov”, post box 56
Telephones:
The Palace: +359 579 74452
The Botanical garden: +359 579 76197
