The town of Bankso is the entrance door to the Pirin Mountains,
some 153km from the capital, Sofia, and just 80km from the
Aegean coast in Greece. Bansko is the newest resort in Bulgaria,
and is rapidly developing into of the country's finest.
The fresh mountain air coupled with a warm sub-tropical
Greek climate provides possibilities for both winter and
summer tourism.
During the last few years Bansko has been subject to continued
investment that has seen it explode onto the scene. Originally
marketed as a ski-resort, Bansko is now developing into
Bulgaria's number one All Season mountain resort, with something
to offer for everyone.
The investment is Bulgaria's roads and infrastructure mean
that Bansko can be reached easily from Sofia and Plovdiv
airports. However the investment in the town of Bansko is
even more impressive. An explosion of Hotels, Restaurants,
Bars, along with a planned Shopping Mall scheduled to open
in June 2008, has made the resort a truly modern Mountain
Resort.
Although Modern Hotels dominate the new town, the old town
of Bansko gives a hint about its past and authenticity of
architecture, way of life and customs. The cobbled streets,
the houses with thick walls that look like fortresses with
long eaves made of black fir - everything suggests secrecy
and inaccessibility. Mexhana's (traditional Bulgarian Restaurants)
can be found on every street. In the winter open log fires
set the scene and in the summer the beautiful wallflowers
and window baskets make the appearance even more stunning.
Tourism in Bansko is currently rising at 40% per year and
last year saw 600,000 visitors to the resort. Now with Easyjet
opening routes to Sofia, and Ryanair, Myair and Eurowings
applying for similar access, this number is sure to increase.
Whilst the Winter Ski and Snowboard season dominates the
calendar, the arrival of an Ian Woosnam designed Golf Course
in summer 2008 added to other activities such as walking,
hiking, rafting, mountain biking, pony trekking, fishing
underline why Bansko is Bulgaria's number one All Season
resort.
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