What's on in Plovdiv, Bulgaria through the year

Quiet — school holidays in 7 of the markets that fill it, one of its worst months for weather

Nothing new starts in January.

Still on: Winter smog (1 Nov – 10 Mar (usually))

Quiet — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, one of its worst months for weather

Nothing new starts in February.

Still on: Winter smog (1 Nov – 10 Mar (usually))

Shoulder season — school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in March.

Still on: Winter smog (1 Nov – 10 Mar (usually))

Busy — school holidays in 6 of the markets that fill it, one of its best months for weather

Nothing new starts in April.

Busy — school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it, one of its best months for weather

• Opening

  Roman theatre season

  20 May – 30 Sep · usuallySummer season opens

  Opera, drama and touring concerts move into the second-century theatre on the hill for the warm half of the year — it seats about five thousand and is still a working venue, not a ruin with a rope round it. Source ↗

Shoulder season — school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in June.

Still on: Roman theatre season (20 May – 30 Sep (usually))

Shoulder season — school holidays in 7 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in July.

Still on: Roman theatre season (20 May – 30 Sep (usually))

Shoulder season — school holidays in 7 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in August.

Still on: Roman theatre season (20 May – 30 Sep (usually))

Peak crowds — Unification Day and City Day, Night of Museums and Galleries

• Holiday

  Unification Day and City Day

  5–7 SepNational holidayCrowdedClosures

  The 1885 unification of Bulgaria was proclaimed here, so 6 September is both the national holiday and Plovdiv's own: a re-enactment outside the old parliament building, concerts, and a long weekend for the whole country. Source ↗

• Festival

  Night of Museums and Galleries

  10–30 Sep · usuallyMajor festivalCrowded

  Galleries, courtyards and half the buildings in Kapana open late for one long weekend in September, free, with the crowd moving between them on foot. The one weekend the creative quarter earns the name. Source ↗

• Season

  International Fair weeks

  15 Sep – 5 Oct · usuallyBook early

  The trade fair grounds across the Maritsa have run since 1892 and the autumn editions fill the city's hotels with exhibitors rather than visitors. Worth checking the dates before booking a September room. Source ↗

Still on: Roman theatre season (20 May – 30 Sep (usually))

Shoulder season — school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in October.

Still on: International Fair weeks (15 Sep – 5 Oct (usually))

Shoulder season — school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

• Hazard

  Winter smog

  1 Nov – 10 Mar · usually

  Wood and coal stoves in the surrounding villages, plus an inversion that traps everything over the Thracian plain, give Plovdiv some of the worst winter particulate readings in the EU. It comes in still, windless spells. Source ↗

Quiet — school holidays in 7 of the markets that fill it, one of its worst months for weather

Nothing new starts in December.

Still on: Winter smog (1 Nov – 10 Mar (usually))