Located about 90 minutes away from our hotel was the Rila Monastery and during our trip our hotel organised us a taxi to go and take a look around, something I’d been excited to do long before our visit. I’m a sucker for a painted fresco!

The Monastery is the largest monastery in Bulgaria and is very visually stunning as a result. First established in 927 it is considered one of the most important cultural monuments in Bulgaria, becoming a UNESCO world heritage site.

The monastery is surrounded by 24 metre tall walls so when you walk through the gates the monastery surprises you, it’s so striking. The building was very interesting, with 5 domes and I especially liked the striped painting of the porticos in the courtyard.

The frescos were full of colourful religious art, which was really interesting to look at. The monastery still houses around 60 monks, which can be seen walking around the grounds.

Outside the monastery there were a couple of restaurants available to eat at, as well as shops selling the most amazing looking honey and jam! Bulgaria are really into their rose jam and it looked delicious!