The city of Varna

Varna is the third largest city (and according to some new statistics - already the second largest) in Bulgaria. It is located on the Black Sea shore and is sometimes called the sea capital of our country. Near Varna the most ancient golden treasure in the world was discovered dating from 5000 years B.C. It can be seen in our archeological museum or in varna.info.
Varna is a regional centre with a population of about 400 000 inhabitants. It has a beautiful Maritime Garden in which our Astronomical Observatory and Planetarium Nicholas Copernicus is located. To the north of Varna there are several sea-side resorts - St.st. Constantine and Elena, Chaika and Golden Sands. They are visited by a lot of foreign tourists every summer.

Chayka resort

The IMC will be held in Chayka resort, ten km to the north of Varna. The participants will be accommodated in the buildings of the Varna Free University. There are a hotel, a lot of lecture halls, rich technical equipment, access to Internet and a nice view of the sea.

Transport

Some useful web-sites:

• Varna Airport
• Sofia Airport
• Train timetable
• BGmaps.com

Travelling by car
We would recommend you several possible routes:

• Coming from Romania:
  - Road No E 70 via Ruse and Razgrad to Varna;
  - Road No E 87 along the Black Sea coast via Kavarna, the Zlatni pyasaci (Golden Sands) resort directly to the Varna Free University before reaching the city of Varna;
  - Road E 79 via Vidin to Botevgrad, from there road No E 772 to Shumen and then road No E 70 to Varna.

• Coming from Yugoslavia:
  - Road No E 75 via Belgrade to Nish, then road E 80 to Sofia, then road No E 79 to Botevgrad, then road No E 779 to Shumen and finally road No E 70 to Varna.

• Coming from Macedonia:
  - Road No E 65 via Skopie and Kumanovo, then road No E 871 via Kyustendil to Sofia, then road No E 79 to Botevgrad, from there road No E 772 to Shumen and then road No E 70 to Varna.

• Coming from Greece:
  - Road No E 79 via Thessalonica and Sofia to Botevgrad, from there road No E 772 to Shumen, then road No E 70 to Varna.

• Coming from Turkey:
  - From Istanbul road No E 80 to Babaeski, then road No E 87 via Malko Tarnovo and Burgas to Varna.

Travelling from Sofia to Varna. It is possible by airplane (30 min), train (8 hours) or bus (6 hours).
Public transport in Varna City. You can travel by bus or trolley bus. Tickets are sold in the bus. Just get in and wait until the ticket seller comes to you. Within the city the price is 0.50 levs (0.25 EUR) and doesn't depend on the distance. Travelling to and from the airport is considered within the city. But travelling to Chayka resort is already outside the city and the price is 1 lev (0.50 EUR). The bus you would use most often is No 409 and it comes every 15 minutes.

From Varna Airport:
- to City center: bus No 409, bus stop "The Cathedral"
- to the Observatory: bus No 409, bus stop near Cherno More Hotel (5 min walking to the observatory)
- to Chayka resort: bus No 409, bus stop "Varna Free University".
From the railway station:
- to the City center: bus No 13, 22, 26, 27, 41, bus stop near the Cathedral
- to the Observatory: bus No 39 or 309, bus stop near Cherno More Hotel
- to Chayka resort: bus No 309, bus stop Varna Free University; or first bus No 13, 22, 26, 27, 41, bus stop near the Cathedral, and then bus No 9, 51, 109, 409, bus stop Varna Free University
From the bus station:
- to the City center: bus No 18, 22, 41, 409, bus stop near the Cathedral
- to the observatory: bus No 409, bus stop near Cherno More Hotel
- to Chayka resort: bus No 409, bus stop "Varna Free University".
From the City center:
- to the Observatory: bus No 8, 9, 14, 51, 109, 409, bus stop near Cherno More Hotel; or better
- just 15 minutes walking
- to Chayka resort: bus No 9, 51, 109, 409, bus stop Varna Free University