Experience the best of Bansko

Bansko lies in the Razlog valley in south-west Bulgaria, under the jagged peaks of Pirin National Park. The old town keeps lanes of stone houses with wooden balconies and high-walled yards, along with the Holy Trinity church, and the poet Nikola Vaptsarov was born here. Several traditional taverns, called mehanas, serve food in rooms of wood and stone.

A gondola climbs from the edge of town to the ski area, and the peaks above include Vihren, the highest in the range at 2,914 metres. In summer the same slopes are walking country, with glacial lakes and pine forest. The Rila Monastery, Bulgaria's best-known monastery, lies in the next mountain range to the north.

Mountain cooking is hearty: kapama, a stew of meats and sauerkraut, banitsa pastry with cheese, grilled meats and shopska salad, washed down with rakia or local red wine. Snow arrives from December and skiing follows, summer brings cool air and hiking, and a jazz festival fills the town in August.