There are several interesting places you could hit in western Bulgaria, listed starting from the southern border, reaching the Danube to the north - you can chose based on what you feel like seeing or doing:Melnik – it is a very unique “sand” town in the middle of an area sand dunes would be the last thing to expect... The scenery is beyond belief; lots of traditional old architecture, too. It is famous for good wine. Your kids may be interested in a little cave tour there (it is actually a wine cellar), I remember truly enjoying the twisty cold path in the side of the hills… There are nice B&B’s, and it has become touristy lately.Sandanski is around the corner, it’s popular for its natural hot springs, if you think your kids would enjoy the soaking, you could all have a splash.Rila Monastery – an absolute must see. It is a little out of the way, up a twisty road in the mountains… Whatever I type in here won’t do it justice, but you can check the Wiki on it:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rila_Monastery If you can see one single thing on your trip through Western Bulgaria, I recommended it to be the Rila Monastery. You can stay overnight at the monk quarters there, too! Sofia, obviously, just because it’s the capital… Too much to see and do there, but not necessarily that unique. The Wiki again:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SofiaBelogradchik – there is a stunning natural rock formation stronghold with outer fortress walls… My husband had a photo we took there as his screensaver, and a colleague asked him which video game that was from! Kids would have a blast, imagination can run wild there, and anything that involves rock climbing (nothing difficult or dangerous or requiring gear) is bound to be fun. You can park right outside the fortress gates. Vidin – the Baba Vida fortress is probably the best place you can take kids, too. When we visited, there wasn’t a soul in sight past the ticket booth. We had the towers, dungeons, moat (no water), a whole medieval castle all to ourselves to play hide and seek…Have a fun trip!