Bansko

Bansko sits at the foot of the Pirin mountains and has become the largest ski resort in the Balkans, with a gondola from the edge of town up to a network of runs that reach above two thousand five hundred metres, and lift passes and lessons at a fraction of Alpine prices, which is the main reason people come. Underneath the resort infrastructure there is an actual old town of heavy stone houses with iron-studded gates, a fortified church and a run of mehanas, traditional taverns serving grilled meat, banitsa and rakia to folk music, which gives the place a character that purpose-built resorts lack. In summer the same mountains offer serious hiking into Pirin National Park, and the town has quietly filled with remote workers taking advantage of cheap living.

What you actually see

• The ski area - the gondola and runs up into the Pirin above the town.
• The old quarter - stone houses, the fortified church and the mehanas.
• Pirin National Park - summer hiking to the lakes and peaks above.
• The taverns - grilled meat, banitsa and rakia with live folk music.

When to go

December to April is the ski season, with the most reliable snow from January to March; June to September is the hiking season and much quieter. The gondola queue in peak ski weeks is notorious, so buy passes in advance and start early.

Honest expectations

The gondola bottleneck is real and in high season the morning queue can eat an hour or more; the alternative is a taxi or the road up. Building has been rapid and unlovely on the approaches, with half-finished blocks around the edges. Snow reliability is lower than in the Alps and the lower runs suffer in warm spells. Après-ski is cheap and can be rowdy.

Nearby

Rila Monastery is a couple of hours north; Melnik and the sandstone pyramids lie south.