Elena

Elena sits in a fold of the Balkan foothills south-east of Veliko Tarnovo and keeps a compact Revival quarter of about a hundred and fifty protected buildings: timber and plaster houses with projecting upper floors along cobbled lanes, a church of 1805 sunk below street level as Ottoman rules required, a bell tower and the Daskalolivnitsa, a nineteenth-century school building that trained a generation of teachers and is now a museum. The town is better known nationally for its ham: elenski but is a leg cured with salt and air-dried through the winter in wooden bins, a protected product, and it is sold across the country. The surrounding hills are wooded and quiet with walking routes and a scattering of small villages.

What you actually see

• The Revival quarter - around a hundred and fifty protected buildings.
• The sunken church of 1805 - built below street level under Ottoman rules.
• The Daskalolivnitsa school - the nineteenth-century teacher training building.
• Elenski but ham - the air-dried leg the town is known for.

When to go

April to October. Half a day. The ham is cured over winter and sold year round. Museums close on some Mondays. It is quiet and rarely crowded.

Honest expectations

It is small and half a day is generous. Museums are modest and individually ticketed. Public transport is infrequent. The modern part of the town is unremarkable.

Nearby

Veliko Tarnovo is north-west; Kotel lies south-east.