Q:

Friends have since said we should have hired a car and taken a tour into the countryside which is beautiful, by all reports. We are thinking of doing this next year. Can you give us any suggestions?

Mrs Vi Fordcombe, by email

A: AS YOU probably know, Bulgaria has just joined the EU. This new prosperity might line the pockets of politicians and businessmen in Sofia, the capital, and the property developers along the Black Sea coast but it will take a while before it filters through to the mountain villages.

Your friends are right to suggest that you get off the beach. During the 70s and 80s the Black Sea was the playground for Soviet and Eastern Bloc sunseekers (well, they couldn't visit the Costa del Sol, could they?). Some typically utilitarian concrete monstrosities were built to accommodate the holidaying masses and although there has been a lot of new investment, many of these remain.

Inland, however, Bulgaria is laced with medieval villages, gorges, clear mountain streams and ancient monasteries. The pace of life here, largely unchanged for centuries, makes a welcome diversion from the fairly bland coastal resorts.

You should start by heading for the country's former medieval capital, Veliko Tarnovo, perched above a river gorge and around a three-hour drive from the coast.

Its cobbled streets are packed with fine old buildings and there's a huge, well-preserved 12th-century fortress. The countryside near here is dotted with villages where you can stop for a glass or two of the Haskovo Merlots and Cabernets from the rich wine-growing regions of Suhindol and Sliven.

One of the most popular summer resorts in the area is the hilltop town of Arbanasi - a collection of walled churches and villas some of which have been turned into hotels.

Further from the coast, Bulgaria's second city of Plovdiv is worth a visit. It's an old Roman town with an impressive amphitheatre where concerts are held in the summer. The nearby Rodopi Mountains, in one of the country's four designated national parks, are also worth exploring. Here you should be able to spot deer, wild goats and even bears, if you're lucky - or not, as the case may be.

Sofia too has its fair share of spectacular buildings - the Aleksander Nevski Church and the Sofia Synagogue in particular - and in the winter you can get to the ski slopes of Mt Vitosha from here within an hour or so. In summer the mountain is also great for hiking.

However, Sofia is not one of the world's prettiest capitals and your best bet would be to combine a few days in the countryside followed by a few days on the beach.

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