Nicopolis ad Istrum
Nicopolis ad Istrum
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4.0
75 reviews
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21
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JEAN MICHEL L
Le Mee-sur-Seine, France5,587 contributions
Sept 2023 • Couples
Still located 15 km from Veliko Tarnovo (not very well signposted and you will have to find your way carefully). Indeed it is in the 2-day visit pass from Veliko Tarnovo and around! Otherwise it is located in a fairly "desert" area far away from everything, the site is grandiose and extends over a beautiful visiting area, a map is given to you at the entrance. The remains are well highlighted and are still the subject of research and excavations (a team was at work during our visit!) Everything is there: columns, baths, old thermal baths, odeon, forum, paved street, etc. .etc a real Roman city, specialists will appreciate it as well as novices.
Written 29 September 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Hristomir C
Sofia, Bulgaria6 contributions
Oct 2021
A large Roman city with an amazing location. Getting to it, however, is a living adventure. The road is disgusting. You have never seen so many holes in your life. Especially the shortest and most convenient road is impassable for cars. It is about 2 kilometers, but it has not been touched for more than 20 years.
Written 24 October 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
iviliyana
Sofia, Bulgaria194 contributions
Oct 2016
Nicopolis ad Istrum was a Roman town founded by Emperor Trajan around 106 in memory of his victory over the Dacians. All you can see there is authentic and it's really impressive. The route from big rocks, columns.. And it's easy to go there : from Veliko Tarnovo to Ruse it's about 20km, you turn for village Nikup ("Никюп"). I strongly recommend the destination. If you visit Veliko Tarnovo, you should go there.
Written 24 October 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
saronic
Zurich, Switzerland28,817 contributions
Sept 2017 • Solo
For people interested in history a very worthwhile trip out of Veliko Tarnovo goes to the remains of the Roman town of Nicopolis ad Istrum, by road about 25km further north. It is part of the 'Two-day combined ticket for 10 museums', available for 20 BGN. Separate entry for the site is 5 BGN. The taxi fare to go and back with waiting time for an hour was 50 BGN.
The entrance is at the end of a pretty bad country road. I was all by myself during the time I spent there, except for the archaeologists and their helpers, who were busy digging and studying. At the entrance booth an excellent guide booklet in English is available (6 BGN), written by Ivan Tsarov, the director of the regional museum of Veliko Tarnovo. It has been well translated, has good photographs and is very useful on a visit.
It was not the first time I had been to a 'Nicopolis', a 'Victory Town', of which there were about 10 in the whole Roman Empire, now all in ruins. To distinguish them from each other they needed additional, usually geographical information in their name. So here we are at 'Nicopolis ad Istrum', which means at the Danube, although this river is still over 50km away as the crow flies.
What is left to see here is not that much in comparison to many other archaeological places from the time of the Romans. Thoroughly destroyed by the Avars in the 6th century the town was forgotten until the 19th century. What impressed me the most here were some well kept slab covered parts of the rectangular street system.
There are also remains to be seen of an agora and a bouleuterion, of an odeon, of city gates, wells and water canals, of grave stones and plinths of statues. Everywhere are information boards in Bulgarian and English. Although in a flat and not spectacular area - in contrast to Veliko Tarnovo and its canyons - the nature here still has its charm with the trees, the nearby grazing cows and the whole peaceful atmosphere.
The entrance is at the end of a pretty bad country road. I was all by myself during the time I spent there, except for the archaeologists and their helpers, who were busy digging and studying. At the entrance booth an excellent guide booklet in English is available (6 BGN), written by Ivan Tsarov, the director of the regional museum of Veliko Tarnovo. It has been well translated, has good photographs and is very useful on a visit.
It was not the first time I had been to a 'Nicopolis', a 'Victory Town', of which there were about 10 in the whole Roman Empire, now all in ruins. To distinguish them from each other they needed additional, usually geographical information in their name. So here we are at 'Nicopolis ad Istrum', which means at the Danube, although this river is still over 50km away as the crow flies.
What is left to see here is not that much in comparison to many other archaeological places from the time of the Romans. Thoroughly destroyed by the Avars in the 6th century the town was forgotten until the 19th century. What impressed me the most here were some well kept slab covered parts of the rectangular street system.
There are also remains to be seen of an agora and a bouleuterion, of an odeon, of city gates, wells and water canals, of grave stones and plinths of statues. Everywhere are information boards in Bulgarian and English. Although in a flat and not spectacular area - in contrast to Veliko Tarnovo and its canyons - the nature here still has its charm with the trees, the nearby grazing cows and the whole peaceful atmosphere.
Written 12 December 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
jane b
Hartford Connecticut24 contributions
July 2011 • Friends
This is an archaeological site being developed by faculty and students from the University of Veliko Turnovo. It is quite impressive but progress has been slow because of limited funding. This is a working site, not a museum so visitors are free to wander about and ask questions of staff. There is also a helpful booklet in English is available for a small donation. For serious students of Roman history and archaeology it offers a fascinating and worthwhile opportunity to visit an important but not very well-known city that dates back to the Emperor Trajan.
Written 14 May 2012
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
girlextreme
Romania195 contributions
Jan 2018
The entrance is at the end of pretty bad 3 km country road.
In winter season it is close ,open only for groups . I call to ask if it is ok to open the site for only 2 people , recomand us " to jump " inside 😂😂😂
We jump inside and it was ok.
The bad road and the strange situation with " jump inside" disappear because is very nice , interesting and quiet place.
In winter season it is close ,open only for groups . I call to ask if it is ok to open the site for only 2 people , recomand us " to jump " inside 😂😂😂
We jump inside and it was ok.
The bad road and the strange situation with " jump inside" disappear because is very nice , interesting and quiet place.
Written 5 January 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
77LuluE
129 contributions
June 2016 • Solo
Although only a section of the site has been excavated you are still able to get an idea of the great Roman architecture and ingenuity. Hopefully with time more will br revealed. Unfortunately many of the boards have been faded by the sun so having a knowledable guide really came in handy for me. The drainage system running under the main walkway is still 100% in tact. Several intact structures are around to help paint the picture of what this centre use to look like. It is interesting though that no other civilization used these structures after the Romans. I visited on a really hot day so the shade provided by the big trees on the way out was really welcome. If you have not seen any Roman ruins this is a good site to visit.
Written 17 July 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Tsvetana
Sofia, Bulgaria625 contributions
May 2013 • Couples
We visited the place in May this year and were surprised to see there wasn't entrance fee, considering the size and importance of the ancient city. I don't knowwhether there's entrance fee at the moment though. So my info would be for May 2013
As we understood from the archeologist who was on site to overview the way workers placed a new sewage system for the small staff house there, there is an ongoing project with EU for improvement of the facilities for tourists there. So you will see now a gate and a stone wall, a parking place and a path leading to the inner part of the site, new sewage system,as well as guards for the place.
A condition for the funding is that no reconstruction on the ancient city is mad3 - what you see is what is the ancient look,and perhaps only some bush and earth cleaning would occur. Which is really great because the main roads are actually perfectly preserved since ancient times and just proves how great Romans were in building road sysems! :-)
So the uncovered roads are perhaps the most impressive thing, as well as the inscription on the tomb of a Roman citizen Nikokleus.
One more thing - if you travel by car from Veliko Tarnovo using GPS navigation, use the road through the Nikyup village. There's another, direct cut from the main road which saves some 10 km and skips Nikyup, but the condition of the road is horrible for now. Therefore use the longer road throuh Nikyup, it's in a better condition.
As we understood from the archeologist who was on site to overview the way workers placed a new sewage system for the small staff house there, there is an ongoing project with EU for improvement of the facilities for tourists there. So you will see now a gate and a stone wall, a parking place and a path leading to the inner part of the site, new sewage system,as well as guards for the place.
A condition for the funding is that no reconstruction on the ancient city is mad3 - what you see is what is the ancient look,and perhaps only some bush and earth cleaning would occur. Which is really great because the main roads are actually perfectly preserved since ancient times and just proves how great Romans were in building road sysems! :-)
So the uncovered roads are perhaps the most impressive thing, as well as the inscription on the tomb of a Roman citizen Nikokleus.
One more thing - if you travel by car from Veliko Tarnovo using GPS navigation, use the road through the Nikyup village. There's another, direct cut from the main road which saves some 10 km and skips Nikyup, but the condition of the road is horrible for now. Therefore use the longer road throuh Nikyup, it's in a better condition.
Written 30 June 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
jotenn
Virginia Beach, VA80 contributions
May 2013 • Couples
We first visited the ruins of Nicopolis (established in the first century AD by Trajan to commemorate his conquest of the Dacians) some 10 years ago. There have been a number of improvements since then, including a parking area, gate for entering, rest room facilities, and a guide who is knowledgeable about the site. On the downside, there is now a modest entrance fee (6 leva per family), and more people now visit the site, although it was by no means very crowded while we were there. The site itself has only been slightly restored, so you must use your imagination considerably to understand the layout and facilities. There are some signs in both Bulgarian and English that help to sketch out the site, but only the central forum is very clearly delineated. The best features are the remarkable drainage system, the well-excavated Roman road and the forum area. I also particularly liked the tomb incription from one of the inhabitants from long ago, Nikokleus, who advises us to: "drink and live a carefree life, you have the daylight. Listen, once your soul departs you will be deprived of all these things. Fare thee well, stranger"
Written 9 May 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
ptrcvd
Lubrin, Spain124 contributions
May 2012 • Family
These roman ruins would be a star attraction in most other places around the globe. In Bulgaria they are hidden at the end of a field!
There was no charge for entry and we were allowed to wander around as we wished. There are no real facilities and the toilets are basic. However to be allowed to walk around these substantial remnants of a 2000 year old town is a great experience. This is not a Pompeii but equally it does not have the commercialism of it either.
On the way out through the village make sure you look for the storks nest on the telegraph pole. An amazing sight.
There was no charge for entry and we were allowed to wander around as we wished. There are no real facilities and the toilets are basic. However to be allowed to walk around these substantial remnants of a 2000 year old town is a great experience. This is not a Pompeii but equally it does not have the commercialism of it either.
On the way out through the village make sure you look for the storks nest on the telegraph pole. An amazing sight.
Written 26 May 2012
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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