Sliven
is truly enchanting, reminding one of an Alpine resort. It is surrounded by the rocky Balkan Mountains whose peaks reach 1100 metres. There are rows upon rows of red- tiled roofs, white minarets, shady trees and gardens.
Open to the public are the house-museums of prominent members of the Bulgarian National Revival Period: Hadji Dimitar, the poet Dobri Chintoulov, the freedom fighter Panayot Khitov.

It was in Sliven in 1832 that Dobri Zhelyazkov opened Bulgaria’s first factory. In an old part of the town there is a complex of restored 19th Century houses, with one of them displaying exhibits of life in Sliven over many decades.