Overlooked by most tourists and often dismissed as a polluted industrial dump, to be passed through quickly on the way to more desirable locations along the coast, BURGAS is a surprisingly attractive city, which makes a welcome break from the crowds and commercialism of the nearby seaside resorts. Though the city's suburbs are certainly dreary, the centre is pleasantly urbane and tourist-friendly, due to recent efforts to improve its seedy image. As the site of an oil refinery and associated chemical plants, Burgas is far more industrial than any of its neighbours on the coast, and its deep harbour is home to Bulgaria's oceanic fishing fleet. The presence of visiting ships and passing tourists gives the town a certain cosmopolitanism - especially in late August, during the folk festival - but nothing to compare with the cultural life of Varna.

Road traffic southwards is borne by a thin finger of land that separates the gulf itself from the land-locked Burgasko ezero to the west, while further down lie the picturesque freshwater resevoir of Mandrensko ezero (Lake Mandra) and the Poda Lagoon , lying beside the main E87 road 10km south of Burgas.