Varna is the nearest city to Golden Sands which is also a purpose-built resort with no-one actually living there either
Varna is not a purpose built resort, it is actually the third largest city in Bulgaria with a population (not tourist) of 350,000, there is an area of Varna that has developed in to a tourist resort area.
It was an inhabited place even before the Greeks established the colony of Odessos there about 580 BC and is a mix of ancient, medieval, renaissance and modern.
You can find museums, galleries, seaside park (lovely gardens) ancient Roman Spa bath etc and also well worth visiting is the impressive Varna Cathedral
PICTURE the city now has quite a cosmopolitan feel to it.
This is where local Bulgarians go for all their main shopping needs and has a full range of shops.
The prices are a bit cheaper FOR SOME THINGS in Varna than in the main tourist resorts, but if you can price anything you want to buy in resort first as you may end up pricing 'genuine' not fake label items in Varna and they will be much dearer.
One small word of warning, there can be a lot of children on the street who may come up to you begging, but this looks to be a trick, as I have witnessed all the children handing over any money collected to one person and they get a small payment back, and then go back on to the street begging again.
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