The old royal capital of Veliko Tarnovo is now a museum city. The vicissitudes of history have spared little of its material and spiritual culture. Because of that, the restoration of the old part of the city has become the brightest page in its millennial cultural annals. Historians and archaeologists, builders and artists have spared no effort in reviving the beauty of the mediaeval capital on the eve of the eighth centenary of the Bulgarian people's uprising against Byzantine oppression. Archaeological digs have been carried out on a vast scale; monuments of culture and fortifications have been rebuilt; the architecture of the National Revival period was restored; the museums collections were enriched, and new monuments to the past were erected. But Veliko Tarnovo is also the centre of a district, a dynamically developing industrial city that breathes with the pulse of electronic and electrical engineering and machine building, and takes pride in its new housing estates — spacious areas that combine modern architecture with longstanding traditions. As soon as the University closes down for the summer, the city becomes the domain of thousands of tourists, for most of the sightseeing routes that crisscross the country pass through Veliko Tarnovo. Accommodation is available in top-class hotels and in a motel on the outskirts. There is a wide choice of programmes guaranteeing a pleasant stay and growing familiarity with this noteworthy city.