Vrana Palace

Tsar Ferdinand I built Vrana in the early twentieth century on the plain south-east of Sofia, and the naturalist in him shaped the result: the park around the house was planted with species gathered across Europe and beyond, and remains among the finest in Bulgaria. His son Boris III lived there. The grounds have been opened to visitors in recent years, and on summer evenings the park serves as a concert setting — orchestral programmes and family concerts given among the trees rather than within the walls of the residence.