Lev it or Not: The Euro is Coming

TOGETHER WITH

In this week’s Buzz:

• Bulgaria set to adopt the Euro in January

• UBB’s online payments system closes down

• Bansko Rock Festival this coming week 🎉 

• Municipality launches new website

• Are any restaurants open on the mountain during summer?

• Celebration of The Ilinden–Preobrazhenie Uprising

Bulgaria set to join Eurozone in less than 6 months

In less than 6 months, we’ll be using Euros in Bansko and the Lev will have been phased out. No matter whether you’re using cash or card, or a payment wallet, all transactions from 1 January 2026 in Bulgaria must be processed in EUR.

The European Parliament and ECOFIN, the two final votes on Bulgaria’s acceptance into the Eurozone, were made on Tuesday. There is the formality of Bulgaria’s National Assembly voting through the legislation for the transfer, but it’s expected to pass even if the president isn’t too enamoured with the idea.

Will prices rise? Maybe. I’ll be keeping an eye on prices in Bansko to compare how they’ve risen, but you’ll start to see dual pricing in most businesses now: displaying the price in Euros alongside Lev.

Will prices for the winter season for Ulen and bars/restaurants increase? Who knows. Businesses are technically prevented from unfair price increases upon switching to the Euro, but the Commission for Consumer Protection in Bulgaria seems to have weak powers and low penalty amounts. And, it’s Bansko, so they tend to do what they please. I’m expecting prices for eating and drinking establishments to increase in Bansko in 2026 as businesses adjust to managing Euros as their main currency. How much will the increase be? Anyone’s guess.

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Inside the Bansko Notice Board Group

✍️ 115 New Posts, 💬 208 Comments, 👍️ 943 Reactions

Looking For a Nanny For Your Children? Choose Tilly
Adam posted that in the time his family has been in Bansko, they chose Tilly to look after their 2-year-old since January, and he can’t recommend her enough. Find out why.

What’s The Procedure to Get a Car Talon Replaced?
Anne posted that she’s looking to replace her car’s talon (car registration document) because she seems to have lost it, and the local testing centres only accept this as valid documentation for the car to be tested. See what people had to say.

Are Any of The Restaurants Open on The Mountain Now?
Emma is considering heading up the mountain and wondered if any places are open over the summer. See where people suggested and why she caused a little confusion.

Where Can I Get a Decent Draught Beer in Bansko?
Tim wants to know where to find the tastiest, coolest, and liveliest beer on tap in Bansko. He’s tried a few places and hasn’t been impressed. I'm not surprised, given the warm weather; many places’ coolers will be working overtime, making it easier for staff to overlook quality checks.

Things Are Not What They Appear To Be
Apparently, I upset a few people by posting about a protest that was happening in town. 🤷 The organisers seem to have taken a few truths and mixed those with incorrect information as well as offering an opinion/view on what they suspect happened to some animals in Bansko that went missing (without evidence). To then share all of this information as fact needed to be addressed, no matter how passionate someone is on a subject.

(The above posts are publicly accessible. You don’t need a Facebook account to view them.)

Local/Municipality News

UBB Online Bill Payments Closes Down 
If you’ve used UBB’s payment portal to pay your household bills before, you might be interested to hear that they’ve closed it down. It was convenient to pay a 0.30 BGN fee per bill, regardless of the amount or the country of the card used. Here’s to most of us now paying a percentage of the bill to ePay. 🤦 Read more.

Medical Helicopter & Mountain Rescue Teams Have Been Busy
The local mountain rescue service has been busy recently, and have called on the HEMS medical helicopter a few times, with a recent one this week heading to pick up a person with a medical condition not related to hiking over at Popovo Lake in Dobrinishte (thank you to everyone who messaged me about it). Read more. Razlog hospital also announced they’d transferred a separate patient to Sofia with the help of HEMS. Read more.

Pirin Run Competition
Today, participants gathered at the starting line for the Pirin Run, which took them all the way up the mountain from the bottom gondola station. You might see some familiar faces from the photos that were taken this morning. Read more.

Municipality Warns Residents and Visitors About Forest Fires
The local municipality posted a reminder to residents and visitors about how easy it is for forest fires to ignite with all of the good weather we’ve been having, which has caused all of the ground to become dry. They offered some tips on what to look out for. Read more.

Nature, Summer, and Courage
Local children who are enrolled in the local summer school calendar of events went on a hike recently. They experienced a hike up to Lower Vasilashko Lake, hiking on roads, through forest trails, in meadows, and over rivers, with beautiful views of the Pirin Mountains. Read more.

Municipality Launches New Website
The local municipality has launched a new website for the town. The design looks a lot better than the previous one, and they’re supposedly refining the layout, navigation and feel of the website over the coming weeks. If you’re a geek like me, you’ll notice the UX isn’t the best, and they’ve “forgotten” to redirect most of the old URL structure to the new one. Got any bookmarks saved? Good luck finding the new pages 😂. Here’s a link to the new website (a copy of the old website was here yesterday, but it seems to have now been removed).

Recommended Businesses

Shop on Amazon & get packages delivered to Bansko with GGBG. Regular transport from the UK, Germany and the USA to Bulgaria. See website for info.

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Airport transfers from Sofia to Bansko with Traventuria. The licensed & fully insured company you can trust. Book your transfer.

At Vacation Bansko, you can find comprehensive information about the many activities Bansko has to offer, from a gentle excursion to extreme adventures. Browse the site and let’s make your holiday memorable.

👉️ Want to see your ad in the Bansko Buzz?
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Events Next Week

Tip of The Brush Art Exhibition (Continues)
On Monday (14th), Tuesday (15th) and Wednesday (16th), an art exhibition by Lora Bojilova continues on floor 2 of the Tourist Information Center in Bansko. The exhibition is accessible between 9am to 12pm and 1pm to 6pm on all three days. More info. [scroll down for English.]

Marketing Meetup: Time Management
On Monday (14th) at 6.30pm people will meet to talk about how to manage your time better as a marketer/entrepreneur at the weekly marketing meetup. This will take place at Sky Bansko (near Tipsy 360). More info.

Bansko Run Club(ish)
On Tuesday (15th), meeting at 6.30pm at Altspace’s Central location on Gotse Delchev Street. Like a group run? Join them for a casual 5-7km run around Bansko with drinks & convo afterwards at Tipsy 360.

Tuesday Night Fever Dinner Party at The Chef’s House
On Tuesday (15th) at The Chef’s House from 7pm, there will be a dinner party with an à la carte menu, and “cosmic grooves” from DJ BBR from 9pm. Limited seating, reservations required. More info.

Spanish Speakers Meeting
¿Hablas español? On Tuesday (15th) at 6pm at D & Vino on Glazne Street, a weekly meeting for Spanish speakers will begin. Grab a drink and have a chat with others in Spanish. More info.

Bansko Rock Festival (Main Event)
On Thursday (17th), Friday (18th), and Saturday (19th), the Rock Festival is happening in Bansko. On all three nights, the concerts will take place in the town square from 8pm. Seating is usually ticketed, but you can stand and enjoy the music in the square or have some dinner/drinks at a local eatery and enjoy the performances. More info.

Belated Fifth Birthday Party at Altspace Coworking
On Friday (18th) from 6pm to 10pm, Altspace Coworking is celebrating being in business for five years. It takes place at their Summit location (here) with some food/nibbles (BBQ) and music provided. If you’re not a member, then Altspace asks you to bring your own drinks. It’s then onto a bar that has the longest recorded wait time to be served for a drink in Bansko, at 37 minutes: Contrabar, where the big Irish lad will be DJing until late. More info.

Summer Table Tennis Camp
Join Petar for an intensive tennis camp this coming Friday (18th), Saturday (19th), and Sunday (20th) to refine your skills in table tennis and get ready for competitions/tournaments. Price is 250 BGN and includes the full itinerary for the weekend. More info. [Translation required.]

Moto Rock Gathering (Razlog) – Bearded Motorbike Folk
On Friday (18th), Saturday (19th) and Sunday (20th), thousands of motorcyclists from around Bulgaria and the rest of the Balkans will gather in the Redel area in celebration of being awesome. This is three days “…filled with adrenaline, brotherhood, rock music and a spirit of freedom.”

122 Years of The Ilinden–Preobrazhenie Uprising
This event is a celebration of the uprising against the Ottoman Empire 122 years ago. While this specific uprising wasn’t successful, it made its mark in history. The event starts at 11.30am on Saturday (19th) from the gondola hiking to Banderitsa Hut, and at 11am on Sunday (20th) at Banderitsa Hut. Apparently, there will be “delicious food” distributed to all guests. More info. [Translation required.]

Strauss Waltz Under the Stars (Razlog)
On Saturday (19th) at 9pm in Razlog town park, The Chamber Opera from Blagoevgrad will offer "...an evening of style and inspiration awaits you with ‘Strauss Waltz Under the Stars’." An evening to experience a different town with great music and some sweet treats (pastries) being handed out.

Bansko Street Dogs Sports Day
Back for its fourth year, Bansko Street Dogs is running its annual sports day event on Saturday 26th of July at 3pm on the ski road (next to the Kempinski Hotel). There will be various games/events, and teams of 6 to 8 should register directly with them (note that the number of teams is limited, so registering late may not allow you to participate). Fun, shade and refreshments are available on the day. More info.

The Wim Hof method event this weekend has been cancelled.

Photo of the Week

Muratovo Lake in the evening.

Tag @banskobuzz to get your photo in the Buzz.