Shumen

A huge Communist-era monument looming over the city. Its most prominent feature is the 1000-ton granite lion topping one of the angular concrete bodies, but there are also cubist-like statues of Bulgarian rulers in its base, as well as some mosaic panes depicting scenes of Bulgarian history. The monument was built on the Shumen Plateau in the early 1980s, as a part of the celebrations of the 1300th anniversary of the establishment of the First Bulgarian Empire (in 681), hence the alternative name. Unlike other monuments of that era, it hasn't been abandoned and charges for admission. The long staircase that connects the monument to the main pedestrian street is also used by the citizens of Shumen for recreation.

Organized tandem paragliding flights (i.e. pilot + "passenger") over the Shumen Plateau, by arrangement/reservation. They claim to work in all seasons, if the weather is favourable.

An ancient bas-relief of a horseman spearing a lion, carved into the limestone cliffs of the Madara Plateau near the village of Madara, 15 km east of Shumen. One of the symbols of Bulgaria (it's depicted on the back side of low-denomination coins) and the centerpiece of the Madara Archeological Reserve, which also includes a very small museum, the Madara Fortress on top of the cliffs, several caves and other ruins.

An archeological reserve that contains the ruins of the first capital of the First Bulgarian Empire, next to the modern village with the same name. Pliska was established in the 9th century, and it's notable for a number of historical events, including being sacked and burned by the Byzantine Emperor Nikephoros I (which lead to his death and his skull being turned into a drinking cup) and being the place where the Bulgarian ruler Boris I was baptized and started the Christianization of Bulgaria. The reserve includes a small museum; the ruins of the Great Basilica are several hundred meters north of the parking lot at the entrance of the fortress, along a paved road.

Another archeological reserve. The ruins of medieval Preslav are south of the modern small town of Veliki Preslav; the reserve's archeological museum is on the road between the town and the ruins. Preslav became the second capital of the First Bulgarian Empire in 893, when Simeon I (Simeon the Great) decided to move his court there. It also became the center of the Pliska-Preslav Literary School, a circle of scholars who created the Cyrillic alphabet. A notable sub-ruin within the reserve is the unusually shaped Round (or Gold) Church of Preslav.