By Air

Serves regular flights to Plovdiv, Sofia and Kardjali in other cities, and in summer is served flights to Sunny Beach.

By Bus

Smolyan has two terminals: "Smolyan Bus" and "East Station" in Ustovo.Urban transport is served by three companies, which cover more than 12 lines.From near the station, local buses 2 and 3 (0.60 lv, every 20 minutes) serve the centre/Hotel Smolyan. Walk left out of the station and turn left up a double set of stairs; after 50m, you’ll see the stop on the left.

Cathedral of Saint Vissarion, Rozhen Observatory, The Rhodopi International Theater Collective, Plovdiv Drama Theatre

Cathedral of Saint Vissarion

is an Eastern Orthodox church in Smolyan, Bulgaria, inaugurated on 2 July 2006. It is the second largest church in the country (after the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in Sofia) and the largest church in southern Bulgaria. It is the first new Orthodox church in the city in the Rhodopes for 130 years.The church's main premise has an area of 382 m² (enough to accommodate 500 laymen), the dome being 17 m in diameter and the belfry reaching 32 m. The cathedral's construction began with the laying of the foundation stone on 7 April 2002. Resources for the construction were gathered by raising money. The main church donor is Todor Batkov, a noted lawyer and PFC Levski Sofia president, who donated 2 million leva (circa €1 million).The 11 bells, the largest of which being 152 cm high, 145 in diameter and weighing 2 tons, were cast in the Russian ZIL factory. The smallest bell weighs 60 kg, the total weight of all being 5 tons and the price €92,000.Part of the church complex are also a baptistery (dedicated to Saint Theodore), a synodical library, a museum collection premise and a Sunday school.Among the 5,000 guests who attended the cathedral's inauguration were Prime Minister of Bulgaria Sergey Stanishev, Minister of Culture Stefan Danailov, politicians Anastasiya Mozer, Emel Etem, Petar Beron and Pavel Chernev.

Rozhen Observatory

is a Bulgarian astronomical observatory, located 90 km south of the city of Plovdiv, Bulgaria. The nearest town, Chepelare, is 15 km away. It is owned and operated by the Institute of Astronomy of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. The Observatory is one of the largest in Europe and has an active team of about 50 astronomers. It is the principal center for astronomical research in Bulgaria.Transit Timing Variation (TTV), a variation on the transit method, was used to discover a exoplanet WASP-3c by Rozhen Observatory, Jena Observatory, and Torun Centre for Astronomy.

The Rhodopi International Theater Collective

is the former name of the Leon Katz Rhodopi International Theatre Laboratory (or RITL), an annual summer gathering of theatre practitioners and scholars, which allows professional participants to work with and train students and each other in distinct approaches from around the world.The name was changed in preparation for the 2009 session. The program operated under the previous name during the summers of 2005 to 2008.Held primarily in Smolyan, Bulgaria, in the center of the Rhodopi Mountains (or Rhodope Mountains), The Laboratory is hosted at the Rhodopi Dramatichen Theatre complex (or Rodopa Drama Theater / RDT), organized by Fourthworld Theatre Projects, and co-directed by theatre directors Jared J. Stein (United States) and Peter K. Karapetkov (Bulgaria).It was founded by Karapetkov, Stein, RDT Artistic Director Krustyo Krustev, and American dramaturg Benjamin Nadler, with the partnership of the Krastyo Sarafov National Academy for Theatre and Film Arts in Sofia, The HyperMedia Studio at the UCLA School of Theater Film and Television, and the University of Zagreb's Academy of Dramatic Art. Serving as a meeting ground for international collaboration, individual professionals and students from theatre companies and conservatories in several countries attend The Laboratory, to train as well as to develop work with international collaborators.Projects developed at the RITL have gone on to performances at a number of theaters, including the La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club and the McCarter Theater in the United States.

Plovdiv Drama Theatre

is the first professional Bulgarian theatre, founded in 1881, and one of the leading cultural institutions in the country. It is a state repertory theatre partially funded by the Ministry of Culture. It manages 4 stages – two in the city of Plovdiv, and two in the town of Smolyan. The ensemble performs on own stages, around the country and abroad. Many of the most popular Bulgarian actors and directors have begun their careers at the Plovdiv Drama theatre. The theatre and its actors are recipients of many national theatrical awards. The Plovdiv Drama Theatre is the host of the Annual Theatre Festival Scene on a Crossroad.

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