Green and leafy, pretty and proud, Gabrovo has managed to totally change its character and appearance since the demise of communism in these parts. Back then, the town was a mechanized industrial hub, where factories churned out ream after ream of mass-made textiles. Since the mills closed, the city’s handsome setting in the middle of the Balkan Mountains, its rich Bulgarian heritage, and the fabled Gabrovo sense of humor has been a great impetus to pull the place through. It's now firmly on the travel circuit for the country, boasting museums dedicated to satire (something folk from the nearby rival town of Sevlievo will know plenty about!) and a variety of stone bridges. The star attractions are a duo of excellent ethnographic sites that showcase the rich cultures of the Balkan peninsula – one in Etura (think painted timber homes) and another in Bozhentsi (think crooked, slate-roofed cottages on the mountainsides). Gabrovo tour guides also enjoy leading expeditions, be it to hike the trails of the Nature Park Bulgarka, or to marvel at the handsome 12^th-century Dryanovo Monastery or to ski the mountain slopes at Uzana.