The annual Surva festival in Pernik has got to be the best reason to visit this town. It's the largest event of its kind throughout the Balkans, and in 2009 was proclaimed European capital of Masquerade Games.

Over three days you can see groups from all over Bulgaria, as well as some international participants, parading through the streets in huge shaggy haired outfits complete with grotesque masks, all accompanied by the deafening clang of the chains of bells they wear. It's manic!