Located 34 kilometers south of Burgas on a slender rocky peninsula, Sozopol is the oldest of Bulgaria's coastal towns. Founded in 610 BC by Miletian Greeks, their colony of Apollonia thrived as a middleman between the Greek world and the indigenous Thracians. Today, this charming place is a popular tourist resort best known for its casual ambiance, two sandy beaches, and distinctive nineteenth-century stone and wood houses, some 45 of which are designated national cultural monuments. While Sozopol is a bustling place during July-August, in the off-season it reverts back to a sleepy fishing village and is a favored haunt of artists.