 The town of Gabrovo with a population of 73 000 people is situated in the northern spurs of the middle Balkan range, in the narrow and picturesque Yantra valley. Due to its clean mountain air, historical and ethnographical complexes Gabrovo has become an attractive tourist centre. The municipality and the surrounding area is considered to be one of the most ecologically clean regions in Bulgaria with rich flora and fauna, although Gabrovo is an important centre of electronic engineering, food processing, textile and shoe production.
The town has a rich cultural life with a lot of theatrical, musical and folklore professional groups, a puppet-show, pantomime theatre, Gabrovo chamber orchestra, etc. To the Bulgarians, Gabrovo is primarily known as the centre of humour and satire. In the House of Humour and Satire one can see various art and ethnographic exhibitions and collections - paintings, humorous writings, photos, carnival masks and costumes from all over the world. A Festival of Humour and Satire takes place each May with thousands of world famous humorists from more than 150 countries.
 The most picturesque place near Gabrovo is the Architectural and Ethnographical Complex “Etara” - a unique open-air museum. It was built in the middle of 20-th century in the vicinity of the town of Gabrovo - an old industrial centre of Bulgaria. The Bulgarian Renaissance atmosphere of 19-th century is recreated there by the old-time workshops of traditional Bulgarian art and crafts. The museum features over 20 Bulgarian crafts like woodcarving, bread and candy making, herb gathering, cutlery, pottery making, weaving, etc. Craftsmen are at work here most of the day. These are 15 samples of houses with a workshop and a small shop on the first floor and exhibition of museum items on the second floor.
Being in Gabrovo, one should definitely visit the nearby winter resort Uzana, which is the geographical centre of Bulgaria and a starting point for many mountain routes, as well as the muzeum town of Tryavna.
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