Bansko is situated in the foothills of Vihren Peak where the edelweiss grows and wild goats roam. This is the start of the largest protected territory in Bulgaria, included in the UNESCO List of World Heritage. Today’s town has a clearly marked National Revival center with some 150 preserved houses and cultic buildings. A 30 m belfry and a clock tower, which measures the time of history, rise above them. Bansko fortified house is a genuine architectural phenomenon. It is solidly built of stone and wood, with high walls and embrasures, iron-studded doors, hideouts and small latticed windows. A silhouette is reminiscent of monasteries. Pirin houses have two faces – stone facades facing the street and an open terrace overlooking the mountain and the inner courtyard. The yard resembles a square, flanked by buildings on three sides. Sirleshtov House is a typical example of early National Revival architecture. Velyanov, Buinov, Zehtindjiev, Sharena and Daskarev houses date from a later period when homes started to be decorated.
     Bansko’s inhabitants, having grown up in the harsh Pirin Mountain surroundings, have gentle souls and skilled hands. Their philosophy, imagination and talent produced the Bansko School of Art, which has a deserving place in Bulgarian art. The Holy Trinity Church contains exquisite carved altars and icons, made by the school’s founder Toma Vishanov and his successors.

Museums:
Bansko Art School – permanent icon exhibition;
Permanent ethnographic exhibition and bazaar;
Velyanov's House – ethnographic exposition;
Nikola Vaptsarov Museum – dedicated to the life and work of the anti-fascist poet;
Neophyte Rilski Museum – enlightener and encyclopaedist.