The exceptional view of the town Balchik from the sea impressed the great Ovid who exclaimed: "O white stone town, I salute thee for thy inimitable beauty!". The Milesian colonists believed that the goddess of beauty, Aphrodite, was born there out of the sea foam. The spouting karst springs gave the town its first name Krunoi (meaning spring or source in Old Greek). The next name was Dionysopolis. During the Middle Ages the town was named after the local feudal lord, Balik.

The first destination is the Quiet Nest Palace, the former summer residence of Queen Marie of Romania, and its famous gardens of more than 35ha.

The gardens are the "residence" of 3000 or so plant species of which cacti alone are over 250, and thus Europe's second most important collection. The palace park is an imitation of the famous Cretan labyrinth. Each stone for the church therefore was brought from the island of Crete. The Garden of Allah is the prettiest. The Silver Well and the alleys paved with mill stones are also very interesting. The earthen jars were brought from Morocco.