Its traders built unusual fortress-like houses: thick stone walls, heavy gates and small windows below, with wooden upper floors and richly decorated rooms above. Some, such as the Konstantsaliev House, are open as museums.
The village is best known for its churches, plain from the outside but covered inside with frescoes. The Church of the Nativity is the finest, its walls painted with hundreds of scenes and figures.
Arbanasi makes an easy and atmospheric half-day trip from Veliko Tarnovo, combining old architecture, religious art and countryside views.
