Located on Burgas Bay at the westernmost point of the Black Sea, Burgas is home to the largest and most important Bulgarian port.

Burgas hosts a number of international festivals, including the International Folklore Festival. The city is also surrounded by several inland lakes, which are the largest group of lakes in the country. Atanassovo Lake is located 10km north of Burgas, part of which is a natural reserve with sites for fishing and swimming. Also near the lakes are the salt mines that border Burgas Lake and stretch to Atanassovo Lake. In the Black Sea, three nautical miles east of the city of Burgas, is St. Anastassia Island. The island was re-named Bolshevik during communist times, as it was used for the exile of left-wing revolutionaries from 1923-1925 and anti-Fascists from 1943-1944.

Though it lies on the coast, Burgas is not known for its beaches. Avid beachgoers prefer to travel 37km south to the town of Nessebar, known for its golden sand beaches. It is said to have one of the finest beaches on the Black Sea Coast.