Located in the Grand Mall shopping centre on the western edge of Varna, the Retro Museum is a densely packed collection of Soviet-era objects, domestic appliances, propaganda posters, uniforms, toys, and assorted paraphernalia from Bulgaria's Communist period (1944–1989). The exhibits range from Bakelite radios and Trabant memorabilia to Pioneer youth movement badges and the kind of tinned goods that were a fixture of state-economy supermarkets.
The tone is nostalgic rather than critical, which will either appeal to you or not. For visitors without a personal connection to the period it works best as a window into the material culture of a system that shaped this part of Europe for four decades. The collection is genuinely large — several rooms' worth — and the juxtaposition of finding it inside a contemporary Western-style shopping mall adds an unintentional layer of commentary. Worth a look if you're heading out to the mall for other reasons; a deliberate trip from the centre is only warranted if you have a particular interest in the subject.