During its 19th-century heyday, this lane hosted dozens of vendors from local villages, who carefully laid fruit and vegetables, butter and cheeses onto small carpets on the cobbled ground. Inns, blacksmiths and craft shops helped Samovodska Charshiya grow into Veliko Târnovo's biggest market square in the 1880s. Today it retains the nostalgic feel, with handicrafts, traditional sweets and leatherware on offer from numerous boutiques.