Sofia Travel Guide

  Alexander Nevsky Memorial Church
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  • Alexander Nevsky Memorial Church
      Alexander Nevsky Memorial Church
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Pro

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  Pretty good parties, pubs, restaurants. 


Con

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   Can be noisy, dirty and polluted, not to mention the taxi drivers 


In a nutshell

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  "Ever Growing, Never Aging!" 

 

Explore Sofia

Things to Do  

Aleksander Nevski Cathedral

Aleksander Nevski Cathedral, Sofia

 58 Reviews  The Yellow Pavement Area is the most beautiful part of Sofia . It's called like this because the streets are all covered with yellow stones . You will find here The Sofia University "Kliment Ohridski",The "Alexander Nevski" cathedral , The Parliament , Embassies, The Military club and Chervilo, The... 

vitosha

vitosha, Sofia

 45 Reviews  Essential for Nature lovers.For going there take a tram to Hladilnika Station and then a bus(I think is the 64).It runs every hours and goes to a lift station.The ride up is wonderful.You can almost touch the trees tops in a silent,calm,fresh air. There are hiking trails at the end through a... 

Hotels  

Grand Hotel Sofia

 6 Reviews and 104 Opinions  I also stayed here on business and was very happy with the accomodations. The fitness facilities... 

Radisson Sas Grand

 12 Reviews and 131 Opinions  The Radisson SAS Grand Hotel is located in an attractive part of Sofia centre, on the famous yellow... 

See all 152 Hotels in Sofia

Restaurants  

Happy bar and grill

Happy bar and grill, Sofia

 12 Reviews  I have a love/hate relationship with the Bulgarian (established Varna 1994) restaurant chain Happy. I love the food, I love the ambience and I love the prices but I hate how easy it is to eat at nowhere else in Bulgaria but Happy - Happy is too accessible! Here in Sofia there are several outlets... 

Divaka

Divaka, Sofia

 5 Reviews  The food was amazing, in large portions, and cheap. English menus are available. Our waitress was very nice, and patient (she spoke no English and we spoke no Bulgarian!). When you enter there are two levels - the top is non-smoking and the bottom is not. I ate the sarmi (stuffed vine leaves) and... 

Nightlife  

Tequilla Bar

Tequilla Bar, Sofia

 3 Reviews  Tequilla Bar is a great place to go if you want to go out, have real fun and dance. There is a terrace that overlooks Vasil Levski monument. I should say that I have never been there untill last Friday but I liked it a lot and will probably start go there from time to time. I would strongly... 

buddha bar

buddha bar, Sofia

 7 Reviews  If you expect to see a top class nightclub you can get a little disappointed. The place is more or less OK but nothing special. When I was there last Saturday with my friend Elitsa and another friend of mine we had good time. The place was full but not packed. I went there onWednesday evening as... 

Transportation  

busses

busses, Sofia

 32 Reviews  Bulgaria's train network is rather comprehensive, but many routes are not very direct and trains usually take longer to reach their destination than buses do. Buses tend to be some 30% than trains, but they also connect many smaller places of tourist importance that are far from a train... 

trains

trains, Sofia

 21 Reviews  We bought the ticket to Nis at the Rila office in the railway station. When you enter the main hall there is a passage to your left and at the end of the passage you will find the Rila office. Even though the ticket was cheap there was still something fishy about it. The lady asked us the... 

Shopping  

TZUM

TZUM, Sofia

 8 Reviews  It's like any department store you will find in developed countries. You'll find clothes, shoes, bags, jewelries, perfumes and toiletries - almost everything except for customers. You'll see in my photos that there are hardly customers to be seen. Average Bulgarians can't afford the prices here. 

Antiques

Antiques, Sofia

 7 Reviews  It's kind of flea market for communist curios, antiques, coins and it's just opposite the Al.Nevsky Cathedral.The street stalls are there everyday and you can bargain - but remember the prices are cheap anyway so don't be a cheapskate and don't expect to pay nothing.... You can find beautiful... 

Local Customs  

shaking head vs nodding

shaking head vs nodding, Sofia

 9 Reviews  I bet there are already plenty of tips on this topic, but I find it so important that I have decided to start my Sofia page from it. In Bulgaria, like in Macedonia and Albania (I have read this), the head gestures to say "yes" and "no" are inverted in comparison with the rest of European... 

etiquette

etiquette, Sofia

 13 Reviews  One sure way to recognise Bulgarians is by watching how they season their meals. We take the salt shaker, then we tap the bottom of it few times on the table (to shake it well) and then we season. The reason is that often in restaurants the salt is dampen by use or general humidity and it sticks... 

Warnings Or Dangers  

dangerous

dangerous, Sofia

 13 Reviews  PLEASE NEVER DEAL WITH ANY MONEY EXCHANGE SHOP WHO WILL STEAL YOUR MONEY OR GIVE U FAKE 2 OR3 PAPERS IN BETWEEN THE MONEY. OR INDIVIDUAL PEOPLE IN THE STREETS WHO WILL KNOW THAT U R A VISITOR & TRY TO CONVINCE U THAT THEY HAVE BETTER PRICES ............BANKS ONLY............................... (EVEN... 

Stay AWAKE!

Stay AWAKE!, Sofia

 16 Reviews  As an employee of the Italian embassy told me on one of my first days in Sofia, when you walk in Sofia, you should always look downwards to avoid falling in one of the several holes that "decorate" the local sidewalks, but also upwards to avoid crashing against a street sign. She was right: several... 

Tourist Traps  

taxi service

taxi service, Sofia

 11 Reviews  CK taxis cost thrice as much as OK taxi. They even copy the number so make sure you read the sign correctly. Taxi should read OK and not CK. Read the sign the next time you choose your taxi. And have enough change. 

What to Pack  

luggage

luggage, Sofia

 5 Reviews  I would suggest you to carry little luggage because here you can find almost everything and for very cheap prices. The climate is temperate so it depandes on the season. The winter usually is very cold and the summer often very hot. There are plenty of drug-stores here so I believe you can find... 

Off The Beaten Path  

mountains

mountains, Sofia

 16 Reviews  Sofia lies at the foot of Vitosha mountain. In Winter time you can even ski here. We went to Rila & Plovdiv instead , though this is a great place to spend a day in nature with cable lifts taking you up once a day. On clear days we had good views of Vitosha from the city and from the Slavia... 

Sports & Outdoors  

pools

pools, Sofia

 5 Reviews  For those who love jumpings in the pool depths, there are some pools and bathing-beaches in Sofia, where you can find those "high towers"...Its safe to do it as there are life-guards who keep an eye on everybody around. You need just your swimming suit and your courage :) 

Favorites  

downtown

downtown, Sofia

 23 Reviews  We would recommend meeting local members of Virtual Tourist as they are most friendly and willing to assist a visitor in an instant and show you around. :) The Most Beautiful City of our Eastern Visit was Sofia and well worth the trip. A real nice guy named Peter (peter_dimov) helped us have an... 

Vitosha Mountain

Vitosha Mountain, Sofia

 14 Reviews  I have had people asking me if the water in Sofia/Bulgaria is good for drinking... Here is what I have to say on this matter: Bulgaria is well known for the big number of Mineral Water Springs. You can find water of any taste depending on the spring it comes from... soft and sweet, sharp and... 

See all 133 Favorites in Sofia

The Place

Plan a Sofia vacation with reviews, tips and photos posted by real travelers and Sofia locals

Experience Sofia
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The People

644 Members Live Here
 
Advice from the Locals
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 My home town - Situated in the western part of the country, the capital Sofia has 1,2 million inhabitants. It is the biggest city as well as the industrial and cultural centre of the country. The city is built at... 

644 members live in Sofia

 

Questions and Answers

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Q:  is there any suggestions for day trips from Sofia during winter period? we wont have a car so it must be easy to do it by bus or... 

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A: Hi Spartan ;-) I suggest going to Rila monastery. Beautiful, tranquil, serene setting & pleasing architecture. Distance is around 80 miles, taking 2.5 hours. The... 

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Top Sofia Writers

1

Sofia Guide - One of the Oldest Cities in Europe

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 Sofia is one of the oldest cities in Europe - The oldest found settlements on its territory are dating from the first part of the neolithic - IV BC. In VIII - VII century BC , there was a Thracian...... 

2

My home town

hekate profile photo

 Situated in the western part of the country, the capital Sofia has 1,2 million inhabitants. It is the biggest city as well as the industrial and cultural centre of the country. The city is built at...... 

3

Sofia

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 This is the view from our appartment on the 18th floor towards the Eastern end of Sofia. In the distance, Stara Planina (the Balkan mountain) can be seen. Vitosha montain is to the right (not seen on... 

4

First Steps to Explaning Bulgarian Spirit

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 It's hard, it's hard, so give me wine. Drunk, I can forget the face the thing you fools cannot define: where lies glory - and disgrace. Forget the country of my birth, my father's dear homely... 

5

Sofia - Capital at the foot of Mount Vitosha

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  In September 2009 we started our 2 weeks trip through Bulgaria, Serbia and Romania in the Bulgarian capital Sofia, which is located at the foot of the mountain range Vitosha (2290 m). We reached... 

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Travel Editors for Sofia

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