Top places to visit in Sofia

• Boyana Church

  Church · 4.5 rating · about 0.5 h · entry EUR 5

  UNESCO-listed medieval church at the foot of Vitosha, famed for its remarkably lifelike 1259 frescoes.

• Banya Bashi Mosque

  Mosque · 4.4 rating · about 0.3 h

  Sofia's only working mosque, a graceful 16th-century Ottoman design attributed to Mimar Sinan.

• Central Mineral Baths & Sofia History Museum

  Museum · 4.4 rating · about 1.3 h · entry EUR 3

  An Art-Nouveau former bathhouse now housing the Sofia History Museum, with free-flowing mineral springs outside.

• Ivan Vazov National Theatre

  Cultural · 4.8 rating · about 0.5 h

  Bulgaria's stately 1907 national theatre, its neo-classical facade overlooking the City Garden.

• Sofia Synagogue

  Synagogue · 4.1 rating · about 0.5 h · entry EUR 2

  One of the largest Sephardic synagogues in Europe (1909), with a Moorish-revival interior and a small museum.

• Alexander Nevsky Cathedral

  Church · 4.8 rating · about 0.8 h

  Sofia's emblematic neo-Byzantine Orthodox cathedral (1912) with gilded domes and a crypt museum of Bulgarian icons.

• National Palace of Culture (NDK)

  Cultural · 4.5 rating · about 0.8 h

  A vast 1981 congress and cultural centre fronted by fountains and a lively park at the head of Vitosha Boulevard.

• Sveta Nedelya Cathedral

  Church · 4.8 rating · about 0.5 h

  A domed Orthodox cathedral on Sofia's central square, rebuilt after a 1925 bombing.

• Russian Church of St Nicholas

  Church · 4.8 rating · about 0.4 h

  A jewel-box Russian Orthodox church (1914) with gilded onion domes and green-and-gold tiling.

• National Museum of History

  Museum · 4.6 rating · about 2 h · entry EUR 5

  Bulgaria's largest museum in the Boyana district, holding Thracian gold including the Panagyurishte treasure.

• St Sofia Basilica (Sveta Sofia)

  Church · 4.7 rating · about 0.8 h · entry EUR 3

  6th-century red-brick basilica that gave the city its name, above a Roman necropolis you can visit underground.

• Rotunda of St George

  Church · 4.6 rating · about 0.5 h

  The oldest building in Sofia, a 4th-century red-brick Roman rotunda hidden in a courtyard amid Serdica ruins.

Things to do

• Sofia Old Town Walking Tour Walking Tour · 2 h · from EUR 12 per person
• Rila Monastery & Boyana Church Day Trip Day Trip · 9 h · from EUR 55 per person
• Communist History Walking Tour Cultural · 2.5 h · from EUR 18 per person
• Bulgarian Food & Wine Tasting Tour Food Tour · 3 h · from EUR 35 per person
• Mount Vitosha Hiking Day Hiking · 6 h · from EUR 40 per person
• Sofia Craft Beer & Pub Crawl Nightlife · 3 h · from EUR 25 per person

Day trips and tours

• Rila Monastery & Boyana Church Day Tour 9 h · from EUR 55
• Plovdiv Day Trip from Sofia 10 h · from EUR 60

Where to stay in Sofia

• City Center / Serdika about EUR 110 per night

  The historic heart around the Largo and Serdica ruins — walkable to nearly every sight.

• Oborishte about EUR 130 per night

  Elegant, quiet embassy district around Alexander Nevsky Cathedral and the galleries.

• Vitosha Boulevard / NDK about EUR 100 per night

  The lively pedestrian shopping and cafe strip below Mount Vitosha.

Hotels

• Sofia Balkan Palace 5-star · EUR 130 to EUR 220 per night
• Grand Hotel Sofia 5-star · EUR 120 to EUR 200 per night
• Sense Hotel Sofia 5-star · EUR 110 to EUR 180 per night
• Hostel Mostel Sofia EUR 12 to EUR 35 per night

Where to eat

• Shtastlivetsa Bulgarian, European · about EUR 18 per person
• Moma Bulgarian Food & Wine Bulgarian, Wine bar · about EUR 21 per person
• Manastirska Magernitsa Bulgarian, Traditional · about EUR 18 per person
• Hadjidraganov's Houses Bulgarian, Grill · about EUR 18 per person
• Skara Bar Bulgarian, Grill · about EUR 12 per person

Getting around

• Metro main way to get around

  Seeded from the curated primary_local_modes array; per-city parameters not yet researched.

• Taxi main way to get around

  Seeded from the curated primary_local_modes array; per-city parameters not yet researched.

• Tram main way to get around

  Seeded from the curated primary_local_modes array; per-city parameters not yet researched.

• Walking main way to get around

  Seeded from the curated primary_local_modes array; per-city parameters not yet researched.

Safety and scams to avoid

• Airport taxi overcharging

  Sofia Airport arrivals

  Unofficial or rigged-meter taxis at the terminal quote inflated fixed fares to the centre.

  How to avoid it: Use the official OK Supertrans desk or take Metro Line 4 directly into town.

• Dynamic currency conversion on cards

  ATMs and card terminals citywide

  ATMs and shops offer to charge your card in your home currency at a poor built-in exchange rate.

  How to avoid it: Always choose to be charged in euro (EUR), the local currency, to get your bank's rate.

More in Bulgaria

• Plovdiv
• Varna
• Nessebar
• Bansko
• Burgas
• Veliko Tarnovo