Welcome to Sofia
Bulgaria’s pleasingly laid-back capital city is frequently ignored by tourist making a beeline for the coast in the late spring or the ski resorts in the winter, yet they’re missing something special. Sofia is a cutting edge, young city, with a dispersing of domed places of worship, Ottoman mosques and Socialist landmarks that loan a varied, extraordinary feel to the city. This is a proud city that has been etched over two centuries by Thracian, Roman, Ottoman and Russian influences. Excavation work during the development of the metro (underground train system) divulged a mother lode of Roman remnants from almost 2000 years prior when the city was called ‘Serdica’. There’s also a lot of broken pavements (truth be told, not very many if any, whole pavements) around the side streets which are certainly not suitable for Prams or wheelchairs. From the air, the cityscape isn’t promptly moving as there are columns of Soviet-period buildings (mainly residential) – numerous in a condition of dilapidation – pepper the edges of the city. Away from the buildings and boulevards, vast parks and manicured gardens offer an inviting reprieve, and the ski slopes and hiking trails of the mighty Mt Vitosha are only a short transport ride from the centre. Home to many of Bulgaria’s finest museums, galleries, restaurants and clubs, Sofia may convince you to stay and investigate further. I would go there 2-3 days visiting the historical sites and relaxing in the evenings. It is sweltering in the summer but it offers great nightlife alternatives if that is the thing that you are after.
Bulgaria isn’t a nation that has appreciated the glow of good exposure. However, Vitosha Boulevard is a fantastic pedestrian-only walking place that has many bars and restaurants along its straight road, walking away from the centre you get to see Mt. Vitosha in the distance. The local beverage rakia is an aged organic fermented fruit distillate that comes in a few varieties, all similarly intense. With a normal alcohol content of around 40% – and possibly double that for the well-known homebrew – it is alarmingly drinkable especially the Apricot Rakia. A glass with a local salad (Shopska Salad) is a run of the mill start to any night. The food, meanwhile, is consistently good, and while there remains an impatient disregard for ostentatious presentation, it is possible to eat and drink extremely well for very little cost.
Some Activities to do in Sofia
We’re generally not into free walking tours. We like to investigate and explore all alone, yet we had heard this was THE Activity to do in Sofia and it is. We had no second thoughts about taking not one but two tours in Sofia.
Both the Free Sofia Tour and the food visit by Balkan Bites are free, yet please make certain to tip the guides towards the end. Both of our guides were fun, engaging and gave incredible tours. The Free Sofia Tour will cover all the places of interest and celebrated structures around the city. In addition to the fact that you get free samples at several restaurants on the Balkan Bites food visit, however, you’ll only find out about customary Bulgarian food and the historical backdrop of their cooking.
Sofia is a wonderful enough city, and it has an enthusiastic cafe culture and nightlife. It doesn’t grab travellers in a similar way to other Eastern European capital cities (Budapest, Prague), and consequently, it isn’t considered among the great tourist destinations of the region yet it has some charms of its own. The main safety issue you truly need to worry about are pickpockets, yet that is typical in pretty much every capital city in Europe even where I’m from in London.
Would I visit Sofia once more? Indeed, the answer is Yes. Been there many times now and love it. It’s from Sofia that Rena and I explore numerous different places in Bulgaria. Next on our stop will be Plovdiv which we hope to go to by train.