A day in Sofia

Here’s how to spend a day in Sofia if you are visiting Bulgaria.

I suggest stopping by Sofia for a day (or even an afternoon) because even though there’s not tons of things to see, Sofia still has wonderful monuments worth the detour.

Sofia is the capital of Bulgaria, and is located in the west of the country, near the Vitocha mountain. Its monuments bear witness to over 2,000 years of history, including Greek, Roman, Ottoman and Soviet occupations. I’ll list here all the monuments and places to not miss during your visit.

Near St. Nedelya Square, there’s a mosque, a Catholic cathedral, an orthodox church and a synagogue, all four within few minutes walk of each other. That makes Sofia the only place in Europe that has places of worship for four major religions so close together.

Not only it is very rare to see those four places so close to each other, but those monuments are also absolutely beautiful.

First when you arrive on St. Nedelya Square, you’ll find St. Nedelya Church. This Eastern Orthodox church was built in the 10th century (1st and 2nd pictures below).

Then you within a few steps, you’ll see the Banya Bashi Mosque, built in the XVI century during the Ottoman period (3rd picture below).

You’ll then come accros the Sofia Synagogue, built in the 20th-century (1st and 2nd pictures below) and Sveta Petka Church (a very small structure among some ruins on the last picture).

Very close to the previous sites, you can check out the Regional History Museum of Sofia.  

The building with yellow Neo-Byzantine architecture used to to mineral baths. We didn’t went inside as we preferred to enjoy the nice weather that day.

Entrance fee : Tickets are 6lv (3€) for adults and 2lv (1€) for students.

Opening hours : Open everyday except Mondays, from 10am to 6pm.

The Council of Ministers is a huge monument with nice surroundings as well. There’s a transparent dome in the middle of the square, as well as a nice café.

The St George Rotunda church is the oldest buildind in Sofia ! It’s a 4th-century cylindrical Christian church, with a frescoed dome (1st picture below).

Around the church, you can find ancient Roman ruins.

The Ivan Vadoz National theater is a 20th-century Neoclassical monument, with gold ornaments, green roofs and red bricks. (2nd picture below).

It’s a beautiful building, and if you have the time you can even book a ticket to see a play !

This Royal Palace was built after Bulgaria’s proclamation of independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1878.

Today, the palace houses the National Art Gallery, and displays a collection of Bulgarian art from 1878 to1990.

Entrance fee : Tickets are 6lv (3€) for adults and 3lv (1,5€) for students.

Opening hours : Open everyday except Mondays, from 10am to 6pm.

This Russian church built in 1914, is one of the most beautiful monuments in Sofia (3rd picture below).

With its golden domes and green tiled roofs, it’s really different from the typical Bulgarian architecture.

St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral is THE monument to see in Sofia. It’s truly an impressive construction dating back from 1904.

It’s ine of the largest Eastern Orthodox cathedrals in the world and the largest cathedral in the Balkans.

On your way to Vitosha Boulevard, you can walk by the Eagle’s bridge, Borisova Gradina ( a nice garden) and NDK (a huge building of Soviet architecture housing the National Palace of Culture, not beautiful at all, it’s more for its history).

Vitosha Boulevard is a famous street in Sofia, with lots of restaurants, cafés and shops.

We tried some great restaurants there and nice ice cream as well !

That’s it for my Sofia recommendations !

I hope this article gave you a better idea of what to expect from a day in Sofia, it’s nice to stop by if you are coming to Bulgaria !

If you plan on coming to Bulgaria soon you can check out my other articles such as the best food specialties to try out in Bulgaria or even my 3 days itinerary in Bulgaria.