My friends and I have started prioritising time for an annual girls’ trip. I highly recommend – a weekend filled with nonsense and belly laughs is so good for my soul and fills my cup right up! We settled on a date, hit up Skyscanner to see what flights were available and landed on Sofia in Bulgaria.
We were only away for two nights but packed a lot in. The city centre is very easy to access from Sofia Airport. There’s a short walk to Sofia Airport metro station and then the train journey is less than 30 minutes, and costs less than £1. There are four metro lines to get around the city, and the metro is really easy to use (link to Sofia Metro Map). We did manage to get lost once but that was definitely user error and us not paying attention!
We only used the metro to get to/from the airport and Bells Park, as most other things were in easy walking distance from our apartment. I’d recommend staying near Vitosha Boulevard and Serdika metro station – I’ve put some accommodation suggestions at the end.
A big positive for Sofia is that it is so affordable. I’ve found this with most of the Balkan countries I’ve visited and it’s so nice to go out for meals and not to have to worry about the prices.
If you’re heading for a short break to Sofia, here’s my recommendations of what to do…
1. Red Flat
The Red Flat is a very interactive museum, with lots of things to touch, play with and dress-up in. It is set within an apartment that is recreated to show how life was in 1980s communist Bulgaria. You can explore the flat’s four rooms to see the home of an average Bulgarian family during the Cold War.
The museum offers a self-guided tour with audio guides. These are included in the price and available in English, Italian, French and Spanish, as well as Bulgarian. We visited on a Friday afternoon in May and booked our tickets online about an hour before. It’s pretty small so booking further in advance would be advisable, especially during peak months.
To get to the Red Flat, you go to the GIFTED SOFIA shop and they direct you to the flat around the corner. The shop has luggage lockers available if you need them.
Red Flat Sofia
Location: Ivan Denkoglu Street 24 (GIFTED SOFIA shop)
2. The Bells Monument
An Atlas Obscura recommendation for something a little different to do in Sofia. Located about 11km outside of the city centre, the monument is in Kambanite Park at the base of the Vitosha mountain. The journey is a 20 minute metro ride followed by a 20 minute walk. Well worth the effort – this bizarre place was one of my favorite places to visit during our Sofia trip.
1979 was the UN’s Year of the Child and the Bells Monumental was built to celebrate this. In the centre are four 122ft tall pylons, with seven bells in the middle to represent each continent. This is surrounded by a huge circle of 95 bells, of various sizes, representing different countries.
We spent about an hour at the park and had fun ringing all the bells (even though they’re meant to be for kids).
Stock up on snacks before you get to the park. We found a little shop on the walk from the metro station but there isn’t much by way of facilities at the park itself. There are no proper toilets at the Bells Monument, but there was a portaloo.
The Bells Monument
Location: Kambanite (The Bells) Park, Mladost, 1756 Sofia
3. Free Sofia Tour
Walking tours are a great way to experience a new city so we headed to Sofia City Court to join Free Sofia Tour. There was a huge group of people when we arrived, which was split into two smaller groups. Our tour group was led by Slavyan, who was really engaging and we learnt a lot on the two-hour tour. Firstly, we learned how to pronounce Sofia! With emphasis on the ‘So’: SOH-fee-ah.
Slavyan led our group around a lot of the main sites in Sofia including the mineral water springs, Ancient Serdica Complex, statue of the Emperor of the 1st Bulgarian Empire, and ended at Alexander Nevsky Catherdral.
The tour is free – but they rely on donations at the end of the tour to run the company. Pay what you feel the tour was worth. Personally, this makes me very anxious and I’d much rather the tour had a price! I can’t remember how much we each paid at the end…but hoping it wasn’t too little…
Tours run every day at various times. Booking isn’t mandatory and we didn’t book. They run tours in English and in Spanish.
Free Sofia Tour
Location: Sofia City Court (Palace of Justice), Vitosha 2 blvd, Sofia
4. Mineral Springs Water
Bulgaria has over 700 natural mineral spring, second only to Iceland. I had no idea about this until we spotted a square across from our apartment with locals filling up massive bottles of water from taps. Apparently, the water is full of minerals with healing powers, so I filled up a water bottle to get in on the action. It was surprisingly very hot – the water is 33°C when it surfaces!
Unfortunately, there’s no spa within Sofia using this toasty and magical water. I think you’d have to venture outside of the city to find one. But it’s interesting to watch the locals gathering to fill up their bottles from the spring. Not as interesting as say, a spa, but hopefully we’re much healthier after drinking some of the water.
Central Mineral Water Spring in Sofia
Location: Sofia Center, ul. “Ekzarh Yosif” 39
5. Ancient Serdica Archaeological Complex
The Romans (partial to a hot mineral spring) conquered Sofia and the area around Serdika metro station has ruins of Roman streets and buildings. My husband is obsessed with Roman history but I think I lack the imagination to bring it to life in my head. Not a problem at Ancient Serdica because they have augmented reality!
You can download the AR Time Machine app for free and use it to explore Ancient Serdica. Just scan a picture on the information boards and the app will show you what that zone of the Complex used to be like. Such a great idea to explore historical sites.
Ancient Serdica Archaeological Complex
Location: Old City Center, Knyagina Maria Luisa Blvd 2, 1000 Sofia
6. St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral
One of the largest Eastern Orthodox cathedrals in the world and the most beautiful building in Sofia. Completed in 1912, St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral was built to honor those who sacrificed their lives during the Russo – Turkish War, which liberated Bulgaria from the Ottoman Empire.
We didn’t actually go inside, only admiring the beautiful building from outside. It is free to enter but looks like you need to pay to visit the museum in the crypt.
St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral
Location: Sofia Center, pl. “Sveti Aleksandar Nevski”, 1000 Sofia, Bulgaria
7. Vitosha Boulevard
Vitosha Boulevard is the main commercial street in Sofia. It is named after the Vitosha mountain, that you can see at the end of the 2.7km stretch. It’s a wide, pedestrianised street which was lovely to wander along on a sunny day. There are loads of bars, cafes and restaurants and we enjoyed sitting there and having a drink in the sunshine.
Vitosha Boulevard
Location: Vitosha Boulevard
Suggestions for places to stay
Serdica top center – 3 bedroom cosy apartment (Airbnb)
As there were five of us, we booked an apartment on Airbnb. I would highly recommend the place we stayed. It was a lovely apartment, with plenty of space for up to six people. 4 minute walk from Serdika Station, right across the road from the hot mineral springs and a Lidl very close by.
DOT Sofia Apart Hotel (Booking.com)
Suites and studios, all with kitchens. Free cancellation. 7 minute walk from Serdika Station, 14 minute walk from Vitosha Boulevard.
Vitoshka’s Finest (Booking.com)
Two bedroom apartment, located on the 6th floor (with lift) of Vitosha Boulevard. Fun-looking bunk beds in one room and balcony to people watch. Free cancellation.
Grand Hotel Millennium Sofia (Booking.com)
The Millennium suite is where I’d be staying if I win the lottery! Amazing bath with views of the Vitosha mountain. A five star hotel with very reasonably priced premium rooms because the Balkans are a bargain. Indoor pool and spa.
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