With two days of sightseeing at both the beginning and end of our self-guided tour of Bulgaria, we had plenty of time to explore its capital, Sofia.
We found the city compact and walkable, although there was also an easy to navigate metro as well as buses and trams. Whilst there was very little traffic, you needed to be aware of the trams to avoid the fate of Alan Bradley – something Corrie fans will understand.
Bulgaria is the only EU country to use the Cyrillic alphabet, but with street signs in both English and Bulgarian, we found it easy to navigate our way around and maps were plentiful. Tourist Information were helpful and provided a valuable source of leaflets, unlike many where everything is online. Entrance fees were reasonable, and on average around 6 Lev or £3, often with a 50% discount for ‘retirees’ with no evidence required.
Rather than wander aimlessly, we followed a walking tour in our Bradt guide book and enjoyed ticking off the 29 numbered sights.
There were several religious buildings on the tour, not only Eastern Orthodox churches, but also the Banya Bashi Mosque, the modern Catholic Cathedral of St Joseph, and the beautifully restored Sofia Synagogue, one of the largest Sephardic synagogues in Europe. There were two particularly stunning churches. The first and smaller was the Russian Church of Sv Nikolai with its emerald-green spires and five golden onion domes. The second, was the larger, much grander Sv Aleksandur Nevski Memorial Church with more glistening gold both inside and out. There were no dress restrictions and a sign implied photos without a flash were allowed, but I soon found myself being reprimanded despite others doing the same and one man having a conversation on his mobile. In the church’s crypt was the National Gallery’s Collection of Orthodox Art. Having been told it was 3 Lev for pensioners we were given one full price and one pensioner ticket: we decided not to ask which one of us he thought was the pensioner. The light and bright crypt covered the entire footprint of the church, and the display of icons was stunning. The descriptions were in English, there were only two other visitors, and plenty of benches. A guide, who probably thought we were going to stuff an icon or two up our t-shirts, trailed us until we made her job more difficult by splitting up.
There were many beautiful buildings including the Neoclassical Palace of Justice with two magnificent bronze lions at the entrance, Ivan Vazov National Theatre with fountains in front, the Sofia Opera and Ballet, and the Sofia University St. Kliment Ohridski.
We were also never far from open-air archaeological ruins. Located just above the Serdika metro station, were the remains of the Roman city, Serdica, which once occupied the area. They were unearthed as recently as 2012 during construction of the metro and included fragments of eight streets, an early Christian basilica, baths and houses dating between the 4th to 6th centuries.
Whilst we preferred to wander rather than spend time in museums there was plenty of choice for wet weather: Ethnographic Museum, Institute of Archaeology with Museum, Museum of Natural History, Military History and finally, less cultural, but probably more fun, the Museum of Rakia which included tastings of the country’s fiery fruit brandy. Art lovers would enjoy Kvadrat 500 – National Gallery as well as several smaller galleries.
However, we ventured by metro to the Museum of Art from the Socialist Period (3 Lev instead of 6) on the city’s outskirts. We began watching black and white propaganda films from the period 1944 to 1989, where everyone loved the president and their Soviet brothers, and how the young people were so enthralled with the communist party they voluntarily built irrigation channels, bridges, and train stations. It was all so implausible and after 20 minutes with no end in sight, we moved into the art gallery with pictures on a similar theme. However, we loved wandering the park with 70 statues, busts, and figures of popular communist leaders, poets, Red army soldiers, agricultural and industrial workers, which had all been removed from their original sites.
Back in the centre, we found the Monument to the Soviet Army surrounded by graffiti covered boards with skateboarders and bikers using the area in front.
Having visited the Church of Sv George, Sofia’s oldest preserved building, located behind the Presidency Building, we realised it was nearly 4pm and lingered to see the hourly Changing of the Guard. Four soldiers led by an officer, all resplendent in cream and maroon tunics, emerged from a rear building, goosestepped in a circle, entered the Presidency building, and swapped shifts. Interestingly four went in, yet only three came out!
Although there was lots of green spaces and parks, we wanted to visit the University Botanical Gardens and although the information suggested entering through a flower shop, we hopped through an open ‘admin gate’ for free. In the centre was a huge oak tree planted in 1892 by Tsar Ferdinand and despite its small size, it had several features including a vegetable patch, living lawn made up of what would be normally classed as weeds, an insect hotel, and greenhouse for more exotic plants.
Visiting the Church of Sv Nicholas and Sv Panteleimon, more commonly known as Boyana Church, required a metro and bus as it is located in the foothills of the Vitosha Mountain on the edge of Sofia. Whilst the church, built in three stages from the 10th century is small, the frescoes, with 240 human images, are worthy of their UNESCO World Heritage Status and it was possible to see how original frescoes were plastered over and repainted in a later century. To limit damage, only 8 to 10 people are allowed inside at once for 10-minutes. Although it was a Saturday, it was out of season, but we still had to wait 90 minutes for our timed ticket (4.80 Lev) and booking in advance is highly recommended.
Shoppers will enjoy Vitosha Boulevard, a long pedestrianised street, lined with small shops including some familiar European names, like H&M and Zara, Bulgarian brands and a smattering of souvenir shops. There was also a plethora of bars and restaurants when you needed a break. We also enjoyed mooching around Halite, a beautiful large indoor supermarket, with a balcony at one end which provided excellent views. Outdoors was the Zhenski Bazaar or Ladies’ Market, which has sold fresh fruit, vegetables and breads for over 130 years.
We found plenty to keep us occupied in Sofia and even if you’re not taking a tour of the whole country, it is certainly worthy of a long weekend.
