What to do and where to go in Sofia

Find out how to get around Sofia and where to go. This article covers our tips for good food, bars and snacks, coworking places and the inevitable good coffee places. All tested and approved by our internationally exquisite team of http://mystartbulgaria.com/

4 min readFeb 25, 2020

Getting to Sofia centre and around

Depending which terminal you are landing, when coming by Air, you will either have the opportunity to use the subway, bus or taxi. The metro (underground) is very affordable to Serdika, the most central stop. To change from terminal 1 to terminal 2 you can use the free shuttle (the distance is far).

More convenient is to use a taxi, in case you have a lot of luggage or arrive late at night Make sure you use the affordable one with the table stating the cheapest price of 0,79 leva at the top (see image below). The ride usually takes less than 30 minutes from the airport to the centre and costs around 10–15 leva (5–8 euros).

Once in Sofia we recommend using the Moovit App or the Yellow Taxi App (opens in new tab). Mooveit works quite well with public transport and interconnections to commute within the capital.

When getting a taxi off the street, make sure the the car has this little table with the prices starting from 0,79 bgn/km during the day.

Free Sofia Walking Tour

The city offers a good variety of options where to go and what to do. We recommend starting with a Free Sofia walking tour (https://freesofiatour.com). It lasts about 2 hours and the guides are really friendly and knowledgable. Usually people give about 10 leva tip to the guide at the end of the tour. The Free Sofia Tour also offers other tours like Communist Tour, Alternative Tour, Culture Tour etc., some are free others are payed. What our diverse international team can definitely state is that the Free Walking Tour of Sofia is great for all — foreigners and locals alike, already living in Sofia or freshly arrived.

Angel Kanchev street — https://goo.gl/maps/HXuWLsFSnYUKEaY27

Unlike the very touristy Vitosha boulevard and Shishman street, which are often mentioned, Angel Kanchev is more of an insider. Hence, we would like to draw your attention to the more unique street which offers a lot of value. It is very central, runs parallel to the pedestrian Vitosha boulevard and is full of little, charming shops to eat, drink, stop, shop and work.

Just to name a few:

Cosmos coworking space — https://goo.gl/maps/6X66MYSA54eSmLhq9
The Cocktail Bar — a very stylish 360° glass view bar located in a little garden LINK
A very nice breakfast place by the name of Daro LINK
A variety of very tasty restaurants like Made in Home, Q-ftetaria, MEAT Gourmet Sandwiches and Burgers and even an English pub by the name of The New Fox & Hound LINKS

A few key phrases to start with

“Da” is yes and “Neh” is no. There is a very long word for “thank you” but you can also use the French “merci”. If you visit a restaurant during weekdays around lunch, ask for the lunch menu — “Imaly Obednо Menu?” and if they have, you will get a selection of soups, salads, main dishes and deserts at a very affordable price.

To make sure you enjoy your Sofia visit, here are some more thoroughly tested places for you to choose from:

Restaurants:

Kring Vegetarian Restaurant — https://goo.gl/maps/zsPAKZNvbE2qSxA87
The Architekt Club
Made in Blue
The Friendly Bear — https://goo.gl/maps/csqFwXFe5oPWqxyZ6
Bufet — https://goo.gl/maps/n73Gh54xyQvKnBRV8

Bars:

Caldo Whiskey & Friends — https://goo.gl/maps/H9iUCgZzCqvsB3kw7
Art Hostel — https://goo.gl/maps/eYPRA5pp3h24L9eG9
French 75 — https://goo.gl/maps/csqFwXFe5oPWqxyZ6

Brunches & breakfast places:

HleBar
The Old Lady — https://goo.gl/maps/oohcvuJtb7y3wpHL8
Hummus Bar

Barbers:

Balkan Barber Salon — https://goo.gl/maps/kL5DJgqdsEvy6MVe7
Barber & Beard — https://goo.gl/maps/dgUeh3BBwD8js6sh9

Cafes:

Columbus — https://goo.gl/maps/wPhpuKuTFm5p4JEJA
Rainbow Factory — https://goo.gl/maps/c5jCrqdhxrCbGfoz6
Barista Coffee and More — good for working — https://g.page/baristacoffeesofia?share
CoffeeBar OK to work from — https://goo.gl/maps/96V9q8jBtaVz53u59

Money Exchange

Nikar — https://goo.gl/maps/o23LXu8P5YTCoCgX6

Shops and attractions

Pharmacies — written as АПТЕКА in Bulgarian
DM — drugstore
Billa (groceries)
Lidl (groceries)
Museum of illusions https://g.page/museumofillusionssofia?share

Sofia Travel Guide

If you need further guidance, you might want to check the Sofia Travel Guide created by the FlipFlop People, who live in Sofia for more than 10 years and love it.