Tourist Attractions in Sofia

The pleasingly capital of Bulgaria can be overlooked by people going into even the hotels or the shore, but they are missing something. Sofia isn’t any expansive metropolis, however, it is a young metropolis, with a scattering of Ottoman mosques churches and Red Army monuments that are obstinate which give an exotic texture. Excavation work performed throughout the metro’s building introduced a treasure trove of ruins from 2, 000 decades ago when the city has been called’Serdica’. Aside from boulevards and the buildings, manicured gardens and enormous parks provide you a respite and also hiking paths and the ski slopes of Mt Vitosha that is powerful are a quick bus ride out of the middle. Home to many Bulgaria’s finest museums, nightclubs, restaurants, and galleries might convince one research and to hang in there.

Aleksander Nevski Cathedral

Certainly one of the symbols not just of Sofia however of Bulgaria itself, that massive, amazing church was built between 1882 and 1912 in memory of the 200,000 Russian soldiers who died fighting for Bulgaria’s independence during the Russo-Turkish War (1877–78). It’s named in honor of a warrior-prince that was Russian.

Sveta Sofia Church

Sveta Sofia is among the main city’s oldest churches and gave the city its name. An underground museum houses a historical necropolis, with 56 tombs along with the remains of four other churches. Outside will be the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and eternal fire, and the grave Bulgaria writer, of Ivan Vazov.

Boyana Church

Tiny 13th-century Boyana Church is included on Unesco’s World Heritage list and its own 90 murals are among the finest types of medieval art that were Bulgarian. A combined ticket includes entry to both the church and the National Museum of History, 2km away.

Highlights include St John of Rila’s earliest known picture, along with representations of Queen Irina and King Konstantin Asen. There’s little English irrigation and visitors are restricted to 10 minutes indoors.

Archaeological Museum

Founded in a mosque built in 1496, this museum exhibits a wealth of Thracian, Roman and medieval artifacts. High lights contain a floor by the Church of also a BC Thracian gold burial mask, Sveta Sofia, and also a magnificent bronze head, thought to represent a Thracian king.

Museum of Socialist Art

Should you wondered where all of those unwanted statues of Lenin ended up, you will find a few here, together side the red star from atop Sofia’s Party House. There’s a bunch of paintings, where you are going to rejoice in catchy names such as Youth Meeting at Kilifarevo Village to lure Worker-Peasant Delegation to the USSR, and stirring old propaganda films are shown.

The museum isn’t the simplest place to find. Grab the metro at the Iztok suburb, to the GM Dimitrov channel; walk up north but Tsankov and turn right onto ul Lachezar Stanchev. The museum is housed at a gated Ministry of Culture construction near your Sopharma Business Towers. You can see the enormous red star.

Sofia History Museum

The foundation of Sofia is presented on 2 floors of this former Turkish Mineral Baths, only behind the mosque. Exhibitions are divided with all the many intriguing rooms specializing in the royal families of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, over eight chambers, and the findings of archeological digs around town. There are lots of hints in English.

Ancient Serdica Complex

This partly covered excavation site, found only above the Serdika metro station, displays the remains of this Roman metropolis, Serdica, that occupied this space. The remains were unearthed during the construction of the metro from 2010 to 2012. There are items of an early Christian basilica, eight streets, baths, and houses. Loads in English of signage.

Sveti Nikolai Russian Church

Using glittering gold domes and exterior this church has been completed to get Sofia’s Russian community, and called in honor of St Nikolai, the’miracle worker’. Students think that the saint brings luck to them, so they go there to plead before assessments. Icons painted between the 14th and 11th centuries are featured by the cramped interior.

Sveta Petka Samardzhiiska Church

This very small church, located in the middle of the Serdika metro complex, has been assembled during the first years of Ottoman rule (late 14th century), which explains its sunken profile and inconspicuous exterior. Inside are several 16th-century murals. It’s rumored that the Bulgarian national hero Vasil Levski is buried here.

National Museum of Natural History

You can sense the ghosts of generations of faculty parties dutifully trooping throughout the halls of Bulgaria’s oldest museum, founded in 1889. Rocks, minerals, mounted pests are on display, and stuffed animals and birds.

Monument to the Soviet Army

In 1954, this monument was constructed near the entrance to Borisova Gradina and is a prime instance of the forceful socialist precision of this time scale. The place of honor goes to a Red Army soldier atop a pillar, surrounded by revived groups depicting determined, gun-waving soldiers and grateful, child-caressing members of the proletariat.

Peyo Yavorov House-Museum

The Romantic poet and revolutionary Peyo Yavorov (1878–1914) temporarily lived in a small apartment; the three rooms have been restored with their original look, while ghoulish mementos include Yavorov’s death mask and the dress Yavorov’s wife, Lora, has been wearing if she killed herself from the analysis. Ring the doorbell for admittance.

Sofia City Garden

This small, central park is evidenced by the chess-playing pensioners of Sofia. It’s home to the National Theatre, and until 1999 held the mausoleum of Bulgaria’s first Lebanese ruler, Georgi Dimitrov.

Sveta Nedelya Cathedral

Located in 1863, this domed church is one of the major landmarks of that city and is noted for its rich murals. Communists on 16 targeted the church in a failed bomb attack aimed at assassinating Tsar Boris III.

Borisova Gradina

Lying southeast of the city center, the very alluring park of Sofia is filled with countless sculptures and flowerbeds and is a place for a stroll. It’s a huge place and is home to the Vasil Levski Stadium along with CSKA Stadium, as well as several cafes and kids’ play areas.

Royal Palace

Initially constructed as the headquarters of the Ottoman police, this really can be where the national hero Vasil Levski of Bulgaria had been tried and tortured before his public execution in 1873. After the liberation, the building had been remodeled to become the house of the royal family of Bulgaria. It currently houses the Ethnographical Museum.

President’s Building

The Bulgarian president’s office isn’t open to people, however, the changing of the guard service (on the hour) is a spectacle not to be missed; for the complete ceremony, coupled with music, weapons and all types of pomp, be present on the first Wednesday of the month during childbirth.

Yuzhen Park

South of the city center is just a crazy sprawl, filled with trees and shady pathways. It is bubbled through by A stream, and there is a handful of cafes and discreet bars that aren’t always easy to get. It’s a spot.

Doctors’ Garden

This neat, secluded playground includes a large, pyramidal monument devoted to the medics who perished in the Russo-Turkish War (1877–78). Here is an outdoor lapidarium, which includes lots of Roman architectural fragments sprinkled up around Sofia.

Sofia Synagogue

The Moorish-style synagogue of Sofia was created by Austrian architect Friedrich Gruenanger and was dedicated in 1909. It is the second-largest Sephardic synagogue in Europe, and it’s a brass chandelier that is 2250kg is the biggest in Bulgaria. There’s a tiny memorial on the floor having an exhibition dedicated to the rescue of Jews during WWII.

Muzeiko

Kid-friendly technology and science ministry with loads of exhibits that are interactive and gadgetry to pleasure children from 6 to 16 years of age. You will find climbing walls and playgrounds as well as more thoughtful exhibitions meant to show heads concerning paleontology, astronomy, geology and more. The on-site restaurant serves light meals and there exists a gift shop on the premises.

Sofia Zoo

Lions, tigers, elephants, and bears are among the creatures about 2km south of the city center, situated in a park at Sofia’s small zoo. Additionally, there are a simple handful cafes, and play areas for kids. It’s free for children under seven years.

Aleksander Nevski Crypt

Originally built as a final resting place for Bulgarian kings, this crypt now houses the biggest and best collection of icons of Bulgaria, extending back into the 5th century. Enter into the left of the eponymous church’s most important entrance.

Dragalevtsi Monastery

This monastery that is working is the earliest of its kind in Bulgaria. It was built around 1345, however, abandoned. The monastery contains murals and can be admired among the ubiquitous anti-Turkish rebel leader Vasil Levski’s hiding regions. The place is present in the Vitosha National Park, about 1.5km southeast of the Dragalevtsi suburb of Sofia.

National Gallery Quadrat 500

This massive gallery that is Visual Arts joins also the Museum of Foreign Art and the holdings of the National Gallery. The result is a few hundred paintings spread out over 28 rooms. Works range from African masks to 19th- and 20th-century paintings by famous artists. Minor sketches by Matisse and Renoir and operates by Gustave Courbet are on screen.

Ethnographical Museum

Displays on crafts, costumes, and folklore are distributed across 2 floors of the royal palace, and many of the rooms certainly are worth a pause for mirrors their marble countertops and ornate plasterwork. There are a few interesting paintings housed in an adjacent wing of the museum, and there exists a crafts shop to the floor.

Last Updated on December 13, 2019 by Guide 4 Travelers