One day in Sofia

Day by day

1. Day 1: Alexander Nevsky Cathedral and Saint Sofia Church

   Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, Saint Sofia Church, Rotunda of St George and Ancient Serdica and the Largo, then Vitosha Boulevard in the evening.

   1. Morning

      Alexander Nevsky Cathedral

      Come at dusk, when the domes are floodlit, and browse the souvenir and antiques stalls in the square outside. Allow 1 hour.

   2. Late morning

      Saint Sofia Church

      Visit the underground necropolis, which few visitors know about, before crossing to Alexander Nevsky next door. Allow 45 minutes.

   3. Lunch

      Lunch: Banitsa

      Bakery windows and banitsa counters across the city, especially near metro stations in the morning.

   4. Afternoon

      Rotunda of St George

      Enter the courtyard from the Presidency side and watch the guard ceremony in front of the building. Allow 30 minutes.

   5. Late afternoon

      Ancient Serdica and the Largo

      Walk through the excavations, then look up at the Largo buildings for a lesson in two very different empires. Allow 45 minutes.

   6. Evening

      Vitosha Boulevard

      Walk south towards the mountain in the late afternoon, when the light falls on Vitosha.

Before you go

If it rains

• Swap in Sofia Synagogue (City Centre): Combine it with the Central Market Hall across the street and the Banya Bashi Mosque around the corner.
• Swap in Central Market Hall (City Centre): Pick up white cheese, lyutenitsa and honey for a picnic in the City Garden.
• Swap in National Historical Museum (Boyana and Dragalevtsi): Pair it with Boyana Church, about 2 km away, by taxi or on foot.

Where to stay for this itinerary

Pace and daylight

The sights in this plan add up to roughly 4–4 hours of visiting over one day, before meals and getting between them. Daylight runs from about 9.1 hours in December to 15.3 hours in June, so in winter start early and keep museums for the afternoon.

Getting between stops: Metro. The metro's lines cross at Serdika in the centre and reach the airport's Terminal 2, the central railway station, the NDK and the suburbs at the foot of Vitosha.

More or fewer days

• 2 days in Sofia
• 3 days in Sofia

Questions travellers ask