The Sofia City Guides answer the questions every first-time visitor has: where to find a warm banitsa in the morning, which golden dome and Roman street to see first, how to reach the snow on Vitosha with a city bus ticket and which unmarked door leads to the most talked-about bar in town. Each guide is a short, opinionated list with the reason to go, what to order or look for and one practical tip per place, and it opens in your browser as soon as you pay.
About the Sofia City Guides
- 151 places
- 6 guides
- 13 languages
- Works offline
- Print or PDF
- Instant access
- Free updates
The six Sofia guides
Food guide
25 places
Banitsa straight from the bakery counter, shopska salad and clay-pot kavarma in old cellars, a rakia bar that takes its brandy seriously, markets and sweet stops for coffee.
Things to do guide
24 places
Roman Serdica under the metro, the gold domes of Alexander Nevsky, a 4th-century brick rotunda, museums worth the ticket and parks for a slow walk.
Family guide
24 places
The zoo, a hands-on science museum, a puppet theatre for the smallest, sledging on Vitosha and restaurants where noisy children are welcome.
Nightlife guide
27 places
A candlelit bar behind an unmarked door, a vinyl jazz room, Bulgarian wine by the glass, craft beer taps and rooftops with late food.
Day trips guide
25 places
Vitosha on a city bus ticket, Rila Monastery without the coach tour, Plovdiv and Koprivshtitsa by train, ski lifts and hot springs.
Budget guide
26 places
Free churches and Roman ruins, museums with low-cost tickets, banitsa for €2 and the €1 metro ride in from the airport.
Why an interactive guide beats a list
Tick places off
Mark each place as done and watch your progress, so you always know what is left.
Your own notes
Write notes on any place and add your own finds. They stay on your phone.
One tap to Maps
Every place opens in Google Maps, and the day route puts your picks in a sensible order.
Open now, near me
Filter by what is open right now or what is closest to you.
Works offline
Open the guide once with a connection and it keeps working without data.
Print it or save as PDF
On a computer, print any guide or save it as a PDF to take with you.
Three places from the guides
Raketa Rakia Bar
Sofia Center, Yanko Sakazov 17
A loud, cheerful room facing a park, where the fruit brandy gets as much attention as the meatballs and grilled meat. Let the staff steer you through the long rakia list and count on €15 to €25 for a meal. From the food guide.
Patriarchal Cathedral St. Alexander Nevsky
Alexander Nevsky Square
Sofia’s gold-domed landmark, completed in 1912 and large enough to hold 5,000 people. The nave costs nothing to enter, and the icon collection in the crypt next door has its own small ticket that pays off. From the things to do guide.
Rila Monastery
2 hours by bus from Ovcha Kupel station
The country’s most famous monastery, with striped arches, a church painted inside and out and a stone tower from the 14th century. Entry is free, the museum about €8, and January snow on the roofs shows it at its best. From the day trips guide.
Plan your days in Sofia
Day one stays in the centre on foot: banitsa for breakfast, Alexander Nevsky, the Roman streets of Serdica and the Rotunda of St George, then dinner on Solunska and a rakia bar after dark. Day two heads for the mountain or the monasteries: bus 66 up Vitosha, Boyana Church on the way back, or a full day out to Rila Monastery. On a rainy or slow day, pair Muzeiko or the mineral museum with the National Gallery on its cheaper Thursday, a long lunch in a cellar restaurant and a quiet evening in a jazz room.
Questions about the Sofia guides
What do the Sofia City Guides include?
Six guides with 151 places altogether: food, things to do, family, nightlife, day trips and budget. For every place you get why it is worth going, the neighbourhood, notes on opening times and one useful tip.
How do I receive the guides once I have paid?
The links show up on your order page as soon as payment goes through and in the confirmation email. They open in any browser on a phone or laptop, with no app to install and no account to create.
Can I use the Sofia guides offline?
Yes. Open each guide once while you are online and it keeps working without a connection, ticks and notes included. Opening a map link needs mobile data.
Which languages are the guides in?
The guides open in English, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Dutch, Portuguese, Greek, Polish, Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Arabic. You can switch the language inside the guide at any time.
Can I buy only one guide?
Yes. One guide costs €4.99, two cost €8.99, four cost €15.99 and all six cost €19.99.
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