Whilst every effort is made to ensure accuracy, please confirm event/venue details in advance.
COUNTRY CODE:
Dial ++359 for Bulgaria
FROM THE AIRPORT
Car Hire :
Take advantage of the special easyJet inflight rates. Visit the Europcar desk on arrival or call +359 (0)88 750 3030. Open from 9am-9pm seven days a week.
Airport Transfer :
Pre-book your door-to-door transfer with easyJet’s transfer partner, Holiday Taxis—from home to the airport and the airport to city or resort. Just log on to easyjet.holidaytaxis.com.
Taxi :
A journey with OK Taxi to the centre takes 20-30 minutes and costs about BGN6-BGN12.
Bus :
Bus 84 departs for Sofia University every 10-15 minutes. Tickets: BGN0.80.
Mini Bus :
The white vans are called marshutkas and number 30 goes to the centre. Tickets: BGN1.50.
(Rakovski and Dondukov. Tel. ) This retro lunch spot will make you feel like a native in no time with piping hot pizza, princessa bread and sandwiches crammed with Bulgarian salads.
(50A Alabin Ulitza. Tel. 980 8163) A vegetarian bistro (in the alley by McDonald's) that boasts a weekend brunch buffet and attracts softly spoken crowds.
(12 Ivan Vazov Ulitza . Tel. 988 0370) This trendy restaurant's nostalgic style recalls the miserable and miraculous milestones of Eastern Europe’s past, while diners enjoy contemporary-meets-traditional dishes (try the cheese-stuffed peppers) and hum along to nightly live jazz.
(18 Sheinovo Ulitza. Tel. 098 376 244) Elegance and eccentricity describe Sofia’s only authentic Armenian restaurant. While the appetisers (sausages, pickles and cheese) may seem informal, the spices, culinary techniques and atmospheric aura of Egur Egur make it meal you’ll always remember. Try the sweet salami and green jam for dessert.
(18A Angel Kanchev Ulitza. Tel. 980 4062) This café’s name translates as 'One Hundred Grams of Sweetness'. Find racks of rainbow-striped candies, chocolate-covered strawberries and pudding-stuffed pastries as you sip a spiked coffee below elegant chandeliers.
(31-33 Vitosha Boulevard. Tel. 989 0770 ) Descend into a National Revival-style underground cavern for drama-infused dance and traditional Bulgarian sounds in three nightly shows.
(6 Moskovska Ulitza. Tel. 989 4696) A circa 1956 bar, servers with attitude, decadent cocktails and a heated garden terrace of sprawling sofas and random statues makes Toba&co one part wicked, one part wondrous.
On the ground
Shop
Kaipash is perhaps the best Indian textile shop in Sofia. The owner, Raidass, hand picks the jewels, bags, tunics, wallets and hookah pipes himself (28 Sixth Septemvri Ulitza. Tel. 986 3802).
Insider Tip
For tempered adventure and an outdoor tumble, head into Borisova Gradina (park), walk to the Obelisk, then continue straight down the wooded path to Kookalandia, a hidden, signless playland of tree-top-swinging obstacle courses for children and adults.
Key Area
Bulgaria has nothing like New York's Broadway, but along Rakovski from Tsar Ovsboditel to Gurko, Sofia’s theatre district offers classic performances and mind-bending black-box productions from aspiring locals. A few even project English subtitles above the stage.
This month
The 1970s sensation KISS entertains Sofia like the outlandish rock stars they are, as part of their Kiss Alive 35 tour (16 May. Akademik Stadium).
Day Tripping
Dragoman Marsh
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Just 35 kilometres west of Sofia, this is the country's biggest natural wetland. Avid birdwatchers can spot storks, ferruginous ducks, short-toed eagles, long-legged buzzards and black-headed buntings. Hikers can hit the eco-trails and relish the picnic-ready pastures. Tours: €80 (www.birdwatchingbulgaria.com).
No way!
Bulgaria’s Rila Cross was carved by a monk over a period of 12 years and features 140 biblical scenes and more than 1,500 figurines—the largest no bigger than a grain of rice.
