Bulgaria was the first stop on our backpacking trip – I spent a couple of days here solo before my friend joined me. This meant that I got a few days to explore, make friends with people in the hostel and discover what this beautiful country had to offer.
Rila Monastery Day Trip
The Rila Monastery in the mountains of Bulgaria was stunning – and I would highly recommend a trip. The day trip I took was though ___ and had several stops off along the way. This included the Bayona Church, which costs a little more to go inside but was well worth it. The trip allowed us a few hours at the monastery which was more than enough, and gave me time to nip to a bakery down the road as well as having a little walk to churches nearby. (Note: the bakery here had the best Metizka – a bulgarian pastry – and very cheap too!)
I would definitely recommend this as the day trip to do if you have time, as it was great to get of the city, see some of the scenery and also learn more about the culture of Bulgaria.
Vitosha Boulevard
I don’t think it’s really possible to miss this if you’re going to Sofia, as it is one of the main streets. However I think it’s definitely worth mentioning as it was a great place to wander down with a mountain at one end and a church at the other. There are also lots of eateries on the boulevard if you fancy dinner with a view.
Sofia Ladies Market
Good morning activity to do – and very cheap cherries if you fancy them. There are also plenty of nice, cheap coffee shops on the way to the Ladies Market. As a morning plan, take a long walk around and explore this side of Sofia, coffee, and visit a few churches before arriving at the Ladies Market.
Socialist Art Museum
Great museum – but get the underground here rather than walking! Me and my friend decided that the 2 hour (or more) walk would be a great way to see some more of Sofia. However, this meant we ended up outside of the city, on a massive road and then in a couple of residential districts that were probably okay, but we didn’t feel the safest in. My advice is to go: it was great to see more culture and go to an art museum however just take the underground – it’s cheap, safe and so much faster!
Alexander Nevsky Cathedral
Probably what you have seen on the front of most advertisements for Sofia (and the photo at the top of this blog post – sorry, it’s cliché but its beautiful). I would highly recommend visiting the cathedral three times: once in the daytime to look inside, once at sunset, and once at night time. If you are close enough to do so, the cathedral looks so different in all of these different lights and it doesn’t really feel like the same place.
Overview
While those are my five top recommendations for Sofia, there is plenty more to do. Going into all of the little churches is something you can do without setting aside so much time for, and of course local bakeries and coffee shops. For those looking for a good place to stay, Bla Bla Hostel, Sofia was a central, clean and sociable hostel with friendly staff. It also had free waffles on one of the mornings I was there, which is always a plus.
Sofia was a great place to visit, and to start off my backpacking trip. If you’re interested in exploring more places like it, or planning your own trip, check out my Balkan Backpacking Route.
