Is Sofia worth visiting? My honest take on the Bulgarian capital

Sofia was one of the last capitals I’ve visited in Europe, and it really impressed me!

The Bulgarian capital is one of the oldest cities in Europe, and historical buildings from all eras span across the centre. For a history nerd like me, the city is fascinating. 

But is Sofia worth visiting, and who for? Let’s go into whether I think you should – or shouldn’t – plan a trip here. 

Is Sofia worth visiting? My reasons to visit Sofia

SO much history

History COMPLETELY comes alive in Sofia. This city is one of the oldest capitals in Europe (Plovdiv, another Bulgarian city, is THE oldest city in Europe!) and the diversity of the buildings shows this. 

In a five-minute walk, you have: 

• A 20th century bathhouse
• Roman ruins 
• An Ottoman mosque
• A Medieval Orthodox church 
• Communist buildings
• A Roman bathhouse turned mosque turned church

Despite these places all being so close, they’re packed in, and I spent a whole day exploring this part of Sofia. See everything I got up to (in detail) here.

The city’s much older than most of its architecture – it’s been continuously inhabited for the last 7,000 years! I think it’s one of the best capitals to visit for anyone who enjoys learning about world history. 

I didn’t get a chance to do this while I was there, but I’d highly recommend a walking tour to learn more about the city. This is the one I was considering in Sofia.

Great coffee scene

This is always a GREAT mark in my book!

In Sofia’s centre, you’ll find a variety of cafes that serve delicious coffee and pastries and cakes. 

Whenever I travel somewhere, I always type “oat milk cappuccino” or “speciality coffee” into Google, because that’s the kind of coffee I like. In Sofia, the map was flooded with recommended places!

My favourite was a small cafe called VYBE. One guy makes all the coffee, and the oat cappuccinos were glorious. I also had a wonderfully moist banana bread. 

Another spot I visited was Alturist. This is a bigger establishment that serves lots of cakes and pastries, along with delicious coffee. 

Budget-friendly hotels

Sofia’s recently moved to the Euro, so it has become a bit more expensive. 

However, I still found a fantastic hotel with a spa (complete with a pool and separate relaxation room with a sauna and steam room!) and super comfy rooms for around 84 euro per night.

It’s a bit out of the centre, but I got there by metro and walking. It’s called Maison Sofia, click here to read more about it.

See some other hotels below, all of which I think are great value!

Easy to get around 

When I first arrived in Sofia, I opened my Bolt app to find… bike rentals only. Uber also didn’t work. There are local taxi apps, but I found downloading and learning to use one of them a little overwhelming. 

Initially, I was a bit concerned, but it forced me to make sense of the metro, which was actually super easy!

Just walk to the station, use your contactless (I use Monzo – get a free £10 when you sign up and use it once by clicking here), and board the train. At the other end, I just walked off!

Comfortable climate 

I was in Sofia at the start of October, and the temperature was around 23 degrees in the day – although I’m writing this at the start of November, and it’s showing highs of nine degrees!

Sofia used to have harsh winters, but recently they’ve been milder. This is largely due to climate change, but does make it more comfortable to travel around. Summers are long and hot, thanks to its Southeastern location. If you’re visiting during summertime, you can be pretty sure you’ll have warm weather!

Great base to see the rest of Bulgaria 

Bulgaria has lots of train and bus networks, and many of the routes, from Bansko to Bursa, begin in Sofia. Bulgaria has mountains, Black Sea beaches and some of the continent’s oldest cities, but Sofia is by far the easiest place to arrive in – whether you’re flying or overlanding like me!

With fantastic hotels, lots of restaurants and the best tourism infrastructure in the country, Sofia is a fantastic place to start any Bulgarian trip. 

Considerations for visiting Sofia

Not so many “star” attractions

While the history here is palpable, it doesn’t really have huge “landmark” attractions like Istanbul or Paris may have. It seems that the “Eiffel Tower” of Sofia is Patriarchal Cathedral St. Alexander Nevsky; I actually missed this as I was tired and in need of going to the spa!

Not much for younger kids

I wouldn’t think of Sofia as a particularly young kid-friendly city. There’s tonnes of history, and older kids might be interested in this. For smaller children, two stand-out attractions are Muzeiko and Kokolandia Adventure Park – these could perhaps take a day.

If you’re visiting Bulgaria as a family, it might be best to head up to the mountains (even the nearby Vitosha Mountain has lots of hiking trails!) or the aquaparks like Action Aquapark (which is by Sunny Beach) on the Black Sea.

Winter air pollution

Due to Sofia’s position at the base of Vitosha Mountain, air often gets “trapped” there in winter as cool air comes down from the mountain. This lack of airflow can cause smog and pollution. While Sofia in winter is a nice cooler-season break, I’ve seen it’s often recommended to be avoided because of this!

Can be difficult to walk around

I didn’t personally find this to be a huge issue, but those with mobilities might struggle a little in Sofia, especially outside of the city centre. 

The area around the Central Mineral Baths and Banya Bashi Mosque is well pedestrianised, but some of the backstreets have pavements that aren’t very well-maintained. As Bolt and Uber isn’t used, this could make it difficult for some to get around!

There are very few street dogs in Sofia these days (infact, I saw way more pet dogs), and they shouldn’t cause an issue to any pedestrians or runners in the city. Outside the centre, packs of stray dogs may cause an issue.

Possible language barrier

I did notice a small language barrier with some older Bulgarians; but not any more than I experienced somewhere like France, for instance. 

When I was trying to use the toilets at the bus station, I misunderstood how much the attendant was asking for, which caused a bit of a rigmarole – but we established it in the end!

That said, younger people (probably aged around 40 or less), will generally speak very good English. Everyone who served me at cafes, for example, spoke it near-fluently. 

Who should visit Sofia?

I think Sofia is worth visiting if you: 

1. Are a history nerd
2. Like seeing places that are a bit different to normal
3. Want great value hotels, food and drink 
4. Want to escape to nature 

It’s probably worth reconsidering if you: 

1. Haven’t seen much else of Europe and want to focus on the highlights
2. Have children with you 
3. Have accessibility requirements

When I WOULDN’T visit Sofia

Sofia is a very festive city, with markets and celebrations across the city. They celebrate Orthadox Christmas on 7th January. However, after this, the city is cold and dark, with average temperatures of -3.9°C and a high air pollution risk. I’d only visit this time of year if I was passing through before a winter ski holiday in the mountains. 

I’d also reconsider travelling to Sofia in July or August. Temperatures can top 35°C, and many older buildings don’t have AC. I’d make sure I booked a hotel that was well-rated for its AC (Maison Sofia had it). 

Weather in early October, when I was there, was glorious, but it can be changeable depending on the year. November sees shorter stays, greyer skies, and wetter weather, so many choose to avoid.

I highly recommend planning a trip to Sofia and think it’s definitely worth visiting!