The capital of Bulgaria Sofia is one of the oldest cities in Europe, in which many remarkable examples of church and historical architecture have survived. Although the capital of Sofia goes recently - in this status the city stays no more than a century and a half. This, however, does not prevent it from being an interesting cultural center, a point of confluence of Eastern and European cultures, a city full of contrasts, beauty and energy.
We, of course, know Sofia as the capital of Bulgaria, but the city includes 24 districts, large urban areas. The life of the city is rich, full of ideas, floating in the air, innovations and all this - against the background of unique historical wealth. Bulgarians, fortunately, are able to keep history.
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How to get
Direct flights to the capital of Bulgaria are carried out by the airlines "Aeroflot" and Bulgaria Air, the flight time is about 3 hours. In addition, direct trains from Moscow depart for Sofia, the journey time is 2 days 3 hours.
- How to get from Sofia to Bourgas
Search for air tickets in Sofia
Transport
In Sofia there is one metro line (fare ~ 0, 5 BGL), as well as buses, trolleybuses and trams. By the way, in recent years the bus fleet of Sofia has completely renewed.
Climate
Overcast, light rain +10 ° С in the day +3 ° C at night ° С water |
Partly cloudy, light rain +12 ° С in the day +5 ° С at night ° С water |
Partly cloudy, light rain +8 ° С in the day +4 ° С at night ° С water |
| The weather in Sofia for 10 days is | ||
Sofia hotels - $
In Sofia, many inexpensive hotels, from hostels to "treshkas", conveniently located near major attractions. More expensive and comfortable options are to be found in the Vitosha district, where not only has a lot of boutique hotels and five-star hotels opened recently.
Book popular hotels in Sofia at the best prices
| Hotel Anel from 4 687 rubles Sofia 14 Todor Alexandrov Bul. | Kempinski Hotel Marinela Sofia from 3,446 rubles Sofia 100 James Boucher Blvd | Grand Hotel Sofia from 5 583 rubles Sofia 1, Gourko Str. |
| Best Western Plus City Hotel from 4 480 rubles Sofia 6 Stara Planina Str. | Best Western Premier Thracia Hotel from 5,445 rubles Sofia 30, Solunska str. | Best Western Hotel Europe from 3 791 rubles Sofia 1 Liditze Str. |
| Ibis Sofia Airport Hotel from 2 275 rubles Sofia 140 Mimi Balkanska Str | Hotel Niky from 3 102 rubles Sofia 16 Neofit Rilski Str | L'Opera House from 1 930 rub. Sofia 8 Paris Str. |
| ATM Center Hotel from 1 379 rubles Sofia 131 Tsarigradsko shose Str | Hotel & Restaurant The House from 1 655 rubles Sofia 4, Verila Str. | Hotel Cheap from 1 310 rubles Sofia 203 Kniaz Boris I Str. |
Entertainment, excursions and attractions of Sofia
Most of the city tours start from the walls of Alexander Nevsky Cathedral (Alexander Nevsky Lavra and the Church of St. Sophia). On the square of the People's Assembly is interesting the building of the National Assembly with the equestrian statue of the Russian Emperor Alexander II. On the boulevard of the Tsar Osvoboditel you can go past the Russian Church of St. Nicholas, as well as the Museum of Natural Sciences to Battenberg Square, considered the center of Sofia.
Travelers will be interested in the only active mosque of Sofia, built in the late 16th century by the Turkish architect Kodja Mimar Sinan. Among other architectural monuments designed by him, you can name the Selim II mosque in Turkish Edirne. Today, the mosque we are describing is the Banja Bashi Mosque, in the back of the building there is a small, not so long ago discovered site of the ancient bathhouse, once adjoining the mosque, and a fountain with hot drinking water. You can get inside the mosque when believers do not perform namaz.
Another attraction of Sofia, which in its name has the word "Bath" - Mineral (or Turkish) bath - was built between the early twenties of the last century .This building is an authentic architectural and historical gem of the Bulgarian capital, its elegant façade and ceramic decoration send us to the ornaments of the medieval churches of Nessebar, Sofia..In a period of difficult for the entire Eastern Europe of the 90s .of the last century, the building, unfortunately, has fallen into decay and for almost twenty years it has been restored .In the future, the city authorities plan to place a civil museum here .
In the center of the small Banski Square, which is located between the Mineral Bath and the Banja Bashi Mosque, there is a modern fountain. And behind the Mineral Bathhouse is built a beautiful complex of fountains, beating drinking water.
Also interesting are the Museum of History of Sofia, the City Picture Gallery in the Central Park, the buildings of Sofia University. Clement of Ohrid and Sofia's mineral baths built on the site of the Roman term.
Events and traditions
The history of Bulgaria in general and Sofia in particular is interesting. This story - first of all the history of the people, expressed in customs, everyday life, holidays. Famous and celebrated to this day holidays of the Bulgarians often have basically pagan roots. Until now, in the New Year, which is here called Surva Godina, young people put on masks and clothes depicting animals, crowned with surrakarami (folk bells) on their belts. All the characters symbolize those or other blessings of the coming year, be it fertility, wealth, family happiness.
Sunday for Shrovetide (here it is called Syrynitsa) is a traditional meeting day for relatives. The main dish on this day is halva. Even in this small detail the historical plexus of the cultures of the Islamic East and the Slavs is seen. Halva in this case "acts" as uniting all the dish, the same sweet as we imagine our life, and equally rich, full of taste and joy. Based on the seeds that give the oil, the dish also symbolizes the desire for prosperity in the house.
The traditions of Bulgarians will be eloquently and fascinatingly told by the National Museum of History, which owns a beautiful collection of exhibits .The museum was founded relatively recently, in 1981, in connection with the magnificent celebration of the 1300th anniversary of the Bulgarian statehood .Legendary Thracian gold is exhibited in such a way that visitors could evaluate separately each of the exhibited items .Other exhibits, bas-reliefs, ceramics and silver show the achievements of the local medieval age .In particular, the museum presents many artifacts from the period of the Bulgarian Renaissance, including folklore costumes, household items, ornaments . Photos of Sofia (34)