Sofia (Со́фия in Bulgarian) is the capital of Bulgaria. It is a city of 1.2 million inhabitants, located in the mountainous region in the west of the country at foot of the Vitosha mountain in the Sofia valley, 70km from the border to Serbia. Due to its location in a valley surrounded by mountains the air in Sofia is often polluted.
Sofia has been inhabited at least for the past 7000 years. It became the capital of the European provinces of the Ottoman empire in the 15th century. After 1878 Sofia became the capital of the newly formed independent state of Bulgaria.
The centre of Sofia consists of many historical buildings, many of them built in Neoclassical style in the 19th and 20th centuries. There are several Christian Orthodox churches of which the Alexander Nevski one is the most prominent. Boulevard Vitosha is the main shopping and recreation street in Sofia. It is a pedestrian area with countless cafes, restaurants and shops. At its southern end there is a large park which leads to the Palace of Culture.
How to get to Sofia
Sofia is well connected with the European motorway and railway networks and can easily be reached by plane.
Accommodation
Accommodation options include hotels and pensions, all bookable via the international booking portals.
01 National palace of culture 02 National palace of culture 03 National palace of culture
04 Governmental palace at night 05 Palace of justice at night 06 Sveta Nedelya church 07 Sveta Nedelya church
08 Altar in Sveta Nedelya church 09 Altar in Sveta Nedelya church 10 Sveta Nedelya church interior 11 Sveta Nedelya church interior 12 Tram
13 St Sofia statue 14 St. George Rotunda church 15 St. George Rotunda church and Roman ruins 16 Ministry of education and science 17 Ministry of education and science
18 Ministry of education and science 19 Fountain at Atanas Burov Square 20 City garden
21 Grand Hotel Sofia 22 Decorative corner tower 23 Decorative corner tower 24 Sveti Nikolai Russian church 25 Sveti Nikolai Russian church 26 Sveti Nikolai Russian church
27 Monument of Tsar Samuil 28 Icon seller 29 Bulgarian Academy of Science 30 Alexander Nevski cathedral
31 Alexander Nevski cathedral 32 National art gallery 33 National art gallery
34 National library 35 Garden St Kliment Ohridski 36 Alexander Nevski cathedral 37 Alexander Nevski cathedral
38 Faculty of history 39 Alexander Nevski cathedral interior 40 Alexander Nevski cathedral interior 41 Alexander Nevski cathedral interior 42 Alexander Nevski cathedral interior
43 Alexander Nevski cathedral interior 44 Alexander Nevski cathedral interior 45 Alexander Nevski cathedral interior 46 Alexander Nevski cathedral interior 47 Alexander Nevski cathedral interior
48 Alexander Nevski cathedral interior 49 Alexander Nevski cathedral interior 50 St Sofia church 51 St Sofia church
52 Corner tower 53 Neoclassical building 54 Institute of ethnology and folklore studies 55 Institute of ethnology and folklore studies 56 Statue of Bulgarian man 57 Largo building
58 Constitutional court building 59 Constitutional court building 60 Sofia  history museum 61 Sofia  history museum 62 Fountain in Tsentralna Banya park
63 Fountain in Tsentralna Banya park 64 Sofia  history museum 65 Banya Bashi mosque 66 Central Sofia market hall
67 Park in front of palace of culture 68 Chreni Vrah boulevard
69 Park Center Sofia mall 70 The Mall 71 The Mall interior
72 Bulgarian national bank 73 Paribas bank and Grand Hotel Bulgaria 74 Alexander Nevski cathedral at night 75 Alexander Nevski cathedral at night
76 Alexander Nevski cathedral at night 77 Alexander Nevski cathedral at night 78 Holy Synod of the Bulgarian orthodox church 79 St Sofia church at night 80 Sveti Nikolai Russian church
81 Sveti Nikolai Russian church 82 National theatre of Bulgaria 83 National theatre of Bulgaria 84 St. George Rotunda church and Roman ruins
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