Explore the best of Sofia with our sightseeing walking tours
FREE SOFIA TOUR
START: Palace of Justice
No Reservation Required! Just Show Up!
Free Sofia Tour is back! You can join us ЕVERY DAY at 11AM, 2PM & 6PM!
On-demand tours are also available. Please contact us.
The free English language sightseeing walking tour of Bulgaria’s capital organized by the 365 Association.
The Free Sofia Tour expects its guests every single day, all year round. The best attraction in Sofia according to TripAdvisor users. This 2-hour walking tour covers Sofia’s most famous landmarks and is led by enthusiastic local guides. Approved by Tourist Service Municipal Company at Sofia City Municipality. The sightseeing city tours of Sofia are both fun and educational – the perfect introduction to the city and its thousands of years of history.
Free Tours in English:
Every Day at 11AM, 2PM & 6PM
Free Tours in Spanish/Tours en Español:
Every Day at 11AM
Every Friday at 11AM & 6PM
Every Sat at 11AM & 2PM
Free Tours in Italian/In Italiano:
Every Sat & Sun at 11AM
Meeting point: Palace of Justice
Our guides are waiting ONLY in front of the 2 lion statues in front of the Palace of Justice. Other providers might operate in the area.
No booking needed! Just show up! Our free walking tours run all year round, no matter the weather conditions (incl weekends, national holidays, Christmas, Easter, etc)
All tours will be handled in accordance with the advice of the local health authorities. We will make sure to keep our groups small so that we can provide the necessary distance between people.
If you are an organized group of ten people (10+), please contact us at least 24 hrs in advance to get information on our private tours policy. The idea of Free Sofia Tour is to show the city to individual travelers and small groups. For organized groups 10+ our Association will arrange a tailor-made tour for you. Otherwise, our guides have the freedom of refusing your participation.
E-mail: groups@365association.org
Organized Groups Tel.: (+359) 988 920 461
Other Tours
Communist Tour
Jewish Tour
Pub Crawl
Food & Culture Tour
Alternative Tour
Private Tours
Sofia - Capital of Bulgaria
Discover the best of Sofia with our team of wonderful local guides.
Sofia is Bulgaria’s capital and largest city. Situated in the very heart of the Balkan peninsula, it is one of Europe’s oldest cities. It has by far the most dynamic cultural life in the country and offers a large variety of activities. The Free Sofia Tour covers most of the main things to see in Sofia: the St. Alexander Nevski Cathedral, the National Theatre, the St. George Rotunda, the Bulgarian Presidency and many more. It will also immerse you into the city’s rich Roman heritage.
The city’s appereance today has been widely shaped by the twists and turmoils of the 20th century. One of them is the unique plot-twist story of the Bulgarian Jewish community during WW2, which is extensively covered on the Sofia Jewish Tour. The second half of the 20th century saw Bulgaria firmly locked behind the Iron Curtain. Make sure to explore this rather controversial period of Bulgaria’s history with our Communist Tour.
Any trip to Bulgaria would be incomplete without diving into our country’s unique food, folklore and traditions. Our Culture Tour is all about that! For those looking to explore Sofia off the beaten path, the Sofia Alternative Tour takes you to the city’s hidden spots on a quest-like adventure. To top it all off, Sofia’s great nightlife is also not to be missed! Our daily Pub Crawl takes you to Sofia’s best bars.
Activities
Red Flat Sofia
Theatre in English
Gifted Urban Culture Hub
Sofia Guide
Practical Information about Sofia
Where to eat in Sofia
Where to drink in Sofia
Shopping in Sofia
Events in Sofia
Our Guides
Yana was born and raised in Sofia. Аfter studying Film in the UK and China, she returned to live and work in her hometown. Her passions are cinema, literature, nature and endlessly exploring new places and characters. She believes meeting people from different cultures and sharing stories with them fuels creativity like nothing else, and that is why becoming part of Free Sofia Tour is a dream come true for her! She can easily direct you to some of the hidden gems of Sofia, which only locals know, so do not hesitate to ask her! 🙂
As a geographer, Vasko loves travelling and exploring both cities and nature. The 3 years he spent studying in London made him even more passionate about his hometown – Sofia. When he is not out exploring the built environment, you can probably catch him running up the mountains or doing any other outdoor activity. He also enjoys a good book.
Nina’s motto is “Carpe Diem” and she definitely lives by it, just ask her what her everyday schedule looks like: from doing presentations across Bulgaria for a global anti-human trafficking NGO, to giving private English lessons, to attending an art and/or cultural event, or mingling at a startup event, to meeting friends for dinner at a local hip restaurant, or having a weekend getaway, she can always find a way to make it work.
Living life to the max, is a must for her! Also, if you are a foodie, she will let you know where to go in Sofia. Although she is a local, be forewarned, she has spent many years in America, so don’t be surprised by her slight American accent. Some of her favorite things to do are traveling and meeting new and interesting people from all over the world, hence she loves, being a FST guide!
Mitko was born in the love of his life – the city of Sofia which never stops surprising, exciting and meeting him with new people from all over the world. Most of his life he spent here before moving to London, where he studied and worked for four years. Once a citizen of the world, Mitko couldn’t stop traveling and visiting more than 25 different countries. He spent seven months working at the Institute for Cultural Diplomacy in Berlin and one more year doing a Master’s Degree in International Relations at the London School of Economics. After this, Mitko returned to Sofia to become a Bulgarian Youth Delegate to the United Nations. His working visits to New York and South Korea convinced him that it is more worth it to be an ambassador in Sofia, so that all its guests experience the same excitement, joy and love to the city. Becoming part of the team of Free Sofia Tour is one of Mitko’s happiest lifetime moments. Except for traveling, in his free time he enjoys skiing, singing, playing volleyball and kayaking.
Tommy was born and raised in Sofia until the age of 17, when he moved to live in Belgium for a few years. Then he studied in the Netherlands and eventually in Munich, before moving back to Sofia to start a job in teaching. As a tour guide, he tries to show the same passion in his storytelling as he does in the classroom and believes that learning should be connected to some kind of an unique experience. Tommy is also interested in photography and movies and works for the Free Sofia Tour team in different projects.
Dimitar grew up in Sofia. He was 11 when the Berlin Wall fell down and he has a lot of personal stories from the Cold War times to share. In 2004 he went to Paris where he spent 10 years learning and working in theatre and cinema. He came back to Sofia in 2015 and joined Free Sofia Tour team in 2016. Dimitar is a keen traveller and adventurer and he has been to 65 countries so far. He loves foreign people visiting Sofia and he is very happy to share his knowledge about the city and the country.
Anina was born and raised in Sofia. She studied Spanish and Portuguese and got a Bachelor’s degree in International Relations. She is in love with Latin America and her true passion is volunteering. That’s why she spent two weeks in Brazil training volunteers from all over the world who wanted to help the locals. Anina has been very active in Bulgaria as well. She has been a member of various NGOs and she was selected for Bulgarian Youth Delegate to the United Nations for 2015-2016 when she had to defend youth rights and interests on national and international level.
Born, raised and lived all her life in Sofia. Named after Louis Carol’s “Alice in wonderland” she keeps searching for wonders wherever she goes and whatever she is doing. Actress, dancer and restless traveller. Believes that life is a never ending learning experience. Becoming a guide is her way of exploring the city through the eyes of her guests and meeting people from all over the world. She would do her best to make you feel the spirit of her city. If it is true that the world’s a stage and all the men and women merely players – let’s play together 😉
Vyara likes to present herself as an explorer of new places and people. She is not originally from Sofia but has been living here for the past 8 years which gave her the opportunity to discover the city’s many diverse sides. Besides a tour guide, Vyara is also an architect and would love to give you an insider’s glimpse to Sofia’s landmark buildings. She likes art, dancing and the nature and is always ready to recommend a nice hiking tour in some of Bulgaria’s mountains.
Kathy’s career as a tour guide began in 2014 with Free Plovdiv tour at her hometown Plovdiv, but eventually she had to move to Sofia to study law at the Sofia University. This gave her the perfect opportunity not to give up on her passionate hobby, but to expand it in Free Sofia tour. She spends her time travelling from Plovdiv to Sofia almost every day, trying to make every tour a one of a kind experience both for the tourists and herself.
VIKI is studying law at the Sofia university. She really loves travelling and meeting new people. Her dream is to travel around the world, but in the end she will always want to come back home cause Sofia rocks:D and it will be a real pleasure for her to show you her city and try to make you fall in love with it as well.
STEFAN was born in a 19th century house in downtown Sofia, spent most of his childhood in the ghetto, while still studying at the central part, so he has seen both sides of the city. He started learning English when he was four and ended up working as a freelance translator for several years. After graduating from the American College of Sofia, he spent a semester studying Public Administration in his hometown, then three semesters studying Political Science in Teaneck/Hackensack, New Jersey, USA, before returning to Sofia University and starting his education in Law. Apart from English, he has also studied French, Spanish and German and insists he will become fluent in at least two of those as well. In his spare time Stefan likes meeting old friends and new people, writing, traveling, the seaside, the mountains, skiing, swimming and football, but above all he loves history and sharing his thoughts, so he enjoys doing the tours as much as the tourists, if not more so. When asked about an opinion on whether Stefan will make a valuable contribution to the Free Sofia Tour, a reference once said: “I bet my head on that. He is practically a reincarnation of one of those yellow paving stones…” What this means you will learn when you visit our tour!
Niki is a deep thinker and observer. His eyes – wide angle lenses – trying always to capture every single detail, even what`s behind the curtain or invisible. Nevertheless, don`t consider him to be the most serious guy, as he is fond of goofing and joking around all the time. Appreciates the people with great sense of humour. Considers himself proud inhabitant of the lands of the Rhodope Mountains, however Sofia has been his home for the past several years and he’s got nifty advices in order to make your time here even better. A music addict — dubstep & hip-hop bangin’ through his earphones. Extremely passionate basketball player, if you dare to challenge him… you be stuck playing with him till he finally gets more wins & beats you.
DANIEL was born and raised in the beating centre of Sofia. In March 2012 he came back from a student exchange programme Erasmus in Prague, where he visited a free tour and then started showing his friends all around the city. He has graduated Finance, but at the same time decided to study History, so now he is on his way to graduate his second Bachelor. Daniel has taken part in different voluntary projects, especially with the youth organisations AEGEE and ESN. His passion is to discover new and interesting places, so he will be happy to share with you about his travelling adventures. His other interests are watching movies, running or just enjoying a cold drink in the park with friends.
Testimonials
Teya I
Took this tour with Niki and highly recommend it to anybody visiting Sofia. I suggest you take it early in your visit because the guides provide a wealth of information. Even though the tour is free, don’t be a cheapskate. Leave a tip for the guide. They work hard and are just as knowledgeable as “official” guides. 20.07.2015
Julie C
I took two tours…the free history tour and a new tour focused on culture. Both were very good. The tour size was large (25) so it was difficult to hear the guides at times. Guides were friendly and knowledgeable and encouraged questions.
They need to watch the length of their tours. I was told the culture tour would be about 3 hers and it was over 4 hours. The history tour was advertised as 1.5 hours but ran 2.15 hours. Maybe it was due to the large group size. Otherwise this was a great way to spend an afternoon in Sofa. 05.05.2015
Raghava R
take free walking tour two per day starts at 11am or 6 pm (check before u go)at the steps of culture of justice building few steps off Sardica metro station.lasts 2 hrs covers all important buildings exterior with brief history ext day go the same route go inside and even museums in it .without hurry u cover it in 4 hours.having covered Sofia all it remains boys a church and vagus ha mountain by taxi .cost u about25 us dollors with 2 nights u covered one of the most important historical and modern cities of Europe. By the way on the way to bayona church and vagus ha mountain u see beautiful modern buildings 04.09.2015
Lynn D
You get to know a bit of the rich history of Sofia, it is also funny. It takes 2 hours and gets you by the most interesting and beautiful places and buildings in Sofia. It is a fantastic and free initiative done by some enthusiastic volunteers. 09.06.2014
Barb L
This was absolutely AWESOME ! We were guided by a Uni student who described 7.000 yrs of history around Sofia, and answered any questions we had. It was one of the best things we did in Bulgaria. A definite must if you’re going there. 08.10.2013
Goran D
This is a tour that everyone must take, weather you are alone, a couple, a family or with friends. The guide Niki is such a fantastic lad, with great English, funny and friendly guy. All the past time periods of the city came alive whith his storytelling. 02.01.2015
Konstantinos Katsanoulas
Vasco was an excellent guide! 19.03.2015
rozarka
When traveling I usually walk around by myself, but this time a friend of mine told me I should try Sofia Free Tour and Im glad I did! I learned so much about the city, Bulgaria, history, culture and in such funny way. Our tour guide Radina was hilarious, she had flawless english with american accent, the tour was interactive (I won 3 candies because I knew answers to some quizz questions ;-), we visited all must-see places (except Boyana and Vitosha for obvious reasons – they are too far). We walked for 2 hours and had great time. She could answer all sorts of questions from our group. At the end we received a map of Sofia with tips on where to dine (very good tips). I still remember most of what she said because she was telling everything in stories, even showing us pictures. Its a shame I couldnt stay longer in Sofia because I would definitely want to try their culture and communist tours. 30.09.2015
mattdreyer
Took a nice tour of the city with Alya and some new friends. You won’t believe what lies below the street. 12.04.2014
alinasha
The tour was great. About 2 hours long, it gives you a great sense of the city’s history and contemporary life. The groups are just the right size and guide we had was great! A definite, easy and fun must when visiting Sofia. 06.06.2014