Free Sofia Tour's Blog
May 8, 2018
Willing to go the extra mile and explore Sofia’s lesser known churches? If so, then this post is for you. For over 7 years we have been showing the main landmarks of Sofia to thousands of visitors from all around the world. Our daily Free Sofia Tour takes you around all the main and most important landmarks in the center of the city. This includes the most popular temples in Sofia such as the St Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, the Russian Church, St Nedelya Church and many more. However, there’s much more to Sofia and that’s why we have created a list of some of our favorite lesser known churches in the city! 1. Church of St Paraskeva (Света Параскева – Sveta Paraskeva) Despite being the third largest church in Sofia the church of St Paraskeva is often ignored by both tourists and locals. You can find it in a quiet part of the center. It is definitely one of Sofia’s gems. The church dates back to 1930. There are residential buildings […]
April 3, 2018
Night Transport in Sofia? When? Where? How? Great news everyone! There is going to be public night transport in Sofia. From April 7th 2018 until the end of the year 6 bus lines will be running during the night. So what is the deal? There will be 4 new lines that cross the city and connect the large neighborhoods. The four lines are as follows: N1, N2, N3 and N4. Here is also a map of their routes. Sofia night transport routes N1 will be running from Liulin district 1 and 2 towards Mladost 4 district with 50 stops. N2 will be running from Obelya district towards Studentski grad district with 38 stops. N3 will be running from Ovcha kupel district towards Levski dristrict with 33 stops. N4 will be running from Drujba district towards Gotse Delchev district with 49 stops one way and 55 stops the other way There is going to be a transfer location where all of the lines meet so that one could be able to change […]
March 26, 2018
Riding a bike in Sofia Hooray! The snow is gone, the temperatures are slowly rising, everything around you, including yourself, is waking up from a long winter’s slumber and what better time to take out your bicycle, hop on it and feel the wind whistling in your ears? Cycling in Sofia? There is no better time of the year to ride a bike in Sofia than spring or summer, so we decided to give you a little bit more information on the topic, should you ever decide to go around on two wheels. Riding a bike in the city could be quite frustrating and cycling in Sofia is indeed a challenge due to the bad infrastructure, lack of proper cycling lanes and bike parkings, but mostly because of the poor bicycle culture in general. However, this doesn’t stop thousands of people to choose the bike as a means of transport in the city and that number is growing steadily every year. There are quite a few reasons and a lot […]
March 18, 2018
Happy Easter! Hi all, spring is here! This lovely season brings the great Christian celebration – Easter (in bulgarian Великден; Velikden – Great Day). If you have already planned the Easter holidays and Sofia is part of your plan you will have the chance to attend our Free Sofia Tour. Do we rest on Easter? – No! We will be waiting for you in front of the Palace of Justice at 11:00 and 18:00 to show you how awesome our city is. Easter in Bulgaria Bulgaria being a largely Christian Orthodox country celebrates Easter according to the Julian calender instead of the Gregorian calendar, used by many western countries. Therefore, the date when bulgarians celebrate Easter is often later than the one celebrated in Western Europe. Here is when Easter will be celebrated in Bulgaria. In 2018, Bulgarians will celebrate on the 8th of April. Well, since you are coming to Bulgaria this spring, you should know about our two most common Easter traditions – Egg fight and the delicious sweet bread […]
March 8, 2018
Train travel in Bulgaria – the practical angle Bulgaria’s railway network spans over 4000 km of rail track linking most sizeable towns and cities. The main rail hub is in the capital city Sofia, which has connections to Romania, Serbia, Greece and Turkey. Train tickets for trains operating in Bulgaria can be booked in advance. The national railway company is known as the Bulgarian State Railways (BDZ) (БДЖ) Most trains are antiquated, slower than the buses and soaked in post-communist feel, which only adds to the unique experience. Taking your time to travel from A to B among common locals and flashes of diverse scenery, you get a feel of what life was like back in the Communist times when it was not possible for the Bulgarian passengers to simply continue beyond the country borders like they do today. Train types Trains are classified as ekspresen (express), barz (fast) or patnicheski (slow passenger). Naturally, the patnicheski trains are used to provide connections to the smaller or more remote towns and would be the better choice for […]
February 7, 2018
Welcome to winter in Bulgaria! This is how we locals survive during winter time! We want to pass this insight onto you, our lovely visitors. Keep in mind thought that you might just fall in love with Sofia and decide to make it your new home 😉 Depending on what region of the world you hail from, the moment you poke your face out from your cozy hotel/hostel/airbnb room, it might feel like a warm spring kiss, or a bone chilling North Pole slap in the face! Either way, we’ve got you covered, and will give you our top five picks to make your winter visit to our lovely city as enjoyable as possible! Our top 5 picks for a great winter visit in Sofia: For our adrenaline junkies: It’s all about the powder a.k.a the snow! That’s right you saw it as you were landing – our beautiful Vitosha mountain! And yes we are totally going to brag that once work is over during the winter season we can […]
January 26, 2018
Tour Gratis de Sofia! Free Sofia Tour en Español! ¡Novedades estupendas para nuestros aficionados hispanohablantes! Free Sofia Tour tiene una sorpresa especial para todos sus aficionados hispanohablantes. Free Sofia Tour en español! Todos los afortunados de visitar Sofia que han decidido de venir al Free Sofia Tour el sábado a las 6 de la tarde y el domingo a las 11 de la mañana para pasar 2 horas de aventura con nosotros, tendrán el privilegio de escoger entre tour en inglés o español! Aunque no existe ninguna otra diferencia entre las dos visitas guiadas, sugerimos una lista de razones para escoger la visita en español para los que vienen del sur donde el sol brilla más fuerte y el reggaeton está por todos lados. 3 razones de escoger Free Sofia Tour en español: Tendrán una experiencia más personal donde puedan preguntar todo en su lengua nativa Nuestros guías de habla española son un encanto absoluto y se enamorarán de ellos en el momento de conocerles Los guías saben todos los lugares secretos en […]
January 19, 2018
Hi everyone! The following post aims to give you more information about taxis in Sofia and the taxi-network in the capital of Bulgaria. How to take a taxi in Sofia? The most secure way to take a taxi in Sofia is to order one via phone, internet or apps. This way the taxi company will keep some important data about the ride. So if a problem occurs, they can track the car, the road, the driver and the time of the ride, making it easier to solve the problem and leaving smaller room for scam. Of course you can also take a taxi on the street by just waving a hand to an approaching taxi-car. On every cab there is a light indicator on the front window. Green light means that the taxi is free and most probably will stop to pick you up. Red light means car is busy and probably won’t stop. On key places like Sofia Airport, Central Bus Station, Central Railway Station, Palace of Justice, etc. […]
January 8, 2018
To and from Sofia Airport Whether you’re planning on visiting Bulgaria’s capital or you just ended up at the Sofia Airport by chance, this article will give you all the information you need on getting from the airport to the city. The Sofia Airport is located at about 10 km away from the city centre. Luckily, there is a pretty good transport infrastructure to get you downtown. Available public transport includes the metro and three bus lines (84, 384 and 184). You can also pick-up a taxi in front of the Arrival building. From Sofia Airport to Sofia City Center BY BUS Until recently (May 2017) there were only 2 bus lines that were serving the 2 terminals of Sofia Airport. Bus line 84 used to pass through both Terminals (T1 and T2) and would take its passengers in downtown Sofia. Bus line 384’s route is Terminal 2 – Drujba district ( ‘Дружба’ in Bulgarian or ‘Comradeship’). Since May 2017 the line 84 splits into 84 and 184 for a trial […]