A Green and Clean City in a Foreigner’s Eye

Want to know what foreigners think of Sofia? 😉 Here’s “A Green and Clean City in a Foreigner’s Eye” by Iva Toncheva of Bulgarian News Agency (BTA). Many thanks for the great article!

Sofia is a green, clean and well organized city. This is not a dream, nor a prophecy but the opinion of foreigners from various countries, who have seen the capital with Free Sofia Tour. The visitors are pleasantly surprised by the explanation that part of this greenness is due to gardens “adopted” by private companies. Another prevailing perception among the guests is that everybody in Sofia speaks English and is always willing to help with directions or information, Kristian, Vanya and Boyko – three of the Free Sofia Tour volunteers – told BTA. The free English-language walking tour of Sofia started on August 13 last year. It’s organized daily by a group of young enthusiasts. Along with today’s change to summertime the tour would already be organized twice a day – at 11 am and 6 pm, seven days a week, regardless of weather. More than 500 people from dozens of countries from all over the world have participated in Free Sofia Tour – most of them from Germany, the US, the UK, France, Spain, Australia, Poland, Belgium, Austria, Portugal but also from India, Malaysia, Canada, Brazil, Argentina, Peru and even Rwanda. Some of them had been working in Bulgaria for months or years but have never before found time to really see Sofia, while for others Sofia had been just a spot on the map. Some people come because the cheapest plane tickets brought them to Sofia, while for others Sofia was in the holiday plans for months. Why would you go to Paris for the thirteenth time when you can see Sofia for the first time, as a girl from one of Boyko’s groups said. For many, Sofia is an exotic destination.

The article was published in a number of media publications, both in Bulgarian and English. Here are some of them:

София – красиви сгради, клекшопове и некролози

Чужденци: София е зелен и чист град!