Boyana Church & National Museum of History

Two of the must-sees in Sofia that are not part of Free Sofia Tour because they are in the suburbs of the city – Boyana Church and the National Museum of History

The only UNESCO World Heritage Site in Sofia and one of the largest history museums on the Balkans. The Boyana Church and the National Museum of History. Together with some hiking in the mountains they make a perfect half-day or day trip outside of the city center. If you get to one of the places, the other is 15 minutes walking distance.

But how to get to Boyana Church and the National Museum of History?

By BUS (here’s a good map of the public buses in Sofia):

• National Museum of History

Last stop of trolleybus 2 and the museum is just across the ring road. You can get the trolleybus at the Sofia University. Also, you can use bus 63 from bul. Tsar Boris III and bul. Akad. Ivan Evstatiev Geshov.

• Boyana Church

First, you have to take bus 9TM from the National Palace of Culture and get of at the last stop Hladilnika. Then bus 64 to Boyansko hanche stop. You can also take Bus 64 from bul. Bulgaria and bul. Akad. Ivan Evstatiev Geshov.

There used to be a marshrutka going to the museum but these would stop operating.

• To Boyana Church and the National Museum of History By TAXI

This idea is often overlooked because people do not realise how cheap taxis are here compared to the rest of Europe. If you don’t feel like switching two buses, a taxi ride should be no more than 12km and around 15-17 EUR. Just make sure you get a proper taxi because scams still exist.

• By shuttle bus with a driver/tour guide

One of the most popular day trips from Sofia is Traventuria’s combined trip the the Rila Monastary which also includes a visit to the Boyana church. This way you get to see not one, but two UNESCO World Heritige Sites in one day! Find out more!   

P.S. This trip does not include a visit to the National History Museum.

• By CAR

 Easiest way, of course. Check out the addresses of Boyana church (link to the address here) and the National Museum of History (link to the address here).

P.S. One other hint – the museum is free for visit every last Monday of the month. The church is free to visit every Monday after 15:00. Otherwise the entrance fee to both is 5 EUR for adults and 1 EUR for students. You can buy a combined ticket for both sights for 6 EUR. So if you want to do a day trip around Sofia, this is a great option.

Actually, until 1997 the museum used to be in the building which is now Free Sofia Tour’s first stop (the Palace of Justice). After that it was moved to the former “House Number 1” of the Communist-era government complex. They say that even this tremendous building is not enough to hold all the exhibits. The current residences of the president, the prime-minister and the speaker of the National Assembly are nearby the museum.

photo by vintagedept (http://www.flickr.com/photos/vintagedept/)

National Museum of History website – link here

Working hours:

• November – March: 9.00 – 17.30.
• April – October: 9.30 – 18.00.

Boyana Church website – link here

Opening hours:

• 01.04 – 31.10 from 9:30 a.m. to 17:30 p.m.
• 01.11 – 31.03 from 9:00 a.m. to 17:00 p.m.

Read the previous article from the series: How to get to Rila Monastery

Last Updated: November 2023