Hotels in Sofia
Sofia so good
The Times, 21.01.2006
ALMOST every major city in Central and Eastern Europe seems to aspire to be the “new something”. That Sofia is on this shortlist represents a significant achievement. While Bulgaria has long attracted tourists to its various Black Sea resorts, its capital city was not on the agenda of any but the most intrepid and specialist of travellers even five years ago. But as Bulgaria approaches full membership of the European Union (scheduled for next year), many of the restrictions that have so far held back Sofia’s potential as a weekend-break location will be eased. There are, for example, no low-cost airlines operating directly between Britain and Sofia. Once an “open skies” market exists, it is hard to believe that others will not explore this virgin territory. Sofia is thus almost certain to experience a boom and will merit that interest. The core of the city is extremely compact and although the public transport system might seem a little antiquated, it is effective. My wife and I chose to have an inexpensive walking tour (about Ł7 for two people) with a guide to familiarise ourselves with the city. Sofia has three assets that work in its favour. First, the principal boulevards — Kniaz Alexander Dondukov and Tsar Osvoboditel — are genuinely impressive and contain within or just off them galleries, museums and monuments. The vast St Alexander Nevsky Cathedral is a sight in itself and representative of a seriously interesting set of churches. Helpfully, if eccentrically, it is not difficult to work out which are the main streets because they are constructed with thousands of yellow bricks — an unusual wedding gift from an Austro-Hungarian Emperor to a Bulgarian Tsar — adding a surreal Wizard of Oz touch to an already intriguing city. The second factor is the strong sense of a place which believes that it is on the up. From a low base admittedly, the number of four and five-star hotels is expanding rapidly (although the traditional favourite, the Sheraton Balkan, probably remains the place to beat) and the restaurant scene has a real hum about it. This produces two surprises: the first is that Bulgarian cuisine is rather good and worth sticking with rather than succumbing to the many bland international chains that have hit Sofia; and the second is that English is widely spoken throughout central Sofia. Bulgarians under the age of 35 will have been taught it at school — this may be a poor country, but educational standards are impressive. The final element is that Sofia is extremely good value for money — and although it is at present relatively costly to reach, that will soon change. The price of drinks is modest even in the grandest of hotels and main courses in swish local restaurants rarely come in at anything close to Ł5. Try Akademia (near Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, 00 359 2 988 5505) or Kashtata (4 Verila Street, 952 0830). As for shopping, religious icons are a must (even for the staunchly irreligious), local rugs represent excellent value for money and linens of striking quality are ubiquitous. It is easy to kill a few hours wandering along the main boulevards, pausing periodically to browse, and being tempted by museums which reflect a culture that, while plainly European, has been influenced by the Islamic world. This remains, though, an emerging tourist destination rather than one which has already done all that is necessary to meet its potential. While the principal thoroughfares are pleasing to the eye, the visitors who wander off them will find evidence of dilapidation and should beware paving stones that frequently have a semi-detached relationship with each other. The public parks, some of which make for a pleasant stroll, would benefit from the regular deployment of lawn mowers. And the street signs are usually in Cyrillic, yet many tourist maps are provided in Roman script — a combination that is not too confusing provided you stick to the Yellow Brick Road but becomes almost impossible to comprehend otherwise. To borrow from Judy Garland: Sofia, it ain’t Kansas. see source
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Hotels in Sofia
- Anel Hotel
- Arena di Serdika Boutique Hotel
- Grand Hotel Sofia
- Hilton Sofia Hotel
- Holiday Inn hotel
- Hyatt Regency Sofia Hotel
- Intercontinental Sofia (ex Radisson Blu Grand Hotel)
- Sofia Hotel Balkan a Luxury Collection Hotel (ex Sheraton Hotel)
- Best Western Hotel Europe
- Best Western Premier Sofia Airport
- Central Hotel
- City Hotel
- Crystal Palace Hotel
- Downtown Hotel
- Festa Sofia Hotel
- Geneva Hotel
- Gloria Palace Hotel
- Hill Hotel
- Hotel Coop
- Les Fleurs Hotel
- Metropolitan hotel
- Novotel Sofia
- Ramada by Wyndham Sofia City Center
- Rodina Hotel
- Rosslyn Central Park Hotel
- Rosslyn Thracia Hotel
- Salt Palace Hotel
- Sveta Sofia Hotel
- The Stay Hotel Expo Center
- VEGA Hotel Sofia
- Vitosha Park Hotel
- Akord Hotel
- Aleksander Palace - Advi
- Arte Hotel
- Best Western Losenets Hotel
- Best Western Plus Bristol
- Brod Hotel
- Budapest hotel
- Earth and People hotel
- Hemus Hotel
- Legends hotel
- Light hotel
- Lion Hotel
- Maxim Hotel
- Meg-Lozenets Hotel
- Montecito Hotel
- Park Hotel Moskva
- Rocentro /ex Renaissance Hotel/
- Slavyanska Beseda Hotel
- Sofia Place Hotel
- Medic Hotel
Upcoming events in Sofia
- Sofia Dance Week 2010
- Art festival in Sofia city
- Scorpions in Sofia city 2010
- International Feline Show in Sofia
- Paco De Lucia performs in Bulgaria
- Drumset Competition 2010- Sofia Drum Day
- TOP 100 DJs party Monarchy performs in Bulgaria
- Chris Norman performs in Bulgaria 2010
- Harlem Gospel Choir performs in Bulgara
- Yann Tiersen's concert for Students Holiday
- Disco Legends Boney M concert in Bulgaria
- Legendary Firewind performs in Sofia
- Barclay James Harvest performs in Bulgaria
- Vaya Con Dios in Bulgaria
- 15th Sofia International Film Festival
- Absent Minded
- Concert of the queen of fado Marisa in Sofia, Bulgaria
- Guano Apes in Bulgaria
- Toto Cutugno in Bulgaria
- Manu Chao in Sofia city
- Children of Bodom in Bulgaria
- Alphaville in Sofia
- Rosalia de Souza in Bulgaria
- Vassil Vassilev and Chambao
- 100 Gypsy Violins in Bulgaria
- Raul Midon in Bulgaria
- Omega- the most successful Hungarian Rock Band gigs in Bulgaria
- Joe Cocker
- Roxette in Sofia, Bulgaria 2011
- Isthar in Sofia city
- Sting in Bulgaria
- CINDERELLA & MR.BIG in Bulgaria
- Dragana Mircovich and Vesna Zmijanac gig in Bulgaria
- Michel Legrand in Bulgaria
- Linkin Park in Bulgaria
- Mellow Music Festival
- Omara Portuondo and Buena Vista Social Club in Bulgaria
- ARASH feat. Rebecca concert in Bulgaria
- Mor Karbasi’s concert in Bulgaria
- Alice Russel in Sofia city
- Gipsy Kings gig in Bulgaria
- Jean Michel Jarre in Bulgaria
- Eric Sardinas concert
- Pooh gigs in Bulgaria
- Manhattan Transfer's concert in Bulgaria
- Hindi Zahra’s concert in Bulgaria
- Amon Amarth concert in Bulgaria
- Sade gigs in Bulgaria in November
- Genesis gigs in Bulgaria
- Julio Iglesias concert
- Sofia Rocks festival 2012
- Jennifer Lopez- concert in Bulgaria
- Depeche Mode performs in Bulgaria in May 2013
Places to go in Sofia
- St. Alexander Nevski Cathedral
- Boyana Church
- National Museum of History
- Alexander Nevsky Crypt Icon museum
- Vitosha Nature Park
- “Ivan Vazov” National Theatre
- The St. Petka Samardjiska Church /St. Petka of the Saddlers/
- Borisova Gradina Park (Central Park)
- Bulgarian National Gallery for Foreign Art
- St. George Rotunda-the oldest Eastern European Orthodox church
- Bulgarian National Gallery of Arts
- National Archaeological Museum
- Fountains in Sofia
- Public gardens and green areas
- St. Sofia church- ancient Eastern Orthodox church in Sofia
- St. Nikolay Russian church
- Sofia botanical garden
- Church of the Holy Seven
- Sofia Zoo
- Bulgarian Natural History Museum
- Sofia City Art Gallery
- Pancharevo lake
- Ethnographic Museum
- St. Nedelya church
- Museum of Earth and Man
- Sofia University Botanic Garden
- Cathedral of St Joseph
- Independence Square
- Boyana waterfall
- Alexander Nevski Square
- King Alexander Battenberg Square
- National Assembly's building in Sofia
- Tsar Osvoboditel Boulevard
- Vitosha Boulevard
- St. Paraskeva Church
- Eagle's Bridge
- Atanas Burov Square
- St. 40 Martyrs Church
- Oborishte street
- Rila monastery
- Slaveikov square
- National Palace of Culture
- National Library St. St. Cyril and Metodius
- Banya Bashi Mosque
- Jewish synagogue in Sofia
- Lion's bridge
- Law Courts