10 activitati in Sofia City, BULGARIA

Visit two Unesco World Heritage Sites in one day with this loop shuttle from Sofia to Rila Monastery and Boyana Church. These holy sites hold a special place in the hearts of most Bulgarians and are symbols of national identity. Rila Monastery is famed for its arcaded balconies, delicate frescoes – the work of one of the most famous Bulgarian revival painters – the gilded iconostasis, the fabulous mountain views… the unique combination of them all makes for an extraordinary and memorable visit to the monastery. You have at least two hours of free time at Rila to explore the complex, enter the main church and take photos of the narthex gallery, admire the exhibits in the museum, try the tasty ¨mekitsi¨ (Bulgarian doughnuts) with delicious buffalo yoghurt (a local speciality) or even have a short walk in the area. Next, travel to Boyana Church. These frescoes that adorn the walls are considered predecessors of the European Renaissance. The majority of more than 240 figures depicted are full of not just reverence for God but also of the individuality and vitality of mankind. Languages English- speaking driver.

While Sofia is the administrative center of Bulgaria, Plovdiv is its cultural and artistic capital Plovdiv is the second biggest city in Bulgaria and is just a 2-hour drive on a motoroad from Sofia. It is also one of the oldest European towns contemporary to Troya and Mycenae. This tour explores in depth the cultural and ethnic kaleidoscope of the Old Town, its colorful and unique architectural ensembles, as well as all the major historical sights. Our energetic guides will make the walk educational and fun. In this tour, you will learn a lot, have fun and have time on your own for lunch and shopping. Languages English Audioguide in Spanish and Italian

Want to start your day as real Bulgarian? Look no further! Here’s your opportunity to eat breakfast with the fine city of Sofia and its welcoming citizens on a unique, local food tour of Sofia. Start your Sofia tour at one of Sofia’s icons – Alexander Nevski Cathedral. After a brief introduction, we’ll head over to a typical Bulgarian snack bar. Along the way, we’ll visit local symbols, including Hagia Sofia Church, a 6th century church and site full of energy and mystery. We’ll also catch Sofia University, Parliament, and the statue of King Libertador, all of which are the main icons of Bulgarian history in Sofia. By this point, we know you’ll want breakfast – perfect, we do too! We’ll taste plenty of Sofia food - Bulgarian banitsa, combined with ayryan, as Bulgarians normally do in the morning. Banitsa is delicious small pastry prepared from dough and cheese and sometimes meat or nettle, and is unique to Bulgaria and the Balkans. The ayryan is prepared from yogurt and gives the final touch to the breakfast. Satisfied with our local breakfast, we’ll continue on this Sofia walking tour along the narrow streets, which are part of Old Sofia and exude centuries of rich history. The streets leads us to Graf Ignatiev Street, home to a famous market where you may buy fresh fruits and vegetables, or taste baked nuts or delicious snacks, as local do. It is a market on the street with many stalls, which all compete for shoppers’ attention, so you’ll experience a real lively atmosphere! From there on this Sofia food tour, we’ll make our way to a famous pastry shop that prepares the best traditional Bulgarian desserts. Along the way, we’ll encounter the biggest open-air book store in Bulgaria, and a favourite meeting point for many locals. In the pastry shop we will taste a sweet and delicious dessert - baklava. We may also have the chance to try tolumbichka, cream-cake, or other sweets. As is customary, we’ll combine the sweets with another unique beverage for the region - boza. Bottoms up!

Spend the day in the Rila, walking around its pearls: The Seven Rila Lakes. During the last few years this destination has become one of the most popular places for one-day hiking tours in the Rila Mountains. The reasons are several: impressive nature beauty, easy access by chairlift, variety of paths and hiking routes in the area. If you wish to make your walk harder or easier your guide will be able to adjust the group program accordingly. A transfer from Sofia takes us to the Panichishte Resort cable car which takes us to the Seven Rila Lakes Cirque. Then we start exploring them one by one. Each lake is named after its most characteristic feature. The highest one (at 2500m/8200ft above sea level) is called Salzata (''The Tear''), from where we have a bird’s eye view over all seven lakes, as well as surrounding outcrops and deep valleys; the next one in height carries the name Okoto (''The Eye'') after its oval form; Babreka (''The Kidney'') is the lake with the steepest shores of the entire group; Bliznaka (''The Twin'') is the largest of all; Trilistnika (''The Trefoil'') has an irregular shape; the shallowest lake is Ribnoto Ezero (''The Fish Lake'') and the lowest one is Dolnoto Ezero (''The Lower Lake''; 2100m/6995ft), where the water that flows out of the other lakes is gathered to form the source of Dzherman River. After the hiking around one of the Rila’s most remarkable and beautiful parts, we are transferred to the Rila Monastery: the largest and most significant Bulgarian Orthodox Church establishment. The 20m/70ft high walls shelter impressive cloisters, a church, and a chapel with unique murals and museum collection Languages English speaking guide.

Spend an afternoon like locals do. Explore Sofia’s fascinating and historical city centre, taste Bulgarian sweets, and indulge in some Bulgarian wine and meze – you know, all in a typical day for locals in Sofia! Sofia is full of impressive sights, and your Sofia tour will start with your local guide showing you some of the most beautiful ones, including the National Theatre, King’s Palace, and the Presidency, before leading you to a favourite local café. We’re pretty sure it’s time for a break, so we’ll stop here at the café to sample some Sofia food; the world famous shopska salad, prepared with fresh cucumbers, tomatoes, cheese, and spices. We’ll also taste a cup of traditional Bulgarian ayryan, a drink prepared from yogurt. Our historical tour of Sofia will continue with some beautiful stops, including the Rotunda St. George, St. Nedelya Church, Banya Bashi Mosque, and the Synagogue, all situated near ‘Small Jerusalem Square’, so named because within five minutes’ walk of the square where you can find very important monuments to three different religions. From there, it’ll be time for a visit to Central Hali Market, a building with more than a hundred years of history and architecture, and where we’ll taste typical sweets like baklava, and tolumbichki. On this Sofia food tour, you’ll also have the opportunity to buy fresh fruits or vegetables, and we may even have the chance to sample nuts or sausages. Continuing with the truly local Sofia experience, we’ll catch a ride on the newest underground in Europe to get us to our final stop – a traditional, typical Bulgarian restaurant. Situated in four houses, with a common garden, the restaurant’s architecture and furniture hail from the 19th century, and from four different parts of Bulgaria. It’s fitting that this restaurant is where we’ll indulge in some fantastic Bulgarian wine along with meze, a local meat platter, filled with lukanka, babek, fillet Elena, and pastarma. Our Sofia tour ends here, but this restaurant is the perfect place to continue your Bulgarian food fest, with all sorts of fantastic Bulgarian dishes available for you to enjoy. Languages English

The tour has an intensive itinerary with an extended time for sightseeing. It’s an ideal way for people with limited time in Bulgaria to receive as much impressions as possible in just one day. Koprivshtitsa is a museum-city, boasting more than 300 well-preserved architectural, artistic, historical and ethnographical monuments from the Bulgarian Revival Period. Our walking tour will be focused on the most representative house-museums, authentic crafts and ethnographic expositions. The afternoon will be dedicated to Plovdiv - one of the oldest towns in Europe and the second biggest in Bulgaria. We will walk on the narrow cobble streets to visit its iconic sights: the Roman Forum and Theater, Merchant houses from 19th century, the fortress of Nebet Tepe and St. Constantine and Helena Church. The trip ends with free time for shopping on the main pedestrian street. Languages English. Others The tour is not suitable for disabled people, pregnant women, babies and children younger than 5 years old.

An intensive hiking & sightseeing programme, which shows you the best of nature and culture merits of the Rila Mountains: Rila Monastery (UNESCO) and the Cirque of The Seven Rila Lakes. The program doesn’t allow much free time on either site, but it is quite enough to explore both places. The tour begins with an early transfer to the Rila, followed by a brief cable car ride to the Seven Rila Lakes Cirque. The glacier lakes are at between 2100 and 2500m/6800 and 8200ft above sea level, with name fitting their shapes, like Babreka (the Kidney), Okoto (the Eye), and Salzata (the Teardrop). As we need to follow strict time schedule depending on your fitness we can either walk the whole trek around all lakes or make the stroll shorter and skip some of them (normally the two highest ones). After the hiking around one of the Rila’s most remarkable and beautiful parts, we are transferred to the Rila Monastery: the largest and most significant Bulgarian Orthodox Church establishment. The 20m/70ft high walls shelter impressive cloisters, a church, and a chapel with unique murals and museum collection.

Sofia is the biggest city in Bulgaria and the country's capital. The town center, however, is compact and packed with archaeological sites, architectural, historical and cultural monuments - all in a short walking distance from each other. In just a couple of hours our tour will literary trace the timeline of one of the oldest cities in Europe. All of Sofia's major highlights will be presented to you in a comprehensive, interactive and memorable way. Come with us on this walking tour to enjoy, discover, explore and be intrigued by more than 25 top tourist sites well covered in our itinerary. The tour's duration is 2.5-3 hours. It starts from the main entrance of Alexander Nevski Cathedral (close to Sofia University Metro Station) at 9 am. The end point of the tour is at the main entrance of St. Nedelia Church (close to Serdica Metro Station). The Bulgarian capital is a compact city with all its major tourist sights concentrated in the center. A 3-hour private guided walking tour of of the center will give a memorable insight of Sofia history and culture. We will visit the Alexandar Nevski Cathedral - the largest Orthodox church on the Balkans, the beautifully decorated Russian Church of St. Nikolay, the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, the Presidency, the 16th century Banya Bashi Mosque, the Sveta Nedelia Church and the St. George Rotunda. Languages English

Sofia is one of the oldest cities on the Balkans found by the Thracian tribe Serdi. In 29 A.D. Sofia became the capital of the Roman province of Inner Dacia. Through the ages, the city played a decisive role as an important trading center in the Byzantine and Bulgarian Empires. Under the Ottoman rule, Sofia was the center of Rumelia province. Sofia became the capital of restored Bulgaria in 1879, with a population of only about 12,000. Today many streets, buildings, parks, and even whole neighborhoods preserve the architectural style from the turn of the century. We will explore the compact city center, Boyana Church (UNESCO) and the National History Museum - one of the largest on the Balkans. Discover the real and authentic soul of Sofia, a bustling city with east-meets-west contrasts. It is one of the oldest settlements in Europe with impressive history and modern look. The day starts with a short transfer to the National History Museum, occupying the residency of the former communist ruler Todor Zhivkov, located at the outskirts of Sofia. We will have a guided tour of the rich museum collection, with special attention drawn to the key dates, facts and exhibits. Close by is the Boyana Church, which we will visit to unravel the global importance of its proto-Renaissance frescoes. The afternoon will be for a gentle walking tour of the center, where you will learn about the National Library, Sofia University, The Parliament, The St. Alexander Nevsky Patriarchal Cathedral, the National Theatre, St. Sofia Church, Sofia's oldest building - St George Rotunda, The houses of the Council of Ministers, presidency and the former communist party headquarters, the ruins of the ancient city of Serdika (dating from the 5th-6th C), the National Palace of Culture, the main shopping streets of Sofia etc. Languages English

Tour Sofia by night and see the main tourist attractions without the crowds and enchanted with a different light. Enjoy delicious Bulgarian dishes in combination with spectacular folklore performance. After being picked up from your hotel, you will be driven to Alexandar Nevski Cathedral – the biggest Orthodox basilica in Bulgaria and one of the most notable symbols of Sofia. It is the starting point of the guided walking city tour. The route transects the compact and colorful city center and passes by the Holy Synod, St. Sofia Church, the Monument of Alexander II, the Parliament, the Russian Church St. Nicolas, the former King’s Palace, the Presidency, St. George Rotunda and St. Nedelia Church. You will tick off all major tourist must-see attraction in Sofia's center and learn in an educational and fun way about their history and significance. From here you will be transported to one of the most famous restaurants in Sofia to taste typical Bulgarian food (3-course menu) and enjoy exhilarating (why not even join) Bulgarian dances named hora.