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 The
city
Sofia is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria
and the 12th largest city by population in the
European Union, with 1.4 million people living in
the Capital Municipality. Sofia is estimated to
have over 2.5 million permanent population. It is
located in the Western part of Bulgaria, at the
foot of Mount Vitosha, and is the administrative,
cultural, economic, and educational centre of the
country.
Sofia is a city of variety and contrasts. Along
with its remarkable heritage and rich cultural
life, plenty of galleries, museum, theatres, Sofia
has a well-known tradition in nightlife with large
number of night clubs, disco’s, and restaurants.
Together with its modern architecture, the city
keeps settlements from its ancient times, along
with the large roads and highways, Sofia is also a
very green city with number of big parks and
gardens. Because of city’s excellent position
between mountains, the climate is moderate with
quiet weather. Just about 30 km from the city’s
centre, in the nearby Vitosha mountain massif is
located a huge skiing resort. Sofia is just about
300 km away from Bulgaria’s seaside. The city is
popular with its mineral springs and baths.
Architecture and municipality
The architecture of Sofia's centre is a
combination of Neo-Baroque, Neo-Rococo,
Neo-Renaissance and Neoclassicism, with the Vienna
Secession.
Sofia Municipality includes 24 municipalities and
is ruled by a mayor and a city council, both
elected in every four years.
Places of special interest
The city also offers many places of special
interest such as the Sts. Cyril and Methodius
National Library (which houses the largest
national book collection and is Bulgaria's oldest
cultural institute), the Sofia State Library, the
British Council, the Russian Cultural Institute,
the Polish Cultural Institute, the Hungarian
Institute, the Czech and the Slovak Cultural
Institutes, the Italian Cultural Institute, the
French Cultural Institute, Goethe Institut,
Instituto Cervantes, and the Open Society
Institute. The city is also known for the Boyana
Church, which is a UNESCO world heritage site. In
addition, Sofia houses the Sofia Zoological
Garden, which was founded in 1888.
Several international film productions were made
here. Vitosha Boulevard, also called Vitoshka —
ranked as the world's 22nd most expensive
commercial street — represents numerous fashion
boutiques and luxury goods stores and features
exhibitions by world fashion designers. Sofia's
geographic location, situated in the foothills of
the weekend retreat Vitosha mountain, further adds
to the city's specific atmosphere.
Museums
Sofia houses numerous museums, notably the
National Historical Museum, the Bulgarian Natural
History Museum, the Museum of Earth and Men, the
Ethnographic Museum, the National Museum of
Military History, the National Polytechnic Museum
and the National Archaeological Museum. In
addition, there are the Sofia City Art Gallery,
the Bulgarian National Gallery of Arts, the
Bulgarian National Gallery for Foreign Art as well
as numerous private art galleries.
Music and nightlife
Sofia has an extensive nightlife scene with many
night clubs, live venues, pubs, mehani (Bulgarian
traditional taverns), and restaurants. The city
has played host to many world-famous musical acts
including Madonna, George Michael, Lenny Kravitz,
Kiss, Kylie Minogue, Depeche Mode, Metallica,
Rihanna, Hammerfall and AC/DC.
Transport
With its well-developed infrastructure and
strategic location, Sofia is an important centre
for international railway and automobile routes.
All major types of transport (except water
transport) are represented in the city, which is
home to 8 railway stations and to The Sofia
Airport. Three Trans-European Transport Corridors
cross the city: 4, 8 and 10.
Public transit is well-developed and is provided
by means of underground trains (the Sofia Metro),
buses, trams and trolleybuses. In the city operate
also multiple copmanies.
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