BULGARIA
An alternative Christmas
experience in Sofia
hile most people visit big European countries for their big Christmas markets, in December, I found myself in Sofia. There, I got to experience something a bit different, but interesting at the same time.
It was the first time I travelled without a schedule, and it was 100% worth it
Sofia, like any other European city, has its good streets and its better-to-avoid streets. We stayed at B1 Downtown Hotel which is a 5-minute walk from the central, busy streets and for about €80 per person. It doesn’t have the option for breakfast but there’s a nice café right next to it with all kinds of sandwiches, wraps, pastries and coffee. Our first walk in Sofia included running to the local, chain restaurant – Happy Bar & Grill – for lunch then walking down Vitosha Boulevard, the main pedestrian street for shopping with all kinds of local and international stores, cafés and restaurants, starting from the Cathedral of Saint Nedelya and ending at the National Palace of Culture.
As it was early December, we were bound to see firsthand how Sofia celebrates Christmas through the markets, one of them being right outside the National Palace of Culture. Quite bigger than I expected, the Sofia Christmas Fest had everything from handcrafts to local food and mulled wine, a Santa Clause and two lines of decorated trees. We had two days in Sofia, so naturally we visited one more Christmas market; the German one (or Deutscher Weihnachtsmarkt) located in the City Garden, in front of the Ivan Vazov National Theatre. That was significantly smaller than Sofia Christmas Fest but it had a nice variety of things to eat and shop. It also had a wooden house for festive photoshoots, though our picture was as Christmassy as one would expect.
The one thing you should definitely visit once you’re in Sofia, is the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral. Built in Neo-Byzantine style, it serves as the cathedral church of the Patriarch of Bulgaria, it is among the 10 largest Eastern Orthodox church buildings and the largest cathedral in the Balkans. There is no entrance fee and inside it you can admire the beautiful murals, depicting scenes from the Bible.
Back to the City Gardens you will come across something very few know (or care) about. A small, glass and metal structure in the middle of the park, works as a library and a tourist information office. Of course, if you’re visiting for a couple of days, you won’t be able to use it as a library but its still a nice, unique thing to see and look around. If you’re looking for local street food, we visited БДС Балкански Деликатеси на Скара (with no English name to mention, so use this for Google Maps). It’s a cheap and nice kitchen for local snacks, including Princess – an open baked sandwich with various meat toppings to choose from, and for merely €4. If you visit, try their store-made lemonade, it’s a lemon flavored, delicious sparkling soft drink.
Alternatively, if you’re looking for cute brunch spots, I had the most delicious French toast at Rainbow Factory. It’s a highly rated, cozy space with brunch dishes, not close to the city center but definitely worth the short walk.
Sofia is not a city with dozens of landmarks that will take you days to explore. It’s a quiet, European city that will give you a nice, relaxed getaway. Christmas is not a ”wow” spectacle like in other European cities, not all the roads are decorated with foliage and lights, but you can find great markets with everything you could’ve asked for, and more. If this is what you’re looking for, go for it. It was the first time I travelled without a schedule, and it was 100% worth it.