Sofia Hidden Gems-Small Group Walking Tour with Vintage Tram Ride

Highlights

Inclusions

Itinerary

1. The Saint Sofia Church (Bulgarian: църква „Света София“, tsarkva "Sveta Sofia", "Church of Holy Wisdom") is one of the oldest church in the Bulgarian capital Sofia, dating to the fourth century. In the predecessor building took place the Council of Serdica held most probably in 343 and attended by 316 bishops. In the 14th century, the church gave its name to the city, previously known as Serdika (Сердика)

   10 min

2. This is a Bulgarian Orthodox cathedral in Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria. Built in Neo-Byzantine style, it is one of the 50 largest Christian church buildings by volume in the world.

   10 min

3. Kvadrat 500, the newest and largest building of the National Gallery, opened on 25 May 2015. Some 1,700 artworks from the gallery’s rich fund of over 42,000 museum pieces by Bulgarian and foreign artists are exhibited in 28 halls on four levels. The Bulgarian collection dates back to the 1890s, while the greater part of the foreign collection was formed in the 1980s. The exposition features works tracing the path of Bulgarian art from the mid-19th century and from the 20th century, European art from the 15th–19th centuries, and art exhibits from Asia, Africa, and America.

   Passes by

4. Today the Library's collection contains nearly 8.5 million documents. Every year, it receives about 70 000 publications. The National Library “St. St. Cyril and Methodius” is the largest book treasury in Bulgaria. The tourist will visit inside

   10 min

5. The Sofia University St. Kliment Ohridski is the first higher educational institution in Bulgaria. Its history is an embodiment and a continuation of centuries of cultural and educational tradition in this country. Public teaching activities in Bulgaria date back to the second half of the 9th century. During the Bulgarian Renaissance, a new idea for opening a School of Higher Education was conceived. The prestige of the School of Higher Education grew rapidly with the cultural and educational mission it acquired after the Liberation in 1878. We will visit inside

   10 min

6. It was built in 1884-1886 at the design of architect Constantin Yovanovic, who studied in Vienna and Switzerland and authored the design of the Serbian Assembly (1891-1892) as well. The style of the building is neo-Renaissance.

   Passes by

7. In 1890, three Bulgarian musicians Dragomir Kazakov, Ivan Slavkov and Angel Bukoreshtliev organized the first opera troupe in Bulgaria as a branch of the "Sofia Drama and Opera Troupe". The performances - 12 whole operas and excerpts from 11 operas, with the participation of Bulgarians, Czechs and Italians accompanied by piano, the Guards Orchestra, the orchestra of the Sixth Infantry Regiment and people of the Italian Singing Society are accepted with unexpected success.

   Passes by

8. The building of the National Theatre was finished in 1906 and the opening ceremony was held on 3 January 1907. It was designed by the architects Ferdinand Fellner and Hermann Helmer, who were hugely popular in the early twentieth century, to become one of Sofia’s most imposing and representative buildings in the Art Nouveau style, which was all the rage in those days. The plafond and the walls of the auditorium seating 848 were painted by artist Rudolf Fuchs from Vienna.

   Passes by

9. The Largo (Bulgarian: Ларго, definite form Ларгото, Largoto) is an architectural ensemble of three Socialist Classicism edifices in central Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria, designed and built in the 1950s with the intention of becoming the city's new representative centre.

   Passes by

10. The Church of Saint George (Bulgarian: Ротонда „Свети Георги“, romanized: Rotonda "Sveti Georgi") is a Late Antique red brick rotunda in Sofia, Bulgaria. Built in the early 4th century as Roman baths, it became a church inside the walls of Serdica, capital of ancient Dacia Mediterranea during the Roman Empire and Byzantine Empire.[1] The Early Christian church is considered the oldest building in modern Sofia and belongs to the Bulgarian Orthodox Church.

    5 min

11. Ancient cultural and communication complex “Serdica” combines areas with various purposes, divided into two zones. The “Largo” zone, situated underneath Nezavisimost Square, integrates the unearthed archaeological remains into a site for cultural events. The remains of one of the two main streets of the Roman town, the decumanus maximus, which connects the eastern and the western gate of the city, can be seen here. A large residential building, covering an entire insula (urban block), can be seen south of it. The building also had small shops, from which travelers and the town’s inhabitants could purchase food and various goods. A lapidarium is located close to the building.

    15 min

12. The current Central Mineral Baths building was designed in the Vienna Secession style, but integrating typically Bulgarian, Byzantine and Eastern Orthodox ornamental elements, by the architects Petko Momchilov and Friedrich Grünanger in 1904–1905 and approved on 30 January 1906, as projects by an Austrian (in 1889) and a French architect (in 1901) were declined.

    10 min

Cancellation

Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the experience starts, for a full refund.

Reviews

Ratings come from 13 reviews collected by our booking partner. They are travellers' own words, in the order they were written — never reordered to flatter the experience.

Know before you go

How it compares in Sofia

• Its from-price is 77% below the median of the 44 city tours we list in Sofia.
• Its length is typical for the group.
• By number of reviews it ranks 9 of 44.
• The operator lists free cancellation on it.

About Sofia

Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria, lies below Vitosha mountain, mixing Roman ruins, golden-domed churches, mineral springs and a busy café culture.

Sofia sits in a high basin at the foot of Mount Vitosha, and its centre layers Roman Serdica, Orthodox Bulgaria and the Ottoman and Soviet eras. The gold-domed Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, completed in the early twentieth century, is the city's best-known building. Close by are the fourth-century rotunda of St George, the Banya Bashi Mosque and the remains of Roman streets that show through glass in the metro stations.

Top-ranked sights in Sofia: Rila Monastery, Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, Ivan Vazov National Theatre.

See all 611 experiences in Sofia