City Rating: Sofia
Population: 1’300’000
Date of visit: June 2015
Attractions & sights: 2/5
Nightlife: 3/5
Safety: 4/5
Infrastructure: 3/5
Low budget factor: 4/5
Total: 👍👍👍/5
The city in a nutshell:
Sofia is one of the Eastern European cities, which still reminds of an old time. The city is steeped in history, is cheap and offers a mixture of beauty and ugliness. Away from the city center, Sofia seems rather bleak to me. Sofia is worth a weekend, but is one of the weaker Eastern European cities.
Where to stay:
No tip at this point, I slept over at a friend’s house.
The Good:
If I had to recommend Sofia to someone, it would be a male person who is interested in long nights, cheap alcohol and beautiful women, rather than someone who wants to go on a cultural trip. Sofia offers a bit of culture, but that alone doesn’t make the city worthwhile.
Nevertheless you should visit the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral during a visit to Sofia. Like in most Christian-Orthodox countries, the main sights are gigantic cathedrals and this one is by far the best attraction in Sofia.
Another plus are the extremely low prices in the capital of Bulgaria. Here you can do good food and things for little money. Maybe this attracts one or the other backpacker.
The Bad & The Ugly:
The worst thing is the service quality in restaurants. I have no idea why, but don’t expect a warm and friendly welcome there. The concept of customer centricity seems to be a foreign concept in Sofia. At least in the catering field.
Also Sofia may be okay for a weekend trip, but Bulgaria offers better places to go on holiday (the charming Plovdiv or the Black Sea coast). Also in comparison to other European capitals, Sofia gets the short end of the stick in many ways.
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