24 HOURS in Sofia | BEST THINGS TO DO, WHAT TO SEE in the capital of Bulgaria.
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- Опубликовано: 5 фев 2025
- First impressions of Sofia and my first time in Bulgaria. What are the top attractions according to Tripadvisor, and how do I succeed in finding Blugarian food.
Filmed March 2024 | Sofia, Bulgaria.
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I visited Bulgaria a few years ago before I got cancer and couldn’t travel anymore. Your video brought back a lot of happy memories for me. I love your travel vlogs. Always interesting.
Wishing you good luck on your recovery ❤️
I felt so f**king bad reading that I hope you have a speedy recovery, and wish you luck. I'd love to visit Bulgaria, beautiful country especially the women over there!
От сърце желая да оздравеете и пак да ни бъдете гост в България ❤
I had stomach cancer 13 years ago, I'm still cancer free. Well I had all tests 5 months ago.
Keep the upper lip and beat it.
Good luck for the future 🤞👍
@@clivep3515 Well done on beating the cancer. Unfortunately i am on end of life care. I wish more people would take a fit test especially if they are over 50. I love planes; trains and everything as he has visited a lot of the countries i visited in my youth. So pleased for you.
I loved Sofia when I visited a few years ago, but Plovdiv is even better. A bit of a hidden gem off the radar of a lot of us in western Europe.
Yes, I agree Plovdiv has more charm. I think Sofia was more heavily changed for the worse because of communism.
The markets have great food very fresh, good and off of the farm. What a beautiful country.
I wonder how the tea is. The caravan tea in Russia is really good and Id imagine the teas would be good in Bulgaria. Do educate me please.
❤
In Bulgaria we usually drink coffee . Tea culture is week. But of course you can find green and black tea in special shops. We drink mostly herbal tea out of camomile, mint, and other herbs in case of illness.
What a fascinating place to explore, sure a bit rough around the edges, but so is every city back home! That big cathedral was something else!
Steve i realy want you to make a video in Bulgaria. You will love it.:)
Full of Charm and beauty is Bulgaria. That's before you even get to eat! the food is incredible. Pork Kavarma is out of this world 😋
Bulgarian here. Vey good vlog. You really need to come in the summer when it's hot, the vibe is totally different. And you need to try Bulgarian food, cause it's really good. There is traditional restaurant called "Moma" in the city center. And also "Chevermeto".
A lovely, interesting and under-rated city. The rest of Bulgaria is also well worth a visit.
Inside the Metro station, its has the roman ruins incorporated into the station design, pretty cool to see.
Sofia is fantastic city, i been there between 1998-2004 I had best time there. Still missing that days. Thanks for your video. :)
1998-2004 are some shady years for Sofia and Bulgaria in general. But glad you enjoy your visit.
I was just in Sofia in February for 4 night's and got to see loads and great value 😁🇮🇪
Hey, a Bulgarian here.
It's not forbidden to film in supermarkets, so don't worry. Russian and Bulgarian are actually close languages, they both derived from Proto-Slavic and we have many similar words and expressions, as well as we have with other Slavic languages. But Cyrillic alphabet was actually invented in Bulgaria and then some other nations started using it.
Most of the beautiful buildings you have seen in the city centre are designed by Western architects (mainly Austrian, German and French ones) and they are influenced by Western architecture by the time they had been designed and built - it's the end of 19th and beginning of 20th century. As far as I know the buildings in Russian Empire are also designed by Western architects, so at least regarding buildings it's not Russian influence in Bulgaria, it's Western and Central Europe influence in both Bulgaria and Russia.
The monument of the Soviet army is not demolished, it's moved and the idea is to be exposed in a museum of Soviet art. It's a very long and controversial story.
There are several restaurants for traditional Bulgarian food in the centre, you should have probably used Trip Advisor and you could find them.
Anyway, I am glad you liked my country. If it happens to return here some day, you could try to visit other cities as well - Plovdiv is very beautiful, also the old Bulgarian capital Veliko Tarnovo.
Тоя дедо не прилича на човек, който се интересува от такъв задълбочен исторически преглед. Тоя определено е от типа хора които си мислят - "всичко на изток от Австрия е Русия", само си хабиш копчетата на клавиатурата.
absolutely!
A small correction. The nicest buildings in Sofia were not built by West European architects. They were mostly Bulgarian ones educated in the West.
I love it when Scott smacks his chops when tasting his first or second coffee of the day. When I use my bean to cup machine at home, in the morning, I sort of impersonate him!
Thank you for keeping my memories alive. Been there last October, same hotel, for almost the same reason. And I was also taken by the charme of this beautiful city. Though I did find a nice bulgarian PECTOPAHT...
I had a fleeting visit to Sofia a bit like you. My flight was diverted to Sofia due to bad weather but I never got off the plane. I love Bulgaria and have been on holiday there a number of times.
Hi Scott. Boadicea here! That bus journey to Sofia was superhuman! Many years ago in the 80s, I took my 3 children skiing to Innsbruck on an overnight bus. At least we had a toilet! Never again though. Your hotel looked lovely. Bulgarian Architecture is great! Safe journey. 👌🙋🇮🇪🏴🙏
The longer format here really works well, as we see not only Sofia, which any tourist guide could show, but your reaction and thoughts about them. Liked the Archaeological museum best, but probably alone there. 😊
Thank you for your video! I will be living in Sofia until the end of June and this video included some really good tip on what to see. I saw the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral yesterday and might even take another look at it. Shame about the weather. I was almost shocked at how bad cold the weather was for most of March, but now it is actually around 25 degrees.
I really miss Sofia. Can't wait to go back.
Thanks for that tour,Sofia has beautiful architecture,love history myself,I will be going to Bulgaria myself,in July on the Black Sea Coast,to Nessebar for a week,looking forward to it,and I will be doing the easy way a plane straight from Glasgow Airport straight to Bourgas Airport,I stay in Renfrew so not far from my airport,that would actually kill me doing 2 days on a bus and being sleep deprived. I would be walking about like a zombie😂😂
There are more beautiful parts of Bulgaria 🇧🇬 than the capital. Haskovo ( my second home 🏠 ) Plovdiv, Burgas & we have just returned from a spa break in Velingrad. 👍😊
Yes, all of those and many more - if you visit Velingrad, why not travel by the very special narrow-gauge line (part of the regular railway - not just a tourist line) up the lovely Chepinska river gorge.
It wasn't running when we was there over the weekend but it's on my bucket 🪣 list to do. Septemvri - Dobrinishte is an amazing railway, it was running on Monday morning when we was heading back to Plovdiv airport. We stayed at the Sante Spa Hotel 🏨 apparently 5 Star but I've stayed in better apartments & a lot more reasonable cost. 😊
I visited Sofia in 2018 and they were happy for us to have a look around the mosque and take photos. Also a nice art nouveau synagogue on the other side of the market if you go back.
Loved Sofia! I just visited two days ago…
Perfect timing as I'll be in Sofia for a very important trip in a couple of weeks
Sofia is great! Worth visiting!
Another great vlog Scott, and just to say thank you for stopping and giving me your time to have a chat , it was lovely to meet you in person 👍
Epic whirlwind day tour of the city. What happened to the Bulgarian meal for dinner?? 😅😅😅
Cold, wet, and windy?
Oh, a typical summer's day in Scotland
Excellent Vid , visited Sofia last year ..Primarily to get the train to Varna as part of my 'Biscay to Black sea ' rail odyssey . The Military museum is excellent , lots of tanks / soviet era weaponry coupled with historical material documenting Bulgaria's various conflicts , good deal in English too . Returning in September to do the Sofia to Istanbul Express [ which you'll have probably done by then !
I can't get over how beautiful this video is! Thank you so much for your effort!
I thought 20hrs on the coach from London to Prague was bad enough, Fair play to you :)
A great video Scott. Your views on the coffee made me laugh. Thanks for the upload
I wonder why Scott doesn’t take some decent coffee with him in a little jar?
Hello Scott and happy easter 🐣.
You seriously earn ever subscriber you have, those long long coach journeys must be gruelling at times.
I am not a keen flyer and for that reason I may book a London to krakow bus, not that bad at 35 hours
Thanks Scott used this as the basis for a 3 day trip to Sofia, with longer breaks for lunch and coffee but we also added in the art gallery which was tremendous and the museum of illusions.
Bulgarian McDonalds is still Bulgarian :-) Great vid - lots of ideas for a visit which I really appreciate. Really enjoyed it - as usual.
I visited Sofia twice in the last six months and loved it. Great city with a lot of interesting things to see. Had no problems taking photos in the mosque - maybe video is more difficult. Conversely at the Alexander Nevski cathedral the staff were pouncing on people taking photos without a ticket - I shelled out the £4 fee to avoid this (it's worth it to take much better photos). Many good restaurants there too and the metro system was wonderful. Definitely worth a return visit when it's warmer - but not via the 50 hour coach!
Well worth watching, we're off to Sofia and Eastern Bulgaria in September. Many thanks👍.
Great city tour. Thanks!
The Cyrillic alphabet is a Bulgarian creation and the Russian language is a dialect of Bulgarian, so the influence is here towards Russia
Уникално Българско сирене, кисело мляко. Патентът на сиренето е Български. Вулгарико, Бацилико! ❤️🇧🇬❤️🇧🇬❤️
Точно така най-гнусното гадно солено сирене на планетата е НАШЕ! Ахх бяло сирене, ако мога да го изтрия от историята ще го направя.
Много правилно.🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬❤️❤️❤️😊
какъв патент бе, майко мила
Малко правописа само да оправим...Вулгарико идва от Вулгария или...?
Those "pigs feet" are trotters and many years ago I was in a British night club band playing in Bavaria and as we were guests of honour at a suckling pig barbecue we had to have the pigs snout as its a delicacy...it appeared the pig hadn't shaved that day and I still have the nightmares 😏
Another good day showing us places we possibly would never see otherwise, looking forward to the next leg of your journey. Just finished re-watching End-to-End and have a long journey coming up so it could be a chance to re-read the book. Keep up the good work!
Happy Bar & Grill sells loads of Bulgarian 🇧🇬 dishes but it is a chain of branches all over Bulgaria. It's ok but the best place for a meal in Sofia is Vitosha Boulevard 👍😊 There are normal police, Tourist police & Boarder police & I think they actually said hello to you Infront of the Russian Monument 🤣 The Cyrillic Alphabet was given to Russia as a gift it's actually Bulgarian & I use to get told off for saying that it's Russian 🤣
Very interesting and some beautiful buildings. Wow. I always enjoy when you visit a local grocery store. I’m geeky like that. :) Next week’s video sounds intriguing. Can’t wait.
in Sofia a few years ago, made some great friends-some still on Facebook-i`ll have to revisit one day.Look for the theatre built i believe in the old SOVIET days, and there is a synagogue if i recall near the old market .Great video,Scott.
The theatre is built way before Soviet times - in the beginning of 20th century and it is designed by Austrian architects. So, nothing to do with Soviet architecture.
You are right about the synagogue. Actually, this specific area is known for having temples of three different religions very close to each other - a church, a mosque and a synagogue.
I watched this late at night last week hence I didn't comment but fantastic video interesting you are right about railway heratige apart from pictures in perth station 😊is all we got far as I know and best western hotel was great thanks Scott keep up the fantastic work
Hi Scott.
An earlier video, the best livery was monarch airlines.
Loving the vids, I go abroad 6 times a year.
From an Edinburgh guy.
I got held up two years ago easy jet 8 hours. Got my money back.
Clive
Thank you for your video. Very helpful in planning my stay in Sofia.
There's a Happy restaurant in Piccadilly Always big queues..
It's always interesting watching foreigners visit our small country. Nice video mate, hope you enjoyed your trip. You should visit Plovdiv (oldest European city) as well. Wish you all the best
Lovely Scott, tfs. What an interesting place.
We have driven to Sofia from the UK three times now - lovely place.
That was great. Thank you
The reception staff must have seen you coming and run to your room to deep clean it before you broke out the dreaded UV dirt finder torch 🔦 Happy Easter, another very interesting video!
Hope u said prayer Scott.Happy Easter.
Another very interesting video - City now added to our Eastern European City Breaks Dashboard.
I always enjoy seeing your trips Scott as you don’t sugar coat anything
Good vid Scott. Very informative and real.
Thank you for taking me along.
6:52 i just realized thats the garden where me and my friends play lol
Belgrade in 1991? Now that's a story we want to hear!
Love your vids! Try Sarajevo next Scott. Super cheap, lovely example of recovery from the difficulties.
Yes!! Great idea - its a wonderful city to visit. Was there during the Winter Olympics in 1984 and again 3 years ago - still phenomenally interesting.
How to get there though ? Not by bus lol
Interesting to see Sofia. Never been there. Thanks for your video!
There's actually a Happy in London right by Piccadilly Circus. I'm not completely sure why it is there but couldn't complain about the food, even if the prices aren't exactly McDonalds. The best part though was when my Bulgarian friend/boss switched from English to Bulgarian half way through...
The railway museum in York is pretty amazing. You could easily spend most of the day there.
I enjoyed visiting Sofia with you, Scott. (I’ll admit to frequenting McDonalds in foreign cities more often than I care to admit, also!) Looking forward to next week’s video.
Perfect length, loved it mate
Terrific video about your visit to Sophia! It looks quite interesting with some lovely cathedrals and what you were able photograph there! 😅😮
Subscribed! Brings back good memories when i was in Sofia back in 2017 also travelling alone from London to Istanbul but not 50hrs by coach 😂. 39:20 I took that sleeper train to Istanbul.
Happy Easter to you! Thank you for your videos!
I love your vlogs, Scott! It's like visiting with a good friend. Thanks for your hard work! Cheers!👋
I do enjoy your videos another good vlog you must have walked some miles or a mega load of steps on your tour of Sofia look forward to the next one 😊😊
I'd have to have gone in those baths I've got wonderful memories of the public baths in Rhodes old town, 40 years ago 😊
I enjoy your content. It is a nice break from Jeb Brooks or Sam Chui, who just travel in first class. Abit surprised to see all the graffiti in Sofia. I thought that was more an American/ Western thing.
Unfortunately endemic across continental Europe. I fail to see what satisfaction these graffiti idiots get from ruining public spaces!
Your vids getting better every time man!
Thanks for another great and inspiring travel story!
Great videos xxxx
The ‘baths’ aren’t baths anymore - it’s the Sofia museum! Remiss of the guide to overlook this.
Before being the Sofia History Museum, it was the capital's Central Baths.
@@dadi60 yes, but they aren’t now, which the guide completely overlooked in the video. It’s a brilliant site for tourists to explore when in town.
Been using this as a basis going around Sofia! Thanks!
Every religious building has had a service on so far 😂😢
Българската кухня е уникална, натурална и най вече е лека за консумиране. Благодарим Ви за клипа! ❤❤️🇧🇬❤️🇧🇬❤️
Great video Scott, looking forward to next week.
Great vid, you make me laugh.
Great video Scott! I have only seen Sofia through a walk to the main train station from the East via the airport, fair to say that wasnt a great representation of the city because it is a bit rough in that area, may need to give it a proper go.
Went on to Plovdiv from there which gets a firm recommendation. Surprised you didn't indulge in any Banitsas or Mavrud (the national wine)
Great video Scott. I hope you managed to get some nice grub in the end.
What a pity you didn't find Hadjidraganov's Houses Restaurant in Sofia, Scott. Fantastic Bulgarian grub (tripes, brains and all sorts of other offal dishes as well as stews, grills and sticky puddings). If you visit in the summer, as I did, try to get there.
I had dinner there when I visited Sofia about 2 years ago. Wonderful place with really good food. As coming from Sweden, I thought it was affordable too.
Great video. Good to see you being honest about your preferences. Skip it if you dont like it 😅
Another interesting and high standard video. I don't know if its my imagination but the audio seemed to be particularly good.
hi man , very intresting video , u must visit Bulgaria in summer when is sunny and hot , and don't forget to visit black sea riviera
Wow 50 hours without sleep..me personally must have 7/8 per night ..great video thanks.
I went to the Ethnographic museum in Yambol last February. It was quite a fun experience. I was the only visitor, the two female staff had to open all the exhibits for me and we had a fun conservation with the help of google translate. At one point they mentioned they are working on a traditional female dress and google translate chose the word "hot clothes" which didn't match at all. I showed them what images come when searching for "hot clothes" online and we all had a huge laugh.
I’ve spent many times between London and Sofia and Veliko Tarnovo/Gabrovo regions.
Very underrated country and it’s pretty still untouched with tourists (Sunny Beach excluded). Lots of happy memories and some of the most heartbreaking memories too.
Been all around the world with you and love it 😂😂
Thank you once again for taking us to a place few of us have or ever will see. Love the architecture, the buildings, the ruins, the mix of cultures. Too bad you didn't find a restaurant for Bulgarian specialties. I also like to visit food/supermarkets in my travels in the US, Europe and elsewhere to compare prices for common items, see items we don't have at home (for me the NYC area of the USA). While the prices to us seem low, for the locals that is still very high due to lower incomes.
Nice one Scott👍👍
Very informative thanks ... i was surprised at the pricing in the supermarket!!
Enjoyed this thanks
Enjoying your travel
Amazing video but you should check out the main pedestrian street “vitoshka” and “NDK” the national palace of culture
Great Video Scott
Good video as always.
Get a sandwich and other snacks and go back to your room. Stop and get a large coffee too. Tour was nice. Thanks.
nice one 👍🎥💯