What to Do in Sofia

If you are planning a winter vacation in Bulgaria, do not even try to wonder what to do in Sofia. Frankly, Bulgaria’s capital is very welcoming especially during the cold months as this is the period when the city is full of amazing options for fun. Yet, we do understand the fact that you might not be familiar either with Bulgaria, or specifically with its capital at all, so some hints in advance are very useful, right?

Today’s material of ours has been just written for those of you who ask themselves what do in Sofia during the winter season. Below, we list all the options, but the list is just to inspire you. We believe that once you get to Sofia, you will see quite more ideas to realize for your fantastic winter vacation here:

1. Go ice skating. You have an open-air and closed warmer option in front of you. If you want to be surrounded by the authentic Sofia atmosphere, consider the ice skate arena on the Ariana Lake. On the other side, if you prefer to keep yourself away of a cough, there are several closed ice skating places – including the popular Winter Palace in the emblematic Student’s City district.

2. Have a fantastic winter walk in any of the city’s parks – the City Garden, Borisova Garden or any other. Winters are truly beautiful in Sofia and the snowy scenery is going to inspire you to find a near café or bar and dinner to taste the Bulgarian traditional wine. Speaking of which, drinking wine in winter when being in Sofia is also a must.

3. Ok, but what to do in Sofia if you prefer something really engaging and not so sightseeing? Why not walk through the old center of the capital, go down into the passages and see the graffiti of Sofia that adorned the city. This is also an amazing cure against boredom after a whole week in Sofia during which you have made it to see all of the city’s attractions thanks to your audio guides and our devices for maximum historical and cultural education about the country’s capital.

4. Meet spring during winter! It’s totally possible if you spend a couple of hours in the city’s botanical garden. We love it because of its romantic and inspiring, a bit relaxing and quite peaceful atmosphere. Sofia’s botanical garden is placed in the city’s central side and nearby there are bars, cafes and restaurants to continue your greenery and blossoming celebration with any of the traditional Bulgarian meals, which by the way, are very colourful and rich in vitamins in most cases.

5. If it is winter and Christmas is just around the corner, the most logical answer to the question what to do in Sofia during the winter season would be “Go to the local German Christmas market!”. By the way, we recommend you to go there even if you live in Germany as such an experience will show you the way people of Sofia perceive your culture and lifestyle. Here, at the German Christmas market, you can enjoy lots of cool hand-crafted souvenirs and gifts, brilliant wooden masterpieces, mulled wine, and plenty of food offers (including traditional German sausages, jacket potatoes, creme puffs, and etc).

6. Attend Bulgarian national dancing class! There’s something magical that happens to Bulgarians in winter and once Christmas holidays get closers. Suddenly, Bulgarians turn incredibly deeply to their customs and traditions, which is why you will notice Bulgarian dancing shows around and it’s more possible to hear Bulgarian national music rather than popular artists on the streets. And Bulgarian national dances are unique, it takes one show for a foreigner to get truly amazed by their magic. As to the classes, you will find such in many places, just use the keyword “folklore” and even a stranger on the street can recommend you the closest location for your plan.

7. What to do in Sofia during winter if there’s a mountain nearby? Of course – go skiing, snowboarding or just on a snowy walk in the woods. Vitosha Mountain, by the way, is a must-see attraction in Sofia. You can even reach Vitosha via public transportation and usually, it takes not more than 45 minutes.