Bulgaria
Sofia
Away-day guide
unverified draftSofia is one of the cheapest capitals in the EU and one of the easiest for a short away trip — the airport metro drops you in the centre in twenty minutes, and almost everything worth seeing sits inside a walkable ring of boulevards under Vitosha mountain. Three Sofia clubs are in Europe this season, so you may well be sharing the city with another set of travelling fans.
🚺 To Stadion Georgi Asparuhov
The Gerena ground sits north-east of the centre in the Suhata Reka quarter. Easiest is the metro to Hadzhi Dimitar and a 15-minute walk north-east up Vladimir Vazov Boulevard; a Bolt from the centre is €4–5 and takes 15 minutes in normal traffic.
- Nearest stop
- Hadzhi Dimitar metro station
- Lines
- Metro to Hadzhi Dimitar, then trams and buses along Vladimir Vazov Boulevard
- Walk from centre
- 50 min
- Parking
- Free but informal street parking in the surrounding blocks; it fills early and the roads by the ground close to traffic before kick-off.
🚺 To Vasil Levski National Stadium
Walk east out of the centre along Tsar Osvoboditel past the university and the parliament, then into Borisova Gradina park — the stadium is on your right, roughly 15 minutes from Serdika. From the airport, take the metro to Serdika and walk, or change for the station by the university.
- Nearest stop
- Sofiyski Universitet 'Sv. Kliment Ohridski' metro station
- Lines
- Metro to Sofia University; trams and buses run along Evlogi i Hristo Georgiev Boulevard on the park side
- Walk from centre
- 15 min
- Parking
- Don't drive — the streets around the park are paid blue-zone and full on matchday. Park nearer the NDK and walk in.
Public transport
The centre is small enough to walk, and the metro covers everything else. Buy a single ride (about €0.80) from the machines at metro entrances or the kiosks by tram stops, or just tap a contactless bank card — the metro gates and the newer validators on trams and buses take them, and a day ticket is around €2. Trams are the slow, scenic option and cover the parts of town the metro misses. Validate before you travel: inspectors work the trams hard and the on-the-spot fine is a lot more than the fare. Bolt is everywhere and cheap for late-night runs across town.
Typical prices
- Beer (0.5L)
- EUR 3
- Coffee
- EUR 2
- Meal, mid-range
- EUR 15
- Taxi from airport
- EUR 12
- Single transit ticket
- EUR 0.8
✈ Airports & cheaper alternatives
- Sofia Airport SOF primary 10 km Metro from beneath Terminal 2 into the centre in about 20 minutes for the price of a single ride. Low-cost flights often land at Terminal 1, which has no metro station — take the free inter-terminal shuttle to Terminal 2, or bus 84 into town. Wizz and Ryanair both serve it from the UK; the metro makes it one of the cheapest airport transfers in Europe.
🍺 Supporters' pubs
Levski Sofia
Home fans: Levski's support is spread across the city, but on matchday the drinking is around Gerena itself — the bars and grill kiosks along Vladimir Vazov Boulevard and the streets of the Suhata Reka and Hadzhi Dimitar quarters near the ground.
Away fans: Stay in the centre beforehand: the terraces on Shishman, Graf Ignatiev and around the cathedral are mixed and relaxed, and it is a straight metro run out to the ground afterwards. Don't wear rival Bulgarian colours anywhere near Gerena.
The blue half of the city, and by some distance the best-supported club in Bulgaria. European home games are at Georgi Asparuhov (Gerena), not the national stadium.
CSKA Sofia
Home fans: CSKA fans gather around Borisova Gradina park before games — the bars along Evlogi i Hristo Georgiev Boulevard and the kiosks inside the park by their own Balgarska Armia ground, a few hundred metres from the national stadium.
Away fans: The centre is neutral and comfortable — Vitosha Boulevard, Shishman, and the streets behind the Nevski cathedral — and you can walk to the national stadium in ten minutes. Avoid drifting into the park side of the ground in colours.
The red half of the city. Their own Balgarska Armia ground has been under reconstruction, so European ties are staged at the Vasil Levski National Stadium.
CSKA 1948 Sofia
Home fans: A young club with a small, scattered support and no established pub scene — most fans travel in and drink in the centre.
Away fans: The centre, as above; crowds for their European ties are modest and the atmosphere around the national stadium is low-key.
A separate club from CSKA Sofia despite the name, playing their European home ties at the Vasil Levski National Stadium.
Sourced from supporters' forums — always follow your club's and police advice for the fixture.
Nightlife
The student-ish bar belt runs along ulitsa Tsar Ivan Shishman and Graf Ignatiev, south-east of the cathedral — this is where you want to be on a warm night, with terraces spilling across the pavement. Hambara on Shishman is a candle-lit, unsigned cellar bar that is worth the effort of finding; Raketa Rakia Bar does socialist-era decor and a huge rakia list. Vitosha Boulevard is the promenade for people-watching but you pay for the address. For clubs, Studentski Grad out by the universities is where the cheap, late nights happen — a €5 Bolt out and back.
Food & drink
Bulgarian food is grilled meat, salad and yoghurt, and it is very good value. Start with a shopska salad and a plate of kebapche and kyufte; in hot weather tarator (cold cucumber-and-yoghurt soup) is the local hangover cure. Breakfast is banitsa — cheese pastry — with a yoghurt drink or boza from any bakery. Manastirska Magernitsa does old monastery recipes, Shtastlivetsa is the reliable central option. Drink Zagorka or Kamenitza, and if someone hands you rakia at 11am, that is normal — it comes with the salad, not after the meal.
Cheap eats & beer
You can eat properly for under €10. Divaka does big plates of Bulgarian food at neighbourhood prices and has branches near the centre; the bakeries around Graf Ignatiev sell banitsa and pastries for a euro or two; the Central Market Hall (Halite) on Maria Luiza has a cheap food floor. A princess (open-faced grilled toast) from a bakery is the classic hangover breakfast. Beer in a normal bar is €2–3 for half a litre, less in the streets off Shishman, and a shop bottle is under a euro — the kiosks sell cold ones all night. Rakia is cheaper than beer by volume; treat with respect.
Staying safe
Sofia is a safe city to walk around, day or night, and violent crime against visitors is rare. The two things to watch are taxis and bar bills. Only take taxis from the official ranks or order a Bolt — the cars idling outside the airport terminals and on Vitosha Boulevard quote fantasy fares, and the legitimate firms display the per-kilometre rate on the passenger window. Pickpockets work the busy trams and the crowd around the Central Market. Pavements are broken and badly lit in places, so watch your feet on the way home.
On matchday
Which ground you are heading to depends on the tie: CSKA Sofia and CSKA 1948 both play their European home games at the Vasil Levski National Stadium in Borisova Gradina park, five minutes from the centre, while Levski host theirs at the Georgi Asparuhov Stadium (Gerena) out to the north-east. Bulgarian grounds are dry — no alcohol inside — and the segregation is strict, with the away sector accessed through its own gate and a police cordon that forms up early. Bring your passport as well as your ticket; ID checks at the turnstiles are routine. Colours are fine in the centre before the game, but the domestic rivalries here are serious and the ultras are not tourists, so don't get drawn into it.
This city guide is still being fact-checked — some details may be inaccurate.