A guide to Sofia, Bulgaria.
Bulgaria is an often-overlooked Eastern European country, quietly located on the Black Sea coast of the Balkan Peninsula. Due to the special nature of its visa, almost no one applies for a visa to Bulgaria alone. Only those with a Schengen visa will visit Bulgaria while traveling in Southeast Europe, so there are very few Chinese tourists in Bulgaria.
The capital of Bulgaria, Sofia, is a tourist city with a very concentrated number of attractions. Various types of museums, art galleries, opera houses, and European-style government buildings are all concentrated in the city center, making it very suitable for tourists who like city walks.
🌈Presidential Palace: Next to the Sofia Balkan Hotel, with a daily guard change at noon.
🌈National Assembly and Ministerial Office Building (Figures 4–5): Across the street from the Presidential Palace.
🌈Ivan Vazov National Theater (Figures 6–7): The oldest theater in Bulgaria, with a long history and a neoclassical style, it is also a landmark building in Sofia.
🌈Sofia History Museum (Figures 1–2): Located in the Central Bath Square, built on the site of a Turkish bath, opposite the Banya Bashi Mosque.
🌈National Library (Figure 8): A landmark building in Sofia, with statues of St. Cyril and St. Methodius, the inventors of the Cyrillic alphabet, standing at the entrance.
🌈National Art Gallery (top of Figure 9): One of the national art galleries, formerly a royal palace, opposite the Sofia City Garden.
🌈Prime Minister's Office (bottom of Figure 9): The old parliament building, opposite the National Assembly Square.
🌈Monument to the Tsar Liberator (Figure 10): Located opposite the Prime Minister's Office, it is an equestrian statue of Russian Tsar Alexander II, commemorating Russia's victory in the Russo-Turkish War and helping Bulgaria gain liberation.
🌈National Gallery (Figure 11): Located opposite the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, it houses more than 42,000 art pieces, covering Bulgarian art from the mid-19th to the 20th century, European art from the 15th to the 19th century, and art exhibitions from Asia, Africa, and the Americas.
🌈National Palace of Culture (Figure 12): The largest multifunctional conference and exhibition center in Southeast Europe, the Sofia International Film Festival is held here every year.