As I now work full time in France, once of my favorite things about the work culture here is how much time they get off. Not only in terms of vacation days, but also during the month of May!
During this month, there are four “jour fériés”, or bank holidays, three of which most companies follow, and the fourth one is not mandatory.
These days are also referred to as “les ponts de mai“, or “the bridges of May“, since when they fall on a day close to the weekend, the majority of workers will take a vacation day to bridge the gap to the weekend, and extend their holiday.
Last year as an alternant, I didn’t realize people would take vacation around these holidays, so I was literally the only one in my office working. I told myself that the next year I would take part, so here is my blog for my first pont vacation in Sofia, Bulgaria!
In this blog, I will share my full itinerary for exploring Sofia and Plovdiv, Bulgaria in 4 days, any tips we learned, and what places you absolutely shouldn’t miss for when you plan your trip here!
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At a glance :
Top tips for traveling to Sofia, Bulgaria
Day 1 : Arriving in Sofia
How to get to the city center from the airport
First impressions of Sofia
Late lunch at a traditional Bulgarian restaurant
Strolling through historical Vitosha Boulevard
Hummusbar dinner
Day 2 : Exploring Sofia’s history
Breakfast at a Bulgarian café
Free walking tour of Sofia
Lunch at a traditional Serbian restaurant
The Red Flat Museum
Dinner at a Modern Bulgarian Restaurant
Day 3 : Day trip to the oldest city in Europe
Exploring Plovdiv, Bulgaria
Dining in an antique attic in Sofia
Day 4 : Heading back to France
Early Morning Sunday Brunch
Taking the metro to the airport
Before we get into it, our plans for our trip had actually changed the week of! We were really hoping to do a hike about 2 hours outside of Sofia at the Seven Rila Lakes in the mountains, however they were still receiving lots of snow in the middle of May, so we canceled our hike since we didn’t have enough gear. I believe the tour we were going to go through at Get Your Guide even canceled it as well because the conditions were so bad!
Instead, we decided to take a day trip to Plovdiv, which ended up being amazing!
I would love to go back to do the hike because it looks absolutely gorgeous.
If you are going to Bulgaria for the Seven Rila Lakes hike, I used this website to stay up to date with the conditions of the trail.
Top tips for traveling to Sofia, Bulgaria
- English is not as widely spoken throughout Bulgaria, even in its capital city of Sofia
We found that we ended up speaking French with many people, in shops and at our hotel. Google translate will otherwise be handy. In most larger restaurants, however, English should be fine. - Sofia is a very walkable city!
Once in the city center after arriving to the airport, you will very slimly need any sort of transportation. It is very easy to walk everywhere, and perfect for getting to know more of the city. If you do need to take public transport, the metros are very easy to use, and accept Apple Pay. - Book restaurants ahead of time
Any and all popular restaurants will be booked during dinner hours! On the weekend, we spent a lot of time walking from restaurant to restaurant to find an open table since we did not have a reservation. - Bulgaria is now on the euro
As of January 2026, Bulgaria has fully converted from using the Bulgarian lev to using the euro. I would recommend keeping cash on you, as there many be limits on credit card machines, or some places may only take cash. - Try out the local specialties!
My favorite experiences of this trip was bonding with the locals and trying their specialties. They were so happy to share their culture and see us enjoying their favorite dishes. Don’t be afraid to try something new! - Safe for solo travelers
Sofia may not be the first place you think of for a solo trip, however it is actually known as the safest city cities in Europe. Even talking with the two female solo travelers we met, for one of them it was their first solo trip, they were comfortable the whole time. Yet, always be cautious, and never share with strangers you are solo traveling!
Day 1 : Arriving in Sofia
How to get to Sofia’s city center the airport
There are two main ways to reach Sofia’s center from the airport, either by bus or by metro. I assume you could also use Bolt, which is often more popular than Uber in Europe, but we wanted to take public transportation.
Either option should be rather simple, provided you have Google Translate. We took the bus into the city, the bus stop was right outside of the arrivals at the airport so it wasn’t too difficult to find. I say provided you have Google Translate, because at the bus stop, all of the stops are written in Bulgarian, so you won’t be able to understand the names otherwise!
Using Google Maps, we were easily able to make our way into the city and get off at the right stop.
First impressions of Sofia
Arriving in Sofia, what I immediately noticed was the architecture and state of all of the buildings. It seems almost run-down at first, but it is comprised of brutalist, communist, modern, Neo-Byzantine, ancient Roman ruins, and even colonial style buildings.
Different streets offer different feels, and especially in center Sofia, you will see a large mix of brutalist with Neo-Byzantine, and colonial style.
What was most fascinating to me, was that the brutalist buildings feel even older because the material absorbs the pollution, given it a more worn look.
However, as we walked throughout the city and explored, there is so much more beyond the architecture, as you will read below!
Late lunch at a traditional Bulgarian restaurant
After checking into our hotel, we were quite hungry since it was already in the afternoon, so we decided to check out a traditional Bulgarian restaurant for lunch.
We went to Manastirska Magernitsa, which is in a gorgeous old building that was owned by the first literary critic in Bulgaria, Professor Krastyo Krastev, after the liberation of Bulgaria.
Walking up you can already feel the history within this place. Since we didn’t have a reservation, it ended up being great that we came for a late lunch, as this place, as like most restaurants in Bulgaria, would fill up fast for dinner.
We had the most relaxing lunch in their courtyard under the sun, it was really so peaceful.
We decided to try a bunch of different specialties, and honestly I was shocked at how flavorful everything was! I wasn’t sure what to expect from Bulgarian cuisine, but it really impressed me.
We started off with a Shopska salad, the most fresh salad native to Sofia with tomatoes, red onion, cucumber, and freshly shredded sirene cheese, along with 3 dips, and their complementary bread. The bread might have been the fluffiest bread I’d ever tasted. It was a bit buttery and so light and soft, it went perfectly with our two other starters.
For our main meal, we tried the meatballs and the kebab, and both were so rich and flavorful. My favorite were the meatballs with the mashed potatoes!
And to compliment everything, we had a glass of their Bulgarian raspberry wine, which wasn’t too sweet, and really was the perfect drink on a hot May day.
Strolling through historical Vitosha Boulevard
After our lunch, we headed towards Vitosha Boulevard, which is in center Sofia. This street offers a gorgeous view of the Vitosha Mountains nearby, which was so refreshing to see coming from Paris where we don’t have any nearby mountains in view!
This street really is a testament to the history in Bulgaria, as it has changed many times over the past few decades, initially lined with two-story houses in the late 1800s, before transforming into modernist apartments in the 1930s and 40s, and eventually evolving as it is today, with many local and international brands, as well as restaurants lining the avenue.
For more background on the history of Vitosha Boulevvard, check out this page!
Hummusbar dinner
For dinner our first night, we were still held over pretty well from our incredible lunch, however we still wanted to get something to hold us over till the next morning.
Earlier in the day we had passed by a hummus spot called Hummusbar on the corner that looked promising, so we circled back to give it a try.
As of lately I’ve definitely been a hummus feen, so this hit the spot.
It looks like this restaurant is now closed as I’m writing this blog, but if they happen to open back up, it’s worth a stop.
Day 2 : Exploring Sofia’s history
Breakfast at a Bulgarian café
To start off our second day in Bulgaria, we wanted to try a traditional Bulgarian breakfast speciality called mekitsa, and found a small café nearby Vitosha Street called Мекица и Кафе (Mekitsa and Coffee).
Mekitsa is basically a type of flat fried dough made with yogurt, and can be topped with jams or other sweet garnishes. This café was known for them, so it was the perfect spot!
We tried one with nutella and banana, and I also had one of their cakes, which was very chocolately with some nuts.
These were both really tasty, and I loved the little café because the lady working was so sweet and making everything fresh and to order.
Free walking tour of Sofia
Our first activity of the day was to take a free walking tour to learn more about the history of Sofia.
Recently, I’ve been loving taking these free walking tours when I first arrive somewhere new to help give me some background of the city, learn more about their history, and get any recommendations from the tour guide.
Our guide was super interactive, giving us pop-questions throughout, and showed us Roman ruins hidden where the metro runs.
We signed up through Free Sofia Tour, and they offer English-speaking tours every day!
I also really enjoy these tours because you’re able to meet other travellers and chat with them throughout. It’s a great option if you happen to be solo traveling!
Our tour ended at Patriarchal Cathedral St. Alexander Nevsky, a Bulgarian Orthodox cathedral named after a Russian saint, and built in honor of the Russian Emperor Alexander the 2nd who had helped liberate Bulgaria during the Russo-Turkish war.
A marvelous view from the interior as much as exterior, this is a perfect example of the Neo-Byzantine style architecture in Sofia. This ended up being a great ending point as we were able to go inside the cathedral on our own afterwards as it’s free to observe.
Additionally, right near by the cathedral, there were artist stands set up along the pavement showcasing their works, and they were all so unique and talented. My friend and I ended up buying one of the wooden blocks with flowers painted on it because they were so gorgeous, and each really spoke to us.
The man selling them was so kind too, telling us the story of the woman who makes them, and you could see how passionate they both were.
Lunch at a traditional Serbian restaurant
For lunch, we decided to try a traditional Serbian restaurant, since we had considered doing a day trip to Niš, and because my friend’s family is Serbian. I had never tried Serbian cuisine before, so I was super curious to try it.
A short walk from the cathedral, we tried out Ресторант „Банкович“ – Славейков. We had been the only ones there when we walked up, but it was also 2pm on a Friday, so just after the lunch hour. Our server almost seemed confused when we walked in!
We knew we wanted to try rakia eventually during our trip to Bulgaria, as it is their national liqueur, and also in Serbia as well, so we decided to try it with our lunch at this restaurant, ordering it with our salad as our server recommended.
Our server seemed so happy to bring us the rakia, he had the biggest smile on his face! We realized after that rakia is often served when welcoming others into your home, as a sign of hospitality and respect, so we could see why he was so excited for us to try it.
For our meal, we ordered another Shopksa salad, which is also popular in Serbia, as well as the Serbian kebab and potatoes. To finish off our meal, we decided to have a little dessert, and split a chocolate soufflé with ice cream.
Everything we had was so rich and fresh; you can really taste the quality of the ingredients, as well as feel the deeply rooted traditions in the restaurant.
I would definitely recommend Ресторант if you are looking to try Serbian cuisine.
The Red Flat Museum
One of the sights I was most looking forward to in Sofia was visiting the Red Flat Museum. This museum lets you walk through an apartment of a family during the communist regime of Bulgaria in the 1980’s, and see what life was like on a day to day basis through their eyes.
Throughout your visit, you listen to stories through an audio guide, adapted to many languages, and you can sit in their place, touch their belongings, and feel like you are living during this time period.
I felt like this museum was very unique, and was a great way to learn more about Bulgaria’s history.
I would recommend booking your slot around a week in advance, since it is a small apartment and they limit the number of visitors. Tickets are 9.20 euros.
Dinner at a Modern Bulgarian Restaurant
Another restaurant that absolutely blew us away!
We had dinner at 1920 Shishman, which had a very modern take on Bulgarian cuisine. After having a few meals now in Sofia, it was fun to see their cuisine from a new lens.
They gave us a homemade bread with butter to start, I can’t remember exactly what the flavor of the butter was, but I do remeber it was delicious.
For my meal, I decided to order two appetizers as I wasn’t insanely hungry, and it was still quite filling!
I went for their shopska salad and their savory twist on the mekitsa, with spinach and almost a ricotta-like cheese.
I was really impressed with the presentation of the dishes, and also how they really leveled up these classic dishes. I am still dreaming about this mekitsa!
Day 3 : Day trip to the oldest city in Europe
Exploring Plovdiv, Bulgaria
For our third day, we took a trip outside of Sofia to Plovdiv, the oldest city in all of Europe, roughly 8,000 years old, and the second largest city in Bulgaria.
We booked our guide through Get Your Guide, which included full transportation to Plovdiv from Sofia. This was my first time doing a tour like this, but it ended up working out great! It was super convenient rather than finding a train or bus on our own to reach Plovdiv.
Our tour showed us many unique spots of Plovdiv, such as many Roman ruins, an artisan village, many museums that we can explore afterwards, and a beautiful sight of the whole city, with many remnants of old communist buildings.
For me, I thought it was super fascinating, especially as it didn’t feel as old as Athens or Rome! The city has clearly changed and evolved over the course of thousands of years, and intertwines the past with the present.
It is a very family friendly city, with lots of housing and restaurants, yet also Roman ruins in the center of international brands like H&M.
At the end of our tour, our guide recommended us a great area for lunch in a bustling old street filled with so many lively patios. The area is Kapana, and it is a must-visit for your lunch!
My friend and I made friends with two female solo travelers on our tour, and asked them to have lunch with us because they seemed super sweet. My favorite part about traveling is always meeting new people, and it was so enjoyable to spend a lunch with them, and we ended up making plans for dinner later as well.
Afterwards, we had free time to explore Plovdiv on our own, which was great to see more of the city. Our tour guide ended up basically extending our tour, and taking us to see some more parts of the city as well which was unexpected!
One souvenir I did end up buying in Plovdiv was rose oil for my face, as Bulgaria is the largest producer of roses and rose oil in the whole world. I’ve been using the oil for about 2 months now, and I actually notice a difference in my skin, it feels much more hydrated.
There was a whole shop dedicated to products with rose and rose oil, this is definitely a must when traveling here!
Dining in an antique attic in Sofia
Arriving back in Sofia after a full day trip to Plovdiv, we were quite hungry. We were looking to have our last dinner at one of the famous and traditional Bulgarian restaurants our tour guide had recommended, but they were all booked since it was a Saturday evening.
In fact, it was really hard for us to find a table anywhere! We stumbled in and out of many restaurants, but kept getting turned away.
As our hope started to diminish, we checked out a restaurant that almost seemed closed on the outside, but walked up to the doors anyway to take a look.
Situated in what used to be a family’s home, this gorgeous restaurant, Made in Blue, fills up all three to four floors of this house, and really fills the space well.
We were lucky to have a seat in the adorable attic! For reference, we arrived maybe around 7:45pm, and it didn’t completely fill up until around 8:30 / 9pm.
We shared our dinner with the two solo travellers we met on our day trip, and it was so sweet to continue getting to know them.
We split their hummus, labneh and pita for an appetizer, and I really could have had it as my whole meal, just for me. The ingredients were so fresh, and the pita chips were hot out of the over and sprinkled with paprika. This is definitely my favorite combo.
For my meal, I had their grilled sea bass, and to my surprised I literally received the whole sea bass. I had never filleted my own fish before, so I was struggling a bit with the tiny bones. But aside from this challenge, it was perfectly cooked.
Made in Blue ended up being such a gem!
Day 4 : Heading back to France
Early Morning Sunday Brunch
Heading out on our last morning, we had a some extra time, so we decided to have a quick brunch (at 9am) before heading to the airport. Most places were still closed this early, even the bakery we wanted to go to, so I was surprised this restaurant was open!
We went back to 1920 Shishman, where I had the modern take on the Shopska salad and mekitsa my second night.
I had their “Eggs 1920”, which had poached eggs, cottage cheese, katak (a creamy cheese made with sirene), and cherry tomatoes on sourdough.
An elevated brunch dish, and so well done. This was the perfect meal to hold me over during the flight!
Taking the metro to the airport
To get to the airport, we decided to take the metro this time instead of the bus, as we did when we first arrived in the city.
The metro was quite easy to figure out, and accepts Apple Pay.
I would recommend taking the metro over the bus, because there are clearer signs that guide you to where you want to go, especially with everything being in Bulgarian!
Final thoughts
I absolutely loved my long weekend in Bulgaria. Immersed in so much culture and history, I feel like I really got to know the country and the people, even in such a short time.
There were so many beautiful sights to see throughout, in Sofia and Plovdiv, and I still want to go back so I can do the hike at Seven Rila Lakes.
If you’re considering traveling to Sofia, I definitely recommend it, as it will be a unique experience from any other place!
Be sure save this blog on Pinterest for later, and subscribe to my blog to stay up to date on all of the travel deals, new foodie blogs and city guides, and tips for moving and living abroad!
Xx,
Carmela
