Snail House

A park with bells from every country in the world.

One of the biggest Bulgarian cinema multiplex. Cinemas in Sofia play all films except children's films in their original language with Bulgarian subtitles.

A nice park in the south-east part of the city, although a bit too crowded on weekends. Vibrant with open area cafes, entertainment for children and grown-ups, and a few ponds with ducks.

This small 11th-century church and garden is on the UNESCO World Heritage List for its well-preserved murals. The layer of fresco from 1259 shows realism and emotion evocative of the early Renaissance, but painted a century earlier. No photos are allowed inside, as the interior is dark and cramped. There is little interpretive information inside; you can hire an on-site tour guide or ask questions to the docent. Only 8 people are permitted inside at a time, for a maximum of 10 minutes. During busy periods you may have to wait for over an hour, yet the queue is self-policed so be prepared to stand outside doing nothing for a while and don't forget who arrived after you! This is at the foot of Vitosha mountain and is a good starting point for day trips in the mountain.

The National Museum of History in the Rezidentsia Boyana provide a comprehensive view on Bulgarian history from the prehistory to present, in as broad of a European context as possible. With more than 650,000 exhibits, it is one of the largest history museums on the Balkans, so be prepared to spend several hours. One main attraction are golden and silver mugs and jewellery from Thracian (around 4th century BC) and Roman periods. About half of the exhibits have English captions.