Sofia and Plovdiv: two cities, 144 km apart

Layers of history in the centre

Three houses of worship of three faiths stand within a short walk of each other in central Sofia: Sveta Nedelya Church, the Banya Bashi Mosque and the Sofia Synagogue, sometimes called a triangle of religious tolerance; the Catholic Cathedral of St Joseph has more recently been added to make it a square. Under the streets lies Roman Serdica. Serdica metro station displays Thracian and Roman remains uncovered during construction, and the Serdica Amphitheatre can also be seen.

Museums

The National Archaeological Museum covers the country's ancient past. The Museum of Socialist Art gathers sculptures and posters from the communist period and explains everyday life under it. The National Historical Museum manages Boyana Church, below. For performances, the city has the National Opera and Ballet and the Ivan Vazov National Theatre.

Boyana Church

On the city's edge, in the Boyana quarter, this small medieval church was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1979. It was built in three stages, from the late 10th or early 11th century to the mid-19th, and its walls hold 89 scenes with 240 human figures. To protect the paintings, the interior is kept at 17–18 °C and groups of up to eight people may stay for ten minutes. Expect to wait if several groups arrive together.

Plovdiv is the second-largest city, with 329,489 people in 2024, on both banks of the Maritsa river in the fertile Thracian plain. It grew on seven syenite hills, which is why Bulgarians call it the City of the Seven Hills. There is evidence of settlement from around 6000 BCE; it was the Thracian Pulpudeva, then Philippopolis, founded as a city by Philip II of Macedon, and later the capital of the Roman province of Thracia.

Plovdiv was European Capital of Culture in 2019, and in 2016 it joined the UNESCO Global Network of Learning Cities. It is also an economic, transport and university centre, so it stays busy outside the tourist season.

The Sofia–Plovdiv line was the first in Bulgaria to be electrified, in 1963, and it is the main rail link between the two cities. BDZ fares are dynamic: they depend on the length of the trip, the day and the time. Look up times and fares on the BDZ website for your date. The only international night train in Bulgaria, to Istanbul, also calls at Sofia and Plovdiv; it can be booked only at stations.

If you are driving, you need an e-vignette for the car; see the driving page.

The UK Foreign Office advises visitors to watch for pickpockets and bag thieves in tourist areas, on buses and trains and at transport hubs, particularly in larger cities and at night. It also warns of overcharging in so-called gentlemen's clubs in Sofia, sometimes with threats of violence, and advises paying by card only where the transaction is completed in front of you.

The same advice notes that Sofia holds an annual Pride event with a heightened police presence, and that public attitudes outside the capital tend to be more conservative.