City Guide: Sofia

     In Sofia, there is always something to fall in love with.

     You will like its nostalgia its’ past days reflected in the neo-classical Stalinist architecture and the 19th century Viennese buildings – these all share the skyline with new boutiques springing up within the city.

     From its past to present Sofia at Booked.net, we have collected all hotels in Sofia from cheap offers to those with luxuries all available with maps, photos and secure forms.

     In Sofia, the first you see is what this city is today – an emerging European capital. It will greet you with the usual city-like buzz like shoppers’ queues, locals drinking coffee at open-air cafés and serenades by folk musicians at the metro stations. Just feast your eyes on the city's Ottoman mosques and Red Army monuments and you can see there is more to Sofia.

Attractions include;

- St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, the largest orthodox church in the world

- Hagia Sophia Church, a symbol of the whole Bulgarian history

- The National Museum of History in Sofia, the largest history museums on the Balkans

- National Palace of Culture, a communist-style building and impressive congress center

     Looking around the city, you will reveal its 4,000 years of history that all of its attractions are soaked in. The city started as a Thracian settlement and its growth prompted Constantine the Great to call it ''My Rome''. Later the area became a part of the Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman empires and then a Soviet country. With the fall of the Soviet Union in 1989, Sofia moved forward both economically and in terms of infrastructure.

     Today the main share in the city's income comes from trade and transport. These activities place Sofia at the heart of Bulgaria’s economy and the city is also ranked as the country's financial hub with Bulgarian National Bank, Bulgarian Stock Exchange and much international business headquartered in Sofia.

     Almost all population of the city numbering 1,249,798 residents is busy employed in these industries. The biggest part of these people, about 96 percent is ethnic Bulgarians making Sofia a city with a monotonous ethnic face.

     This lack of cultural variety is made up for by the geographical tapestry of the city, Sofia is sandwiched between the Balkan Mountains to the north and the Vitosha Mountains to the south and covers the flat area of plain 550m above sea.

     Whatever you like in Sofia, from its mountainous background, its people or its attractions, Booked.net will make you stay in the city memorable.