A fire destroyed the monastery at the beginning of the 19th century, and the complex was rebuilt soon after.
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Rila Monastery, or the Monastery of Saint Ivan of Rila, to give it its full name, is an Eastern Orthodox monastery founded in the 10th century. Rila Monastery – suggested length of time: 2 nights If you are staying in either Blagoevgrad or Rila town, there are regular buses (every hour or two) to the monastery. Because our hotel was in Blagoevgrad, this is what we did. The final, and most flexible option, is to take one of the more frequent public buses from Sofia’s Central Bus Station to Blagoevgrad (about 20km south of Rila town). It’s a 10 am departure and the cost is €20 round-trip so it’s not the most economical way to travel if you are not returning to Sofia. The advantage of this company is the central pick-up and drop-off point next to St. Alternatively, several companies provide self-guided tours of Rila – effectively they provide you with direct transport from and back to Sofia.
Two hours is ample time to tour the monastery.Īnother option is to take a cheap tour to Rila Monastery but, if you are planning to stay the night in Rila or close by, not return with the transport to Sofia (don’t forget to tell your guide/drive!). For those doing a day trip to Rila Monastery, the return bus departs for Sofia at either 3 pm or 3.30 pm (depending on the time of year). It departs Sofia at 10.20 am, arriving at 1 pm. The most direct route is to take the daily Rila Express bus from Sofia’s West (Ovcha Kupel) bus station which will drop you right outside the monastery. There are a couple of ways budget travellers can reach Rila Monastery independently from Sofia. Rila Monastery is a popular day trip from Sofia, but we have included it as an overnight stay on our suggested Bulgaria itinerary. Of course, Sofia has hotels to suit all budgets and styles. Unfortunately, that trip didn’t happen! However, there are lots of alternative apartments in Sofia. These days we favour staying in an apartment and, after a lot of research, we selected Chick Midtown Stylish Apartment for our 2020 trip. Hostel Mostel gets consistently good reviews but there are plenty of other Sofia hostels to choose between. It was good although the prices seem to have increased substantially since our stay. We have stayed at Hello Sofia Guesthouse near the Central Market. Other alternative things to do in Sofia include looking for an unusual form of street art or visiting museums such as the Red Flat, the Museum of Illusions or the Museum of Socialist Art.įormer Communist Party House (The Largo) in Sofia Where to stay in Sofia If you are interested in seeing more of Sofia’s Communist-era architecture and monuments, add another day in Sofia and follow our suggestions. It was opened in 1981 to celebrate 1300 years of the Bulgarian state and is a must for travellers interested in architecture from that era.
One of Sofia’s most prominent landmarks, the National Palace of Culture is about a 15-minute walk from the sights listed but chances are you will come across it if you explore any of Sofia’s many parks and green spaces. Between the two is Sofia’s central market – perfect for grabbing a snack or souvenir. Next on your walk are the Ottoman-era Banya Bashi Mosque and (demonstrating the cultural diversity of Bulgaria through history) Sofia Synagogue, one of the biggest synagogues in Europe. In the same area is the Serdica archaeological complex, where the restored remains of the excavated Roman city of Serdika are on public display. Nearby is the Largo, one of Sofia’s most iconic pieces of socialist-era architecture, and the monument of Saint Sofia, after whom the Bulgarian capital is named. Start a self-guided walking tour of Sofia’s highlights at the impressive Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, before continuing to the Russian Church of St. Food and wine/beer are good quality and inexpensive for a European capital city, and the locals are friendly. If you enjoy wandering around, discovering old architecture, visiting historic sights, and relish nice bars, restaurants and cafes, you will be happy in Sofia. Sofia – suggested length of time: 2 or 3 nightsĬompact Sofia is easy to explore on foot and, although the main sights are broad-ranging, from Roman ruins to Communist-era monuments, many of them can be seen in a day or so. Our suggested Bulgaria itinerary starts in the capital Sofia, although there are also international flights into Varna and Burgas on Bulgaria’s Black Sea coast, so you could pick up the itinerary at any point.