National Palace of Culture

Sofia


Sofia's vast concert hall dates from 1981 and houses countless chambers, as well as music clubs and cafes. It watches over an elongated park known as pl Bulgaria. At the northern end of the park is the disintegrating 1300 Years Monument, built in 1981 to celebrate the anniversary of the creation of the First Bulgarian Empire.

Nearby is a memorial and chapel dedicated to the victims of the communist regime, with a plaque bearing some 10,000 names. Behind it is a section of the Berlin Wall.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Sofia attractions

1. Ploshtad Bulgaria

0.15 MILES

Watched over by the polygonal concrete bulk of the National Palace of Culture, this elongated park, with a fountain, ice-cream kiosks and bars, is popular…

2. Earth & Man Museum

0.36 MILES

This rather old-fashioned museum is dedicated to geology, with two floors of minerals, crystals, ores and the like. There are some big and impressive…

3. Peyo Yavorov House-Museum

0.4 MILES

The Romantic poet and revolutionary Peyo Yavorov (1878–1914) briefly lived in a small apartment here; the three rooms have been restored to their original…

4. Sveti Sedmochislenitsi Church

0.57 MILES

Set in a leafy garden, this church dedicated to Sts Cyril and Methodius and their five disciples was originally built as a mosque in 1528; it later became…

5. Ivan Vazov House-Museum

0.72 MILES

Bulgaria’s best-loved author, Ivan Vazov (1850–1921) lived at this house from 1895 until his death. Vazov wrote Under the Yoke, a classic of Bulgarian…

6. Sofia City Art Gallery

0.73 MILES

The chunky building at the southern end of the City Garden park is an art gallery staging rotating exhibitions of mostly contemporary Bulgarian and…

7. Sofia City Garden

0.79 MILES

This small, central park, bounded on its northern end by ul Tsar Osvoboditel, is favoured by Sofia's chess-playing pensioners. It's home to the National…