Originally built as the headquarters of the Ottoman police force, this is where Bulgaria’s national hero Vasil Levski was tried and tortured before his public execution in 1873. After the liberation, the building was remodelled to become the official residence of Bulgaria’s royal family. It now houses the Ethnographical Museum.
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Royal Palace
Sofia
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
0.3 MILES
One of the symbols not just of Sofia but of Bulgaria itself, this massive, awe-inspiring church was built between 1882 and 1912 in memory of the 200,000…
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0.22 MILES
Sveta Sofia is one of the capital's oldest churches, and gave the city its name. A subterranean museum houses an ancient necropolis, with 56 tombs and the…
4.15 MILES
Tiny 13th-century Boyana Church is included on Unesco’s World Heritage list and its 90 murals are among the very finest examples of Bulgarian medieval…
0.12 MILES
Housed in a former mosque built in 1496, this museum displays a wealth of Thracian, Roman and medieval artefacts. Highlights include a mosaic floor from…
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0.21 MILES
Built in the 4th century AD, this tiny red-brick church is Sofia's oldest preserved building. The murals inside were painted between the 10th and 14th…
2.62 MILES
If you wondered where all those unwanted statues of Lenin ended up, you'll find some here, along with the red star from atop Sofia's Party House. There's…
0.27 MILES
The history of Sofia is presented on two floors of the magnificent former Turkish Mineral Baths, just behind the mosque. Exhibitions are divided…
0.23 MILES
This remarkable, partly covered excavation site, situated just above the Serdika metro station, displays the remains of the Roman city, Serdica, that once…
Nearby Sofia attractions
Displays on regional costumes, crafts and folklore are spread over two floors of the former royal palace, and many of the rooms are worth a pause…
2. National Museum of Natural History
0.09 MILES
You can almost sense the ghosts of generations of school parties dutifully trooping through the musty halls of Bulgaria's oldest museum, founded in 1889…
3. Sveti Nikolai Russian Church
0.11 MILES
This beautiful church with glittering mosaic exterior and golden domes was completed in 1914 for Sofia’s Russian community, and named in honour of St…
0.12 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…
0.12 MILES
Housed in a former mosque built in 1496, this museum displays a wealth of Thracian, Roman and medieval artefacts. Highlights include a mosaic floor from…
0.14 MILES
This domineering Stalinist monolith, built in 1953, was once the headquarters of the Bulgarian Communist Party. It is now used as government offices and…
0.16 MILES
The Bulgarian president’s office isn't open to the public, but the changing of the guard ceremony (on the hour) is a spectacle not to be missed; for the…
0.19 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…