Solo travel

It was my first time in Bulgaria. Sofia was really cheap, public transport was easy to use and arriving on time. There is not a lot of attractions, you can feel the influence of corruption so the city looks quite poor. Nevertheless, I think it’s worth seeing once in your life. Nevski cathedral is really beautiful and christmas fest was beautiful. Food was cheap and good. I stayed at Ramada Wyndham in the city centre and I can recommend it. I really liked gym, pool and sauna there.

Solo travel

I met a lot of very interesting and kind people, eat a lot of good, local and traditional food. I really recommend bulgarian kitchen and atmosphere, it's really cozy i nice. Visited some atmospheric places, bars and interesting attractions:)

Couple travel

Overall, the city is beautiful and has so many gorgeous buildings with clearly different influences from history. Sofia feels very lived in, but overall it’s a chaotic place in my opinion. It’s a very walkable city with lovely public parks and green spaces to chill. We were really lucky with the weather and had a lovely time walking around. We stayed near Serdica metro, which was very convenient. However, at night time we felt a bit unsafe as there were a lot of people drinking on the street and being rowdy together. I also spent some time on my own and was followed from a cafe all the way...

Sofia is a relatively safe city, the center and nearby neighborhoods are calm. It is more dangerous at night, as well as in some of the outer neighborhoods of the city. Around the central station is a bit of a dangerous area.

Overall, I'd say Sofia is a safe city. The areas I picked as unsafe are mainly around the railway station, but they are also with more police officers which is a good thing most of the time. Don't get me wrong, I walk alone there during the day without worrying, but would not do it during the night just as a precaution.

Sofia is incredibly safe capital, at least way safer than most western European cities/capitals. I don't think there is a specific "no go" area. If you are really worried, just stick to the city centre or the southern neighbourhoods. Or find a Bulgarian friend/guide. There are a bit more homeless people around the area of the central railway station and I've heard stories from people getting robbed around Lavov Most/Lions Bridge. So if you can't avoid them for travel just be more careful in those areas.