A little local perspective
Worth knowing.
Worth going.
- Destination
- Sofia and Bansko, Bulgaria
- The selection
- 7 hotels
- Your kind of trip
- value · skiing · history · city break
$ to $$ — roughly 100-280 euros a night, among the best value in Europe
Within about three hundred metres of each other in central Sofia stand an Orthodox cathedral, a synagogue, a mosque and a Catholic church. Sofians call the arrangement the Square of Religious Tolerance, and while the name is a modern tourism coinage the buildings are not: the Banya Bashi mosque dates from 1576, the Sveta Nedelya church from the tenth century in its earliest form, and the synagogue — completed in 1909 and among the largest in Europe — serves a community most of whom survived the war.
That last point is worth stating. Bulgaria's roughly 48,000 Jews were not deported, after church leaders, parliamentarians and public protest stopped the trains in March 1943. Jews in the territories Bulgaria administered in Greece and Yugoslavia were deported and killed. Both facts belong together and the museum in the synagogue handles them properly.
A city built on its own ruins
When Sofia dug its metro, it hit Roman Serdica — the city Constantine the Great called "my Rome" and considered making his capital before choosing Byzantium.
Rather than clear it, the builders left it exposed. Streets, a basilica, an amphitheatre and bathhouse remains now sit under glass and open air in the middle of the modern centre, with commuters walking past fourth-century paving on the way to the platforms. The Church of St George, a fourth-century rotunda, stands in a courtyard surrounded by government buildings and is still in use.
A mountain inside the city
Vitosha rises to 2,290 metres and part of it lies within the city boundary. A public bus and then a lift take you from the street to the ski slopes, and Sofia is the only European capital where that is true.
Bansko, two and a half hours south below the Pirin mountains, is Bulgaria's main ski resort and consistently among the cheapest places in Europe to ski at a genuinely high standard. The national park behind it is UNESCO-listed.
Plovdiv, ninety minutes east, is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in Europe with a Roman theatre still used for performances.
The seven below are grouped that way.
Sofia
The capital.
InterContinental Sofia occupies a building near the city centre with a spa, a pool and the most complete facilities in Bulgaria.
Grand Hotel Millennium Sofia sits on the boulevard by the National Palace of Culture with a large spa, a pool and contemporary rooms.
Sense Hotel Sofia occupies a position facing the Alexander Nevsky cathedral with a rooftop bar looking straight at the domes.
Hyatt Regency Sofia sits near the centre with a spa, a pool and reliable rooms at a lower rate.
Bansko
The Pirin resort.
Kempinski Hotel Grand Arena Bansko occupies a position at the Bansko gondola base with a large spa, several pools and ski-in access.
Premier Luxury Mountain Resort sits above the town with an adults-only policy, a spa and mountain views.
Regnum Bansko Hotel & Spa occupies a property in Bansko with several pools, a spa and full family facilities.
What we have left off
The family hotels and guest houses across Bansko and the Rila villages are excluded, and in Bulgaria they are very inexpensive and often excellent. They are guest houses rather than hotels.
What to do
Walk the Serdica ruins under the streets, then go into the rotunda of St George, which is fourth-century and has layers of frescoes from three different eras on its walls.
Go up Vitosha from the city on a bus, which takes under an hour from the centre and puts you on a mountain.
See the Rila Monastery, two hours south, founded in the tenth century and rebuilt in the nineteenth with black and white striped arcades and a painted porch. It is the most photographed building in the country and it earns it.
Ski Bansko if you are here in winter, and compare the price to the Alps.
Eat shopska salad, banitsa and the grilled meat, and drink rakia, which arrives before the food rather than after.
Practical notes
Sofia's airport is twenty minutes from the centre on the metro. Bansko is two and a half hours by road; Plovdiv ninety minutes.
The ski season runs mid-December to April. Summer is warm and good for the mountains. Spring and autumn are pleasant and empty.
Bulgaria is among the best value countries in the European Union, and the hotel standard is higher than the prices suggest.
Every hotel bookable in Bulgaria
What is the Square of Religious Tolerance?
A mosque, a synagogue, an Orthodox cathedral and a Catholic church within about three hundred metres of each other in central Sofia.
Is there Roman city under the streets?
Yes. Serdica was exposed during metro construction and left open under glass, with a fourth-century rotunda still standing nearby.
Can you ski from the city?
Vitosha rises to 2,290 metres partly inside the city boundary and is reached by public bus and lift.
How many nights?
Four. Two in Sofia and two in Bansko or Plovdiv.
