We bought this place because we fell in love with the garden, the amazing trees ( pines, sequoia) , the astonishing view- you can see the whole city spreading in front of you while sipping on a glass of wine or enjoying barbecue with friends in the garden.
It is a very calm and quiet place and at the same time, a bus stop is nearby which will take you just in 10 minutes to the closest Underground station from where in NO time you will reach Sofia downtown with its main attractions.
It is located in a beautiful neighbourhood called Kinocentara meaning the place where they make movies because nearby are located the film studios of NuBoyana images – the film production centre in Sofia. The house is just one street down from the panoramic road linking few neighbourhood located at the foot of the magnificent Vitosha mountain. Our house is very kids, and pets friendly and we have two offices set up and a very high speed internet .
Sofia has been an area of human habitation since at least 7000 BC which makes the capital of Bulgaria one of the oldest cities in Europe. Today, Sofia has a lot cultural and historical attractions to offer to its visitors. Just where we are, in our neighbourhood is located the famous Boyana church - a medieval Bulgarian Orthodox church, included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. This site is one of the most completely and perfectly preserved monuments of east European medieval art. The frescoes in the church, painted in 1259, make it one of the most important collections of medieval paintings.
I will not bother you with a list of museums and attractions, but it is important to say that in Sofia we have a museum for kids and grown up kids called Muzeiko – a fantastic hands-on museum for young kids, but plenty for the parents to enjoy too and a nice way to spend few hours while enjoying the capital.
Sofia is at the foot of Vitosha mountain which means you can spend a lot of time exploring the nature and outdoors , visiting various walking paths through the mountain in the Vitosha National Park. We have plenty of places for pique nicque, Boyana waterfalls, paths where you can cycle and many other.
At the same time, Rila mountain is very close to Sofia and I would strongly recommend a day trip with a guided tour to the splendid Seven Rila lakes – you will enjoy beautiful nature, yes there is hiking so be prepared , but the views are astonishing and you can have a nice homemade meal in some of the local mountain chalets.
In the winter you can go to Borovets resort , still in Rila mountain one of the biggest ski resorts in Bulgaria.
From Sofia there are so many other places and things to explore, I will just name few : a day trip to Plovdiv – one of the most ancient and beautiful cities in Europe, European Capital of Culture in 2019. You can also visit Veliko Tarnovo, capital of Second Bulgarian Empire. If it happens that you come in May, I would recommend a visit to the famous Rose Valley where you can witness and do yourself rose picking, Bulgaria is the producer of the best quality rose oil in the world. While there you can also visit many Thracian tombs, enjoy a day in any of the many spa resorts or do a wine testing. If you happen to come in September, I would recommend a visit south in the Sandanski and Melnik region, known as the Bulgarian Toscana where you can sip on a nice local wine, visit wineries and local monasteries and Melnik old town.
While here , you could also plan a visit to neighbouring Greece, Turkey, Serbia, Croatia, Montenegro , Romania.
Thessaloniki is 400 km away, Athenes is much further south but there are plenty of convenient flights. Istanbul is reachable either by car or plane. You can also plan a visit to Belgrade – capital of Serbia which is 400 km away west.
I have plenty more to tell you and I will be delighted to guide you if you choose to visit our beautiful country.
We are open to all kinds of SWAP's arrangements as well as with points. One request which we always will ask you though is to take care of our dog - a very friendly and loving Bernese Mountain dog called Andrea. He spends most of his time outside and only needs to be fed and given water. If you wish to travel around Bulgaria, we have arrangements with people in the neighbourhood who can do this for us.
Thank you for considering!
