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For a weekend in Sofia, spend Saturday outside the city (outdoor shooting from €70, ATV tours from €60 or karting from €19, all within about an hour), Saturday evening at a traditional tavern with live folk music or on a party bus, and Sunday in town: Museum of Illusions, a Bulgarian wine tasting (€30) or a Turkish hammam (from €40). If it rains, swap the outdoor day for an escape room and the museum.
Tell us your dates, how many you are and what you like. A local person sends back what's actually available this weekend, with prices.
💬 Plan my weekend on WhatsAppMost "things to do in Sofia" lists give you the same five landmarks: Alexander Nevsky, the Rotunda, Vitosha Boulevard, the ruins at Serdika, the National Palace of Culture. See them, they're lovely and they're all within a 20-minute walk of each other. You can do the lot on Friday afternoon.
This guide is about the rest of the weekend: the things people actually tell their friends about when they get home. We book them every week, so the prices below are real and the plan is the one I'd give a friend.
Sofia's big advantage is that mountains and proper adrenaline are 30 to 60 minutes away. Pick one of these for Saturday morning, and we sort the transport there and back.
In the warm months you can also swap any of these for white-water rafting on the Struma (€40) or a day on the water at Iskar Reservoir, covered in our water sports guide.
Start with dinner at a traditional mehana. Our pick is one of the old Revival-era houses or wine cellars with live folk music every evening, or a full folk show with dancers. Book ahead on weekends; we can reserve the table for you. The full list is in traditional Bulgarian restaurants in Sofia.
Travelling as a group, a birthday or a stag? Then the night starts on the bus.
Sunday is for the centre. Everything below is walking distance from Serdika metro or Vitosha Boulevard.
Sofia gets proper weather in autumn and winter, so have a plan B. Move the outdoor day to Sunday if the forecast allows, and fill Saturday with indoor things: the Museum of Illusions, the wine tasting, the hammam and this one:
The landmarks take half a day. For the rest: outdoor shooting, ATV tours and karting within an hour of the city, traditional dinners with live folk music, the Museum of Illusions, Bulgarian wine tastings, escape rooms and Turkish hammams.
For activities outside the city and for Saturday dinners, yes, ideally a few days ahead. Museum and hammam visits are usually fine the same day. Message us and we'll check.
We arrange transport from your hotel and back for the out-of-town activities, so you don't need a car.
Escape rooms, the Museum of Illusions, a wine tasting and a hammam all work in any weather, and they're all in the centre.
Yes: the Museum of Illusions, karting, the 12+ version of the escape room and, in summer, family rafting.
Dates, number of people, and whether you want adrenaline, food or a bit of both. You get real options and prices, usually within minutes.
💬 Plan my weekendI've been planning weekends in Sofia for visitors since 2018. Everything here is something we book ourselves every week.
