Let me show you the city as I remember it.

The first time I got to Sofia, I decided to walk from the airport to the hotel, since the route on the map was a little more than 4 kilometers and I decided to save money. Although this isn’t directly about the city, I’ll just say my decision wasn’t the best — since the hotel turned out to be at a different address and I had to go searching for it.

So, how do you get from the airport to the city? As always, there are several options:

• By taxi (about 20 minutes, about 10 km)
• By rental car (also about 20 minutes)
• By metro (at the time of my trip, the Letishche Sofia station didn’t exist yet — otherwise it would have taken only 18 minutes).
• By bus (Bus #84, Bus #384 - travel time about 40 minutes)
• On foot (one and a half to two hours, about 8 km)

If you plan to explore the city extensively, I recommend getting a 1-day pass. It’s valid on all public transport (metro, buses, and trams).

Overall, the city didn’t leave a strong impression on me, but a few things did catch my eye.

This is the Vitosha mountain range. You can reach the lower lift station by taxi — it’s right on the edge of the city, and within just 15 minutes you’re already starting your climb.

Look at the views!

And finally...