About this experience
Sofia is such an ancient settlement that through its history you can observe the development of all European civilization. Bulgarians say that Bulgaria is the cradle of Europe, and Serdika (Sofia) is its navel. Yes, Sofia was once called Serdika because its first inhabitants were the Serdi people. It is known for sure that people have always lived in this place since the Neolithic era.
They were attracted by the convenient location - the Sofia Valley was a paradise among the Balkan mountains: rich flora and fauna, hot mineral springs, absence of dangerous animals and insects, mild climate, and the intersection of all roads from all sides of the world - a kind of European crossroads of importance.
What awaits you:
I offer you a walking journey through time, which will take from one and a half to three hours, depending on how impressed you are with what you see and how long you will admire the ancient architecture of Sofia. Some churches have preserved ancient frescoes and icons. And all this is thanks to the excellent climate that you will immediately feel in Sofia. You will taste the Sofia atmosphere: the air here smells like coffee, roses, cigarettes, mountain wind, manure, perfumes, and roasted meat.
We will walk through the ancient fortress of Ulpia Serdika, which was opened for viewing quite recently (a year ago). It was discovered in 1944. The fortress fits very harmoniously into the center of Sofia. Its parts are located in the metro, underground passages, and on the surface opposite the Tsum. I will show you the map of the ancient city of Serdika and you will understand how grandiose this project was for those times. We will see the amphitheater, over which now rises one of the best hotels in the country. We will visit two operating ancient temples - the church of St. Petka Stara and the church of St. Petka Samardzhiyska. I will tell you why all these buildings are below ground level.
And I will definitely share with you the secret knowledge of the locals: where you can eat well and cheaply, buy fashionable clothes almost for a song, exchange currency profitably. I will tell you everything I know about the famous Bulgarian cosmetics and real estate.
This is not a sightseeing tour of the city - we only inspect ancient objects. You can book a sightseeing tour of Sofia here.
Organizational details:
- The excursion is on foot, I do not drive a car and do not organize transfers. You have to get to the starting point of the excursion yourself - in the correspondence I will tell you how to do it.
- The tour is designed for adults and children from 14 years old.
