Sofia

Very close to Saint Sofia is the Alexander Nevski Cathedral, one of the world’s largest Eastern Orthodox churches and built as a memorial to the 200,000 Russian soldiers who died liberating Bulgaria from Turkey in the 1800s. It houses 53 bells, the heaviest weighing 10 tons. The church can hold roughly 5,000 people. Other interesting buildings include the St. Nikolas Russian Church with its beautiful ornate domes, the medieval Sveta Nedelya Cathedral and the Banya Bashi Mosque (a reminder of the Ottoman Empire occupation).

Other points of interest in the city on a Bulgaria vacation include the Lion Bridge, the Eagle Bridge, the Russian Monument, and the monument to Vasil Levski (a Bulgarian revolutionary hero who gave his life in the struggle to free Bulgaria from the Ottomans in the 19th century). 

In the middle of the city, directly across from The Presidential Palace, is The National Archeological Museum, which has in its collection some of the most valuable treasures discovered in Bulgaria. Masterpieces of Bulgarian painting are on display at The National Art Gallery. The National Museum of History, with its collection from prehistoric times to the present day, has one of the largest collections anywhere, with over 700,000 items of cultural importance.