Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
transport operates between 5:30am and 11pm. However, the difficulty of traveling by
bus or tram (the metro line currently services only the western suburbs; no interest to
tourists) is knowing where to get off—unless you have a helpful Bulgarian on board,
you may overshoot your stop. Best to stick to a combination of walking and taxis,
unless you know your landmarks.
VISITOR INFO
The
National Information and Publicity Centre
(pl Sveta Nedelya; Mon-Fri
9am-5pm;
&
02/987 9778;
www.bulgariatravel.org) has plenty of brochures but
staff is not trained or well-traveled, so help is pretty substandard.
Zig-Zag
is an inde-
pendent agency that specializes in good-quality B&B and guesthouse bookings (in
Sofia as well as in certain rural destinations) as well car rental (from 25
/$32 per day).
They also offer very good value themed trips, including monasteries and mountain
village hikes focusing on rare fauna and flora; adventure tours in the mountains; or
just a walking tour of Sofia. Staff is intelligent and opinionated. for this valuable
attribute you are charged 5lev ($4/1£) ; this can be deducted from any tour you topic
through them (
&
02/980 5102;
www.zigzagbg.com; 20V Stamboliyski bul, entrance
on Lavele St.; Mon-Fri 9am-6:30pm). For personal advice on an itinerary, contact
Nevyana at nevyana@zigzagbg.com.
If you're looking for up-to-date city listings and general information about Sofia,
there are three excellent in-depth booklets distributed free through Zig-Zag and a
number of hotels:
Sofia in Your Pocket
(www.inyourpocket.com);
The Insider's Guide
(www.insidesofia.com); and
Sofia City Guide
(www.sofiacityguide.com). If you want
to know what's on during your stay, take a look at www.programata.bg. Plenty of tour
operators offer guided day trips (from 8:30 or 9am-6pm) to the country's top attrac-
tions (all remarkably close to the city).
FairPlay International JSC
(
&
02/943 4574;
www.fpitravel.com) comes highly recommended by concierges; day trips include 3-
hour or full-day Sofia tours; Rila Monastery; Koprivishtitsa; Melnik; Plovdiv; and
Veliko Tarnovo.
€
FAST FACTS:
Sofia
Banks
With some 40 banks now vying for trade, their ATMs are spread
throughout the city center and you'll have no problem withdrawing money.
Internet
A number of places offer Internet services.
Site
(
&
02/986-0896)
is
conveniently located on 45 Vitosha Blvd., or head for
Internet Café,
Garibaldi
on 6 Graf Ignatiev St. (next to KFC; www.garibaldicafe.net).
Medical
IMC International Medical Centre
has English-speaking doctors who
will make house calls; also
Pediatricians and Gynecologists
(28 Gogl St;
&
0944
9326,
0944 9317, or 0886 532 551). For dental help:
Dentail Center,
VI 5 Ivan
Vazov (
&
02/987-8422
); or
Denta Plus,
41 Graf Ignatieff
&
02/981-0366.
Pharmacy
For information on the closest pharmacy dial
&
178.
A good 24-
hour pharmacy is
BD Pharmel-Em
at 10 Yano Sakazov Blvd. (
&
02/943-3972
);
alternatively, try
Apteca
at 160 G. Rakovski (
&
02/986-7984
).
Restrooms
Public restrooms are best avoided. See details in “Restrooms” in
“Fast Facts: Bulgaria” (p. 68).
