Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
places in Sofia. There are plenty of Western-style restaurants and international fast food
chains if your little ones are fussy eaters.
»Most of the necessities for travelling with toddlers, such as disposable nappies (diapers),
baby food and fresh or powdered milk are readily available in shops and supermarkets
across the country.
»Cots are often available in top-end, international chain hotels in the cities and are more
common in hotels frequented by families in the coastal resorts.
»International car rental firms can provide children's safety seats for a nominal extra cost,
but it's essential to book these in advance.
»Public nappy-changing facilities are rare and childcare (babysitting) agencies are com-
mon only among the expatriate community in Sofia. However, some top-end hotels may
offer this service.
»Breast-feeding in public is not usual and may attract stares.
PRACTICALITIES
»The metric system is used for weights and measures.
»Videos work on the PAL system.
»
Vagabond
(
www.vagabond.bg
) is a glossy, English-language lifestyle magazine,
published monthly and available at bookshops and newsstands in Sofia.
»More than 40% of Bulgarians smoke - one of the highest proportions in Europe.
Since 2012, smoking has officially been banned in all public spaces, including res-
taurants, bars, hotels, cinemas and workplaces, but is still permitted at outside res-
taurant tables.
»Tune into the government-run TV channels (BNT1 and BNT2) or one of the private
ones, including Nova Televisiya, BTV and TV7. Televisions in most - but certainly
not all - hotel rooms can pick up a plethora of stations from around the region, so
you can enjoy Romanian game shows, Greek movies and Turkish news programs, as
well as BBC, Euronews, CNN, MTV and other international cables channels.
»The national radio station
Radio Bulgaria
(BNR;
www.bnr.bg
)
has a daily one-hour
English-language broadcast; listen online or check the website for details. In Sofia,
tune into
BG Radio
(91.9FM;
www.bgradio.bg
)
, and for music, try
Jazz FM
(104FM;
www.jazzfmbg.com
)
,
Melody Radio
(93.4FM;
www.melodybg.com
)
or
Classic FM
(89.1FM;
www.classicfmsofia.com
)
.
Darik Radio
(
www.darikradio.bg
)
,
