Sofia Sightseeing: Sites and Prices
Sofia stacks 2,000 years of history into a walkable core, Roman ruins sitting directly under a working metro station, a mosque and a synagogue a few streets apart, and a cathedral you can see from most of the city. Here is what each sight actually costs and what the entry rules are.
St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral
Open daily 07:00 to 19:00. The cathedral nave itself is free, and it is Sofia’s most photographed landmark for good reason, gold domes and an ornate Orthodox interior. The Icon Crypt Museum, officially the Museum of Christian Art and a branch of the National Gallery, charges 10 euros standard, 4 euros for pensioners, over-65s, and students, and just 2 euros on Thursdays. Enter the crypt via the external staircase on the church’s north side, and expect a strict dress code throughout: shoulders and knees covered, hats off for men.
Boyana Church
A UNESCO World Heritage site open daily, 09:30 to 18:00 April through October and 09:00 to 17:30 the rest of the year. Adult admission runs about 6 euros, students and seniors around 1 euro. Groups of 8 to 10 people are let in for strictly 10 minutes at a time to protect the fragile 1259 frescoes inside, so reserve ahead by email if you can, and leave the camera in your bag since photography is banned. Bus 64 gets you there.
National Historical Museum
Housed in Todor Zhivkov’s former communist government residence in Boyana, at bul. Vitoshko Lale 16. Open 09:30 to 18:00 in summer, 09:00 to 17:30 in winter. Adult tickets run about 5 euros, students and pupils around 1 euro, and admission is free after 15:00 on the last Monday of each month. The headline exhibit is the 4th-century BC Panagyurishte Gold Treasure, over 6 kilograms of solid 24-karat gold.
Church of St. George and Ancient Serdica
The Rotunda of St. George, Sofia’s oldest surviving building, dating to the 4th century, sits inside the Presidency courtyard, open daily 08:00 to 19:00 and free to enter. A short walk away, the Ancient Serdica complex exposes a preserved Roman street grid and 4th to 6th century basilicas directly above Metro Serdica. The outdoor walkways are free and open around the clock; the covered archaeological hall costs about 3 euros and closes Mondays.
More worth the detour
St. Sofia Basilica’s 6th-century nave is free, while its underground necropolis of Roman tombs runs about 3 euros. The Sofia Synagogue, the largest Sephardic synagogue in Europe, charges roughly 5 euros and closes Saturdays. Banya Bashi Mosque, built in 1566 over natural hot springs, is free outside prayer times. The Regional History Museum, inside the old Central Mineral Baths building, costs about 3 euros and is free the first Thursday of each month, but note that no bathing happens here anymore, the building closed as a public bathhouse in 1986.
Book a Sofia sightseeing or Boyana Church tour if you would rather skip the reservation logistics, or a full-day Sofia and Boyana tour that bundles the crypt museum and the church into one trip.
Confirm crypt pricing directly on the National Gallery’s own page and Boyana Church visiting rules on its official site before you go, since reservation slots shift seasonally. Every fee above is in euros, the sole currency in Bulgaria since 1 January 2026. Pair this with the Sofia walking tours guide to link several of these on foot in one loop.