Romania and Bulgaria’s capital cities go toe to toe. Bucharest or Sofia – which one should you visit?

On paper, Bucharest and Sofia appear to offer similar things – gorgeous religious buildings, a cosmopolitan vibe, fantastic day trips and a distinctly Balkan flavour. However, look beyond the surface and you’ll start to notice the differences between the two.

In another edition of our ‘Should I Visit?’ series - let’s discuss whether you should visit Bucharest or Sofia.

Looking for other blog posts in this series? Some of our readers’ favourites include Should I Visit Oslo or Bergen, Choosing Between Vienna, Budapest, Prague or Bratislava, Should I Visit Krakow or Warsaw? and Should I Visit Samarkand or Bukhara?

Unlike most other editions, I have a clear winner out of these two cities. Of course, if you have the time – I would still recommend visiting both to find out for yourself. Without further ado, let’s find out why I would choose one over the other.

Comparison Categories – Bucharest vs. Sofia

To assist in answering this difficult question, it’s necessary to define the criteria for making a decision. I’ve partitioned my final decision into the following comparison categories:

• Entry and Exit Points

• Sights

• Day Trips

• Culture

• Costs and Prices

• Food & Drink

• Getting Around

• Safety

Where to stay in Bucharest

Budget: Ave Hotel Victoriei

Closely located to Bucharest’s main train station, the Ave Hotel Victoriei is a great choice for those who intend multiple day trips from Bucharest. Plus, the hotel is new, trendy and highly rated.

You can take a closer look at Ave Hotel Victoriei by clicking here.

Mid-Range: Vilacrosse Boutique Inn

This is where we stayed, and we couldn’t be happier with our stay. Such a colourful property, right in the heart of Bucharest Old Town. No complaints from us whatsoever – friendly staff, excellent location and fun rooms.

You can take a closer look at the Vilacrosse Boutique Inn by clicking here.

Luxury: Grand Hotel Bucharest

The Grand Hotel Bucharest is located pretty much right in the centre of all the action in Bucharest, right next to University Square and within walking distance from the Old Town. It is itself quite an icon of Bucharest.

You can take a closer look at the Grand Hotel Bucharest by clicking here.

Where to stay in Sofia

Budget: Central Point Boutique Hotel

We stayed at the Central Point Boutique Hotel for two of the nights in our 4-night stay of Sofia, and we were very pleased with the hotel. The staff were friendly and the rooms were clean. The best part about our stay was the central location – everything important was in walking distance. For this price, I don’t think there’s a better hotel out there.

You can take a closer look at the Central Point Boutique Hotel by clicking here.

Mid-Range: B1 Boutique Hotel Sofia

This is a great boutique hotel just 300 metres from Sofia Central Railway Station. Guests especially loved the free breakfast, welcoming staff and value for money.

You can take a closer look at the B1 Boutique Hotel Sofia by clicking here.

Luxury: Hyatt Regency Sofia

The Hyatt Regency Sofia is where we stayed for the other 2 nights of our stay, and we even wrote a blog review on our experience.

We had an absolutely amazing stay here, and some of the highlights included: grand wellness and pool area, lounge access, spacious rooms and delicious culinary options.

This is a top-tier hotel that I would recommend staying at, for sure.

You can take a closer look at the Hyatt Regency Sofia by clicking here.

Entry and Exit Points

Both cities are quite easy to enter and exit. The Balkans are extremely well served by frequent bus connections as well as cheap intra-Europe flights served by airlines such as Wizz Air and Ryanair. Bucharest and Sofia are also well connected to other regions of the world.

If I had to choose a winner here, I would give the edge to Sofia slightly because it is closer to other major cities in the area such as Thessaloniki, Skopje and Pristina.

Bucharest is a little out-of-the-way if you’re traveling by bus, as the nearest major city would be Belgrade or Sofia. Although, Bucharest is slightly better connected in terms of flight routes as it has a larger population than Sofia.

It takes about 5 hours and 30 minutes to get from Bucharest to Sofia by car, or about 8 hours by bus. There are also daily flights between the two cities, and the flight usually takes just over an hour. You can browse through Skyscanner below to find a suitable route.

WINNER: SOFIA

Sights

Bucharest’s Sights

Bucharest’s sights and buildings showcase its storied history – a blend of Neoclassical, Art Nouveau, Communist-era and contemporary architecture. The juxtaposition between old and new is definitely more pronounced in Romania’s major sights.

Although Bucharest is a big city, its main attractions are concentrated around the Bucharest Old Town area. It’s worth noting that the Old Town is just as well known for its buzzing nightlife and bustling atmosphere as it is for stunning sights such as the Stavropoleos Monastery, University Square, Palace of Deposits and Consignments and the Macca-Vilacrosse Passage.

A newer attraction is Carturesi Carusel, a pretty, photograph-worthy bookstore that has exploded in popularity thanks to social media.

Just outside the old town, Bucharest’s other must-sees are the gargantuan-sized Palace of Parliament (which currently holds the record for heaviest building in the world) and the Roman Athanaeum.

How Can You See The Best of Bucharest’s Sights?

You can get around Bucharest pretty easily by using Uber, but if you’re short on time, I would recommend these tours that you can book on Viator, hassle-free:

👉Bucharest by Tuk-Tuk Tour: This experience is super unique and reminds me of the tuk tuks in Thailand! Get a taste of Bucharest’ must-do’s by riding on a tuk-tuk (it’s sort of like a tricycle-type vehicle) - super fun and memorable.

👉 Extremely Affordable 5-star Rated Bucharest Walking Tour: On this 2.5 hour walking tour, visit sights such as Stavropoleos Monastery, Manuc’s Inn, Macca Villacrosse Passage and the Royal Palace. On a budget? This tour is for you.

Sofia’s Sights

On the other hand, Sofia’s main attractions and more centred around the Byzantine and Eastern Orthodox architectural style – you could even say Sofia looks like a Russian city (in a good way)!

It would be impossible not to mention the magnificent St Alexander Nevski Cathedral as a top sight, an icon of Bulgaria itself and one of my favourite cathedrals in the world.

Nearby, the ornately decorated Saint Nikolas Russian Church is a quaint church, but is no less stunning. Other churches include the Rotunda Church of St George, Cathedral of Sveta-Nedelya, Sveti Sedmochislentsi Church and Boyana Church.

Still, Sofia is also more than just a bunch of awesome churches – I would recommend checking out the Ivan Vazov National Theater, Vitosha Boulevard, National Palace of Culture, Former Bulgarian Communist Party Headquarters and the Sofia History Museum.

How Can You See The Best of Sofia’s Sights?

If you’re looking to maximize time and have a hassle-free experience visiting Sofia’s top sights, I would recommend checking out these experiences on Viator:

👉 5-Star Rated Guided Walking Tour of Sofia: Check out all of Sofia’s highlights on this affordable 2-hour walking tour.

👉 Sofia Communist Walking Tour: For a more niche experience, step back in time and recount what daily life would be like during the Cold War era, visiting some of the most important communist buildings in Sofia.

This category is a really tough one to decide as Bucharest, in my opinion, has a wider range of attractions, while Sofia has aesthetically more pleasing attractions. I’m more of a visual person myself, so I would pick Sofia as the winner – however I would understand if you have a different opinion.

WINNER: SOFIA

Day Trips

Bucharest and Sofia both excel in day trips. They are both perfectly positioned for some of the most unforgettable day trips you could take.

Day Trips from Bucharest

Let’s start with Bucharest. From Bucharest, you can easily visit three of Romania’s top attractions in one day – Peles Castle, Bran Castle (also known as Dracula Castle) and the gorgeous town of Brasov.

This day trip is easily the most popular for visitors in Bucharest for a reason – Peles Castle is considered the most beautiful castle in Romania, and Brasov is perhaps one of the most picturesque cities in the country. For an affordable price, you’ll get to experience three distinct flavours of Romania.

👉 You can book the same 5-star Peles Castle, Bran Castle and Brasov Small Group Tour we went on through Viator. The tour was flawlessly run from beginning to end.

Another day trip I would recommend is journeying from Bucharest to Sibiu, one of Romania’s most striking Transylvanian towns and in my opinion, the best place to visit in Romania. Although staying over in Sibiu would be ideal, if you only have time for a day trip, I would absolutely recommend it. You can book the same Day Trip to Sibiu from Bucharest we went on by clicking on the link.

There are too many day trips to mention as Bucharest offers endless possibilities, but here are some more that I’ve heard great things about:

• Transfăgărășan Road Day Tour including visit to Poenari Citadel. If I had one more day in Bucharest, I would have LOVED to do this. Not seeing the famous winding Transfagarasan Highway was one of my biggest regrets while visiting Romania.

• Salt Mine, Planetarium, Winery and Dracula Grave Tour. This is a pretty quirky and off-the-beaten track itinerary that includes visiting Unirea Salt Mine, the largest salt mine in all of Romania. Additionally, you’ll be treated to a wine tasting and a visit to the quaint Snagov Monastery. If you love doing something ‘out of the box’ during your travels, I would check this one out.

• Constanta and Black Sea Private Tour from Bucharest. Constanta is one of the most beautiful coastal cities in Romania, and is a great vantage point to see the stunning Black Sea. I’ve seen some pretty iconic images of Constanta around the web and have always been curious to see what the city is like in real life – I’d love to do this on my next trip to Romania!

Day Trips from Sofia

If you thought the day trips offered from Bucharest were great, we’re about to make your decision tougher because Sofia is also no slouch in this category. There are some amazing day trips you can take from Sofia.

The most popular day trip that visitors embark on is a visit to the Rila Monastery and Boyana Church. Most visitors would really only be taking this day trip to see the breathtaking Rila Monastery, but the quaint Boyana Church is a great bonus too. It is possible to visit just the Rila Monastery using public transport, but visiting on a guided tour is much, much more convenient and isn’t that much more expensive.

👉 We took this very affordable Rila Monastery and Boyana Church Day Trip from Sofia, and it was one of the most well-run tours of our travels around Europe. The tour left punctually, there was ample time in each stop and the guides were super knowledgeable and friendly. Plus, it was so affordable – we were shocked at the price to be honest! Needless to say, we would highly recommend this experience. The Rila Monastery was a visual explosion we will never forget.

LOOK HERE!! I feel the need to highlight this part because I’m super passionate about this next place. If you only take one day trip from Sofia, I would nominate visiting the Belogradchik Rocks and Belogradchik Fortress. While this is a slightly less-known tourist destination in Bulgaria, it is hands down my favourite in all of Bulgaria and has since been considered in the same sphere as the “New Seven Wonders of the World” in terms of beauty.

👉 It’s pretty unfeasible to do a day trip to Belogradchik from Sofia unless you hire your own vehicle, so we went on this day trip and had such a good experience. If you want to have an unforgettable time and take it a step further, you can even fly over the rocks in a hot air balloon.

The unique thing about Sofia’s day trips is that you could hop over to multiple countries and come back to Sofia on the same day. This is an aspect that unfortunately, Bucharest lacks.

Curious to see what Skopje in North Macedonia is like? This Day Tour to Skopje from Sofia gives you that opportunity.

What about Serbia? This Day Tour of Nis and Serbian History Tour from Sofia has got you covered.

You could even see the rarely visited new country of Kosovo over the course of 2 days from Sofia.

That’s not to say that Sofia’s domestic day trips aren’t worth doing – far from it. Here are some of the best Bulgarian day trips from Sofia that you can take:

• Full Day Rila Mountains, Seven Lakes Hike, Hot Springs Tour from Sofia. It’s really astonishing how the stunning nature of the Rila Mountains National Park is positioned so closely to metropolis Sofia – but such is the case. I would have gone on this tour had I visited in any other season apart from the winter, because it looks incredible. This is the winter version of the tour, where you’ll hike using snowshoes.

• Plovdiv, Asen’s Fortress and Bachkovo Monastery Tour from Sofia. Plovdiv is one of the oldest settlements in all of Europe, dating as far back as the 6th millennium BC. It is now Bulgaria’s second largest city and boasts exceptional attractions such as the Roman Theatre of Philippopolis.

WINNER: SOFIA

Culture

Being neighbours, Bulgarian and Romanian culture share similarities, but there are differences in language, influences and traditions. On a short visit to Bucharest and Sofia, you might not notice the differences, but here were some of my observations.

Bucharest felt more like a ‘big city’. The roads seemed wider, the Old Town area is always busy and bustling in a way that I did not get to see in Sofia, there are more people in general, and overall the vibe of the city is just bigger, for lack of a better word. The nightlife scene is more robust, as is the theatre and performing arts scene and range of museums/art galleries on offer.

Here are some Bucharest cultural experiences you may want to check out:

• Dark Side of Bucharest Tour. Explore Bucharest’s harrowing past – from the bloody Dark Ages to the communist era – this spooky tour will take you through all of it.

• Bucharest ‘Life Under Communism’ Tour. Walking tour of Bucharest’s communist past – definitely a ‘special interest’ type of tour.

Sofia is still a big city, but feels distinctively quieter and more orderly. There seemed to be more of a more ‘traditional’ vibe revolving around religion, family and cuisine. That’s not to say it doesn’t have a great nightlife/pub scene – it does, but maybe just less than Bucharest.

Here are some cultural experiences in Sofia you might be interested in:

• Sofia by Night Panoramic Tour with Dinner and Folklore Show. Bulgarians are pretty big on folklore and traditional dance, so watching a folklore show will shed more light on that.

• Sofia Pub Crawl of Hidden Unique Bars. Sofia still know how to party despite having a smaller nightlife scene than Bucharest. This tour includes complimentary wine, beer and liquor.

It really depends on what you prefer – quieter, or busier? For me, it was fun to walk around Bucharest and feel the vibrant atmosphere.

WINNER: BUCHAREST

Costs and Prices

Bucharest and Sofia are generally very cheap to visit, especially compared to other parts of Europe. Neither stood out as obviously cheaper than the other, but after comparing the prices I paid for accommodation, tours and food, I would give the edge to Sofia. In fact, Sofia had some of the cheapest prices I’ve paid for accommodation during my Europe trip.

WINNER: SOFIA

Food and Drink

This category all depends on your personal tastes, but again – both Bulgarian and Romanian cuisine are relatively similar. Think: thick breads, rich meats and fresh vegetables. Bulgarian dishes often include some Greek influences such as yoghurt and feta cheese, so this separates the two a little bit.

Being a bigger city, I felt that Bucharest had a wider selection of international cuisine as I was able to spot many restaurants offering cuisines such as Italian, Korean, Japanese, Chinese, Middle Eastern and more. Also, I’m a bubble tea addict and it felt like there was a bubble tea store at every corner in Bucharest, which wasn’t really the case in Sofia.

Food in Bucharest

Some delicious Romanian dishes you may want to try include Mici, Mamaliga and Sarmale.

👉 Keen to dabble in the Bucharest food scene? Check out this 5-star rated Street Food and Culture Tour, which includes 10 different tastings.

👉Visit and try delicacies from Bucharest’s Bohemian markets, by going on this Bohemian Bucharest Markets and Mahallas Walking Food Tour.

Food in Sofia

For tasty Bulgarian dishes, some popular ones include Banitsa, Kavarma and Tarator.

👉 Try sampling Bulgaria’s famous wine in this Special Selection Bulgarian Wine Tasting in Sofia experience.

👉Foodies should definitely go on this off-the-beaten path Market Food Tour in Sofia visiting three of Sofia’s food markets, where you can savour tastings of classic Bulgarian dishes.

WINNER: BUCHAREST, for the depth in international cuisine as well as local cuisine

Getting Around

Bucharest is a little more spread out than Sofia, but that inconvenience is offset with the convenience of having rideshare apps such as Uber, Bolt and FreeNow that are affordable and work very well.

Sofia is easier to walk around, but the rideshare situation is pretty dire as Uber and other similar apps are banned. We were able to hail down a taxi quite a few times, but overall this was pretty inconvenient.

Both have metro systems and other public transportation that work efficiently and are extremely affordable.

WINNER: BUCHAREST, by a little bit

Safety

Both capitals are safe cities with the statistics to back their reputation. However, as a tourist, you’ll probably feel safer in Sofia.

In Sofia, I was able to walk around pretty much everywhere in the city at night and felt totally safe.

In Bucharest, particularly in the Old Town area, there were more sketchy characters at night lurking around and although nothing dangerous happened, the vibe definitely didn’t feel quite as safe as it did in Sofia. Regardless, you should remember to be vigilant in both cities, especially at night.

WINNER: SOFIA

Overall Winner – Should I Visit Bucharest or Sofia?

Sofia won this battle by a score of 5-3.

This is in line with my overall impression of both cities, as I did enjoy visiting Sofia more.

I found Sofia to be a safe city full of impressive buildings, amazing day trips and friendly people.

On the other hand, I also enjoyed Bucharest’s ‘big city’ atmosphere, memorable sights day and trip opportunities, but maybe just a little less than I enjoyed Sofia.

However, like I mentioned before – if you have the opportunity to visit both Balkan capitals, I would highly recommend doing so as they both have so much to offer and are great gateways to some worthwhile day trips.

Thinking about visiting Sofia or Bucharest? Have any questions? Let me know in the comments below!

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