Communist Sofia Walking Tour

At 10am, head to the Tourist Information Center adjacent to the Sofia University metro station, and meet up with your guide. For the next three hours, your guide — who’s a trained specialist in history — will lead you on a small-group walking tour of the city.

The main focus of the tour is Bulgaria’s Communist past, and you’ll see traces of that history everywhere you venture. Begin at the Monument of the Soviet Army before hopping on trolley — a relic of older times — to the National Palace of Culture, which holds the annual congress of the Socialist Party (and which displays a piece of the Berlin Wall).

Next, meander down Vitosha Boulevard until you reach the former headquarters of the Communist Party, before heading to the site of the Georgi Dimitrov Mausoleum. The tour winds down when you head to the antique market around the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, where you can pick up some Communist-era relics for yourself. An optional coffee break can also be added to the tour itinerary.