Sofia Shopping Options

The main shopping areas in Sofia are on Vitosha Blvd, Graf Ignatiev St, Rakovski St and all the streets, leading off from them. Recently, the Central Department Store, more popular as TsUM, has re-opened as a shopping center on four floors where you will find everything from souvenirs to household goods. At the area around Shipka Street, Oborishte and San Stefano you can find all sorts of small private shops, boutiques, furniture and so on, where the total service is friendly enough even if choice is limited. There are plenty market stalls around town, which often lumped together under one roof, hide the occasional bargain if you look carefully (slight seconds from western fashion houses etc).

So, in order to find what you look for, your best bet is still to wander around the central and back streets and see what you will encounter, and if you find something you like, buy it straight away - it might be gone by the time you get back! The Central Halls or Halite on Maria Luiza Blvd once again specialize as a Food Hall with over 100 different pavilion shops, suggesting all kinds of fresh foods, but the three levels of shops also offer household goods and fashion boutiques. Nearby Halite is Pirotska Street, which has been transformed into a continental style pedestrian area with a variety of shops and street cafes.

Sofia Shopping - Unique Gifts and Souvenirs

The most popular area with souvenirs for the tourists is the arts and crafts market around the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral. If you go there you will find all kinds of typical Bulgarian souvenir items - embroidered table cloths, jewelry, lace, Russian dolls, handmade toys, ceramics, wooden items, imitation icons and paintings, as well as so called antiques. Also, there are plenty of serious Antique shops around which may hide a treasure or two, but remember to never pay more than what it is worth to you, and check whether you require an export certificate when buying genuine antiques.

The most recommended souvenirs include - Bulgarian wine, Rakia or brandy, sealed in ceramic urns, Bulgarian carpets, icons and also some of the famous Troyan pottery - especially the earthenware casserole dishes, which make great inexpensive oven to tablewear.

However, there are plenty of specialized shops for Bulgarian souvenirs, some of which include - 14 Vitosha Blvd, 11 Knyaz Dondukov Blvd, Shishman St near the "Tsar Osvoboditel" monument, within TsUM, and in the underpass near the President's office on Dondukov Blvd. There are also arts and crafts shops, and one of the best of them is situated on the ground floor at the Bulgarian Union of Artists, 6 Shipka St offer unique pieces at very reasonable prices. If you want to buy a book, then Slaveikov Square with its open-air book stalls is a great place to browse and you find foreign language books about Bulgaria as well as dictionaries and so on.