21 guides to Sofia-Grad

Two days is enough to walk the yellow-brick core, eat 3 proper Bulgarian meals, and still get a soak at the mineral baths.

Seven days lets you do Sofia properly, add Rila, Plovdiv and Koprivshtitsa, and still have a lazy Sunday at the baths.

Sofia is one of Europe's cheapest capitals. Three full days here on under $50 a day is comfortable, not painful.

Sofia rewards a bit of spend. For about $200 a day you get a design hotel, a private Rila driver, and 3 of the best meals in the Balkans.

Bulgaria's second city sits 90 minutes east on the Trakia motorway. One day gets you the Roman theatre, Kapana, and back in Sofia by 9pm.

The 10th-century monastery sits 120km south in the Rila Mountains. Doable in one long day; the frescoes alone are worth the ride.

A 19th-century revival village 110km east of Sofia, frozen in the year of the 1876 April Uprising. Six house-museums, one $6 ticket.

Sofia is the only European capital with a 2290m mountain inside its city bus network. A single $0.90 ticket puts you on a trail.

Bulgaria's smallest town — 200 people, one main street, and sandstone pyramids that glow orange at 6pm. 175km south of Sofia.

Seven glacial lakes stepped down a Rila cirque at 2100-2500m. The full loop takes 5 hours; the top viewpoint takes 2.5.

Sofia is small. Five neighbourhoods matter, and the difference between the right one and the wrong one is 20 minutes of your day.

Sofia has four hard seasons. May, June and September are the sweet spots; July-August are hot; January is cheap and often beautiful.

Sofia has 4 metro lines, a working tram network, honest taxis, and a walkable core. A 24-hour pass costs $2.20.

Sofia runs on the lev but takes cards almost everywhere. A sit-down dinner with wine averages $18. Tip 10%.

Sofia is one of the safer European capitals. Violent crime is rare; the scams to know are taxi-related and change-related.

Bulgarian food is grill-heavy, dairy-forward and cheap. Ten dishes cover 90% of what Sofia menus offer.

Three real markets, one covered hall and a Saturday farmers' market. Skip the souvenir stalls of Vitosha and go to where locals actually shop.

Sofia is where you can eat well every meal for a week on $10 a day. Ten reliable stops, all under a tenner.

A full 3-day itinerary in Sofia costs nothing if you skip Boyana Church and the crypt museum. Here is how.

Sofia's nightlife is cheap, competent and unpretentious. Skip the strip on Vitosha Boulevard; the real bars are on Shishman, Angel Kanchev and Ivan Vazov.

Sofia faces west across the Sofia plain toward the Balkans. Six spots that catch it well, from free park benches to $12 rooftop cocktails.