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Days 1-2: Sofia deep dive

Give the first two days to the yellow-brick core, the Archaeological Museum ($5), and the National Gallery in the former royal palace ($4). Add an evening at Raketa Rakia Bar on Yanko Sakazov for 40 kinds of rakia, about $3 a shot, and dinner at Manastirska Magernitsa on Han Asparuh, where Bulgarian monastery recipes run $10-14.

Base yourself in Oborishte or around Doctor's Garden for the whole week. Doubles at Sofia Place Hotel start at $70, and R34 near Serdica runs about $48. Both put you inside walking distance of every day-one target and near a metro for later trips.

Days 3-4: Rila and Plovdiv

Day 3: Rila Monastery day trip. Rila Monastery Express bus leaves Sofia Central Bus Station at 10:20am, $18 round trip, back by 7pm. Skip organised tours costing $60 unless you want a guide. Day 4: Plovdiv by train from Sofia Central at 8am, 2.5 hours, $10 second class. Wander Kapana, the old town, and the Roman theatre. Last train back is around 8pm.

Days 5-6: Vitosha and Koprivshtetsa

Day 5: hike Vitosha. Take tram 5 to Ovcha Kupel, then bus 63 to Zlatnite Mostove. The Boyana Waterfall loop is 4 hours, moderate. Pack a sandwich; the hut at Zlatnite Mostove charges $8 for bean soup. Day 6: Koprivshtitsa, a 19th-century revival village 2 hours by bus ($8 each way) from Poduyane station. Six house-museums share a $6 combined ticket.

Day 7: slow Sunday

Sleep in. Brunch at Fabrika Daga on Iskar, about $12. Walk Borisova Gradina park, rent a paddleboat at Ariana Lake for $4, then head to Central Mineral Bath square for a free warm-water fill-up and a browse of the Sofia History Museum if you missed it. Finish with a long dinner at Cosmos on Georgi Benkovski, a Bulgarian small-plates place where $30 buys you a serious meal with wine.

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