Sofia is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain. The city is built west of the Iskar river and has many mineral springs, such as the Sofia Central Mineral Baths. It has a humid continental climate. Being in the centre of the Balkans, it is midway between the Black Sea and the Adriatic Sea and closest to the Aegean Sea.

Known as Serdica in antiquity and Sredets in the Middle Ages, Sofia has been an area of human habitation since at least 7000 BC. The Roman remains have been preserved underneath many newer buildings. 

We took the 2 hour Free Sofia Walking Tour in glorious sunshine - informative and amusing: highly recommended! We followed the guides recommendation for a typical restaurant (Under  the Linden trees), which was close to the stadium (where we parked for the night - 20Levs). The meal was excellent and very good value.

After the meal, my ladies retired for the night, and I retraced our steps to see Sofia-by-night, adding a loop to see the main nightlife street and the spring festival.

Next morning I went for  a pre-breakfast bike ride, 2/3 of the way up Vitosha, with a wonderful, technical trail down - next time maybe I can take a bit longer and get to the top!