Ukraine 29, Boriana Str. Phone 955 94 78 www.ukramb.bol.bg
United Kingdom 9, Moskovska Str. Phone 933 92 22 www.british-embassy.bg
United States of America 1, Saborna Str. Phone 937 51 00 www.usembassy.bg
Venezuela 1, Tulovo Str. Phone 943 30 61
Yugoslavia 3, Veliko Turnovo Str. Phone 946 16 33
Health
The Bulgarian Health Security does not have a contract with similar foreign institutions about covering the costs of medical services provided for non-Bulgarian citizens. This means that in most cases it is recommended to arrange some kind of travel/health insurance for yourself before visiting Bulgaria. First aid is free for everyone including tourists.
Pharmacies
It is not very difficult to get certain medicines without a prescription.
Prescriptions brought from abroad are not accepted ????. Below pharmacies which are open 24 hours, but you must ring the doorbell after opening hours.
Call 178 for information about pharmacies (in Bulgarian)
No. 7 - 5Sveta Nedelya Square, Phone 987 50 89
First Private Pharmacy - 42 Tsar Assen I Street Phone 46 54 35
24 Hour Pharmacy Center Dr. G. M. Dimitrov Boulevard (near Studentski Grad)
Farmatel Phone 962 22 22 Delivery service.
Shopping
Opening hours
In the case of supermarkets, food and grocery shops regular opening hours are: Mondays until Saturdays 9 am until 7 pm. You can find 24 hours supermarkets and restauyrants that operate 24 hours.
The main shopping areas are on Vitosha Blvd., Graf Ignatiev St., Rakovski St. and all the streets leading off from them. The Central Department Store (TsUM), has recently re-opened as a shopping centre on three floors where you will find everything from souvenirs to household goods. The area around Shipka Street, Oborishte and San Stefano has all sorts of small private shops, boutiques, furniture etc., where service is friendly even if choice is limited. Market stalls around town, often lumped together under one roof, hide the occasional bargain if you look carefully (slight seconds from western fashion houses etc.)
To find what you are looking for your best bet is still to wander around the central and back streets and see what you come across. If you find something you like buying it straight away. It might be gone by the time you get back.
The Central Halls (Halite) on Maria Luiza Blvd once again specialize as a Food Hall with over 100 different pavilion shops offering all kinds of fresh foods. On three levels; shops also offer household goods and fashion boutiques. There is also a food court and create facilities.
Nearby, Pirotska Street has been transformed into a continental style pedestrian area with a variety of shops and street cafes.
Most popular with tourists is the arts and crafts market around the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral. Here you can find all kinds of typical Bulgarian souvenir items. Embroidered table clothes, jewelry, lace, Russian dolls, handmade toys, ceramics, wooden items, imitation icons and paintings, as well as so called antiques. There are also plenty of serious Antique shops around which may hide a treasure or two. Never pay more than what it is worth to you, and check whether you require an export certificate when buying genuine antiques.
Our recommendations for souvenirs include: Bulgarian wine, Rakia (the schnapps) 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 table wear.
There are several specialized shops for Bulgarian souvenirs: 14 Vitosha Blvd., 11 Knyaz Al. 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 no shopping malls in the center, but a few in suburban areas. One is called Metro, Mr Bricolage, Billa, Como.
Tax-free Shopping
VAT in Bulgaria is 20%. Tax free shopping is possible for EU citizens only until 2007 when Bulgaria will join the EU. Obtain information on Tax-free Shopping at:
Tax free Information
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Postal Service
The central post office is at 6 Gen. Gurko Street. A normal size letter up to 20 grams to other countries costs 0.85 BGN; inside Bulgaria 0.22 BGN. To send postcards to other countries 0.32 BGL, inside Bulgaria 0.11 BGN. Public post boxes do not have a partucular color and their size is varying.
Laundry
We hope to find one to list here.
Museums & Galleries
Museums
National Museum
2, Vitosha Blvd., phone: 884 160)
The museum covers the whole period from prehistory to the present day. The ground floor houses relics from the earliest period up to the Middle Ages and includes gold and silver treasures (the Panagyurishte treasure), ceramics and archaeological remains. The first floor concentrates on ecclesiastical art, the 19th century Bulgarian National Revival including folk costumes, carpets and typically furnished rooms from that period.
Opening hours: 09.30 am - 06.30 pm; No day off
Archaeological Museum
2, Saborna St., phone: 882 406
Remains of Thracian, Greek and Roman settlements in the ivy-clad 15th century 'Buyuk(Big)Mosque'.
Opening hours: 10.00 am - 6.00 pm; Closed on Mondays.
The Earth and Man Museum
2, CherniVrah Blvd., phone: 656 639
Founded in 1986. Over 20,000 exhibits are on display, divided into six sections: Giant Crystals, Minerals of the Earth, Industrial Minerals, Raw Material Sources of Bulgaria, Gems, New Materials. The museum also holds art exhibitions and classical music evenings, which are noted in our cultural supplement.
Opening hours: 10.00 am - 6.00 pm; Closed on Sundays and Mondays.
Natural History Museum
1, Tsar Osvoboditel Blvd., phone:885 215)
The museum was founded in 1889 and opened to visitors in 1907. Nowadays the museum has three major sections: Geology, Zoology and Botany. Apart from several meteorites, the 'Earth and Space' exhibition features unique lunar samples and an impressive dinosaur skeleton. A special exhibition shows live pythons, crocodiles, and iguanas.
Opening hours: 10.00 am - 7.00 pm; No day off.
Ethnographic Museum
6A, Moskovska St., phone: 874 191
The museum displays folk costumes, fabrics, jeweler, woodcuttings, hammered ironwork, etc. A small craft shop sells crafts, costumes and musical instruments from all over Bulgaria. In the former Royal Palace on Tsar Osvohoditel Blvd., along with the National Art Gallery.
Opening hours: 10.30 am - 5.30 pm; Closed on Mondays and Tuesdays.
The Alexander Nevski Crypt
1, St. Alexander Navsky, Sq, phone: 877 697
The crypt museum was founded in 1965 and contains items from the very beginnings of Bulgarian iconography (the end of the 9th century) until the end of the 19th century. All stages of the Bulgarian iconography school are represented in a collection of 1500 items.
Opening hours: 10.30 am - 6.30 pm; Closed on Tuesdays.
Galleries
National Art Gallery (Retrospective exhibition of Bulgarian and foreign art)
1, Knyaz Battenberg Sq., Opening hours: 10.30 am - 6.30 pm; phone: 980 33 20
National Gallery for Foreign Art
1 Sveti Alexander Nevski Sq., Opening hours: 10.30 am - 6.30 pm; phone: 877 697
Art Gallery of the Union of Bulgarian Artists
6, Shipka St., Opening hours: 10.00 am - 5.30 pm; phone: 43 351
Sofia City Art Gallery 1
Gourko St., Opening hours: 10.00 am - 5.30 pm; phone: 872 181
Antiques, Second Hand Book Shops
You will find the best antique shops on Rakovski Street. Saveikov Square is the place where a lot of bookstalls are during the summer.
Tourist Information
Besides GayGuide.Net Sofia you can contact the state operated National Tourism Promotion and Information Agency (1 Sveta Nedelia Square, 1000 Sofia, Phone +359/2 987 97 78; +359/2 987 11 52).