Ginger is one of my favourite night clubs in Sofia. It is famous for brit pop, disco funk and other groovy styles like this piece. It hosts several good DJs that always bring the guests into a great dancing mood.  

The best parties are by DJ Fozzy & DJ Marten. Fridays is usually time for a retro party, or they call it “oldschool party”. You can always check the program on their facebook.

Entrance is 5 BGN, and a long drink costs around 6 BGN. One wall is covered with mirrors, which makes the place look quite spacious. There is a free wardrobe, and there is a place to smoke right outside of the lobby – not sure if that’s legal in the underpass, but there are also tables there to make you feel more comfortable and chatty. 

People usually start to come here after 23:00. So, if you feel like dancing – go ginger!

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Club Ginger | Bars | Entrance BGN 5
1 Bulgaria Square, underpass | +359888446437
Thu – Sat 21:30 – 05:00

This tiny street with narrow pavement offers numerous hidden treasures – a shop for perfume and cosmetics, a shop for hand-made clothes, several tiny shops for hand-made jewelry, a fresh snack-bar (check the Fresh Break article), a soup house (check the Supa Star article), some bars and restaurants with gardens. At the corner with Graf Ignatiev Str. you will come to the church “St. Sedmochislenitsi” with a small park beside it, where you can relax on a bench.

Having all those little artistic shops, it was not a surprise that Tsar Shishman Street was chosen to be the place for a project called “Sofia breathes”. The project started last summer and for several weekends the street was closed to cars. Sofia citizens and guests were involved in numerous activities - children would create drawings with their hands, youths would ride bicycles, adults would attempt to walk on a rope, tourists would pick up fancy hand-made souvenirs. An old piano would challenge the visitors, music and dance performances would take place along the whole street, photo and poster exhibitions would attract art lovers.

The next edition of “Sofia breathes” is going to take place this August, so for now can enjoy the numerous art shops, bars and snack restaurants!

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Tsar Shishman Street | Art & culture, Relaxing | Free
Tsar Shishman Str.
24 hours daily

Sofia has a lot of parks, but for me this is the most beautiful one – it feels compact and diverse at the same time. I cross the park almost every day, since I live nearby.

The park seems rather small in comparison to other parks in the capital, but thanks to its diversity and friendliness it has little things to offer to all generations. Lots of people come here for sports – jogging, cycling, playing badminton, volleyball or football. In the area around the American Embassy you can even go for some hiking. There are also outdoor fitness facilities, which are used mostly by elderly people.

For the kids there are many attractions at all entrances to the park. In the evening you can see young people playing cards, playing guitar or drinking beer. Rock concerts also take place here and attract people from at least three generations. This month the the A to jazZ festival will also take place here!

During all seasons the benches seat happy couples. Very recently they renovated two of the main entrances, which will surprise you with colorful flowers, fashionable white chairs in the shade or sun, a beautiful pool and a great view of the mountain.

Winter or summer, a lot of people still enjoy the park, especially after many of its main alleys have been recently renovated. The view towards mountain Vitosha is unforgettable – don’t miss it!

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South Park | Relaxing | Free
202 Vitosha Blvd.
24 hours daily

There are numerous cultural institutes in Sofia and some of them have been active for more than 40 years. The Hungarian cultural institute is one example. Our countries have been in close relation since Communist times, exchanging experts and knowledge in many fields. That was how my parents went to work in Budapest during the Regime, so for me Hungary has always been very special.

The Hungarian institute in Sofia hosts various events like exhibitions, concerts, movies, literature evenings, book presentations, conferences, language courses. Here are some highlights for June:

- 20th June, 18:30: Hungarian folklore dances, free entrance! 

- 20th June, 17:00: Exhibition opening “Homeland and liberty”.

- 21st June, 19:00: Mono performance of Mariela Stancheva, based on short stories of various Hungarian writers.

Additionally, people interested in Hungarian culture, art, movies, music or literature, can visit the institute in the opening hours.

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Hungarian Institute | Art & culture, Music | Free
16 Aksakov Str. | +35929872307
Mon – Fri 09:00 – 17:30

Sofia Art Gallery is situated in the very heart of Sofia – the City Garden. It probably possesses the richest collection of Bulgarian art, including paintings, statues, graphics and drawings. It also has a Соntemporary Art and Photography department.

The current exhibition is dedicated to the 110th anniversary of the birth of Zlatyu Boyadjiev. It consists of two parts – the first one includes iconic works by Zlatyu Boyadjiev from different periods, and the second is dedicated to his friendship with Vassil Barakov and David Peretz – the three known as Baratsite, tracking their common path in arts, as well as the personal development of each of them.

Apart from this, you can see part of the gallery’s huge collection of Bulgarian Art. 

The entrance to the gallery is free, so don’t miss it during your walk through the City Garden! 

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Sofia Art Gallery | Art & culture, Music | Free
1, Gen. Gurko Str. | +35929872181
Tue – Sat 10:00 – 19:00, Sun 11:00 – 18:00

After my favorite jazz bar was closed, Studio 5 came to rescue me and all jazz lovers in town. Situated in the mere heart of Sofia, it opened just few months ago and it’s the music, the guests, the artists, the stage, the elegance, the atmosphere – everything stops you from looking at your watch and helps you forget about your trivial round.

Studio 5 is hosted by some of the big names associated with jazz music in Bulgarian, including the jazz singer Hilda Kazasyan who is often performing on the stage. My favorite (and certainly one of the best) Bulgarian trumpet players Mihail Yosifov is also a regular performer with various formations. The focus of the club is obviously on jazz music, but Studio 5 is “open-hearted” and hosts many other cultural and artistic events.

Here are some highlights of February’s program:

19th June, 18:30: Hristo Yotzov Quintet

20th June, 22:00: Ruth Koleva (highly recommended)

22nd June, 22:30: Jazz Night with Mihail Josifov Sextet (highly recommended)

26th June, 18:30: Norwegian Chorus

28th – 30th June: Jam Session Nights – together with A to jazZ Festival

The whole program can be found here (in Bulgarian). Studio 5 is spacey, but sometimes it’s a good idea to make a reservation in advance – especially for jazz events on the weekend. Let the music in!

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Studio 5 | Bars, Music | Approximate entrance BGN 10
National palace of culture, entrance A3 | +35929631254
10:00 – 02:00 daily

Though the entrance to the Institute of Contemporary Arts is at the back of an otherwise inconspicuous apartment building, this is one of the oldest un-institutional contemporary art institutions in town.

ICA is an association of some of the best known Bulgarian artists, curators and theoreticians that have more or less been the face of the country in this area. It moved into this place of its own three years ago, which was great news as spaces dedicated to contemporary art in the city are sparse.

So far ICA averages about 5 exhibitions per year, but if you don’t happen to be in town during one of them, it also has the ambition of keeping an archive and those who may be interested in Eastern European contemporary art may just ask around – the gallery host is enthusiastic about conversing with visitors.

ICA also hosts what hopes to be the world’s smallest gallery – “a gallery in a drawer”. It’s a good chance to get acquainted with the  scene, and also visit this unpopular albeit central area in the city.

The format of the gallery is also a révérence to “apartment” exhibitions in the communist block where any art practices other than socialist realism were to be hidden.

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ICA Sofia | Art & culture | Free
134, Vassil Levski Blvd.
Tue – Sat 15:00 – 19:00

Hip-Hip Atelier is another contemporary art space that hatched in this fruitful area (check the Ladies Market and the Disintegrating Sofia articles). So far it has held a few events, but I love this place most for the big blue lady, left on the wall from the opening collaboration with the Italian artist DEM. The furniture, as with the whole place, is also designed by the owners.

The ambition of the place is to be less of a “museum” and more of a meeting space. To that end they recently opened the Hip Hip library – the fist in Bulgaria public collection of fan zines and self-publications dedicated to art, where you can find (and buy) local as well as international specimens. I cannot express what an exotic bird this is on our scene, and you might be intrigued to check out their own “Blood Becomes Water” and other Bulgarian magazines. “Samizdat” I borrowed from the Soviet-style abbreviation for ‘self-publishing’, pertaining to dissemination of literature banned or ignored by establishment.

Hip Hip still have to come to terms with their working time, so if you’re not in the area, do call in advance. Their curatorial concept is “open call” for all artists, the challenge – that the artist should live and work in the place. So if you have a pitch, you might as well stay around.

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Hip Hip Atelier | Art & culture, Shopping
166 Knyaz Boris Street | +359888516187
Tue – Sat 13:00 – 19:00

The City Garden is the oldest park in the Bulgarian capital. It is situated between the former Royal Palace (is now the National Gallery and Ethnographic Museum), the Sofia Art Gallery and the National Theater “Ivan Vazov”. The garden holds numerous stories since the liberation of Bulgaria from Ottoman occupation – romantic stories from the last Bulgarian Kingdom, stories of glory from the Communism and stories of promises and hopes from the transition period.

No matter the changes, the garden has always been a favorite place of both young and old. The elderly make crowds around amateur chess players, or listen to the local street musicians playing nostalgic city songs. The square in front of the National Theater is often transferred into an open-air stage, where local rock bands attract cheerful young crowds. After theater performances enthusiastic groups get scattered through the garden. In the summer my friends and I meet in the open-air cafe after work to chat.

I love the garden especially because each month you can visit a different photo art exhibition – from children’s drawings, through NGO work, to bird’s-eye views of Bulgaria.  

So, if you like music, arts, chess, having a drink after work – or one of the other numerous activities offered in the park – make sure you don’t miss the City Garden during your stay in Sofia!

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The City Garden | Art & culture, Music, Relaxing | Free
Knyaz Alexander 1 Str.
24 hours daily

Summer’s here and since lots of you will be heading down this way for the Orient, I’d like to share this new place with you. “Travellers’ Club Sofia” is a meeting hub for people with lust for adventure – be it low-budget backpacking through countries far and near or various outdoor activities. Of course, nowadays you can find everything on the Internet – but it’s exactly this return to the offline world that makes it special. Sometimes it’s the good old face-to-face contact, a tip, or a story that gives you the necessary rear wind of inspiration.

They organize presentations – such as how to hitch a boat over the Atlantic, how to tour Turkey on less than 30 alterian dollars a day or meteorology for beginners. The ambition is to function as a social network for travelers: they maintain a map and guide library, growing by donations, and a bulletin board for offers and announcements. They also promote lesser-known destinations around Bulgaria, as well as biking, hiking, rafting, rock climbing and the like. And in a country with so many mountains, beaches and water, easy hitchhiking, cheap railways and godforsaken regions, alternative tourism is a counterculture in its own.

They organize trips, but if you prefer lonesome traveling, just drop by for a drink and advice. It’s a nonprofit, so they charge something for the events & library, but it can also work on a give some/get some basis; it’s just started so basically it’s what we make of it.

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Travellers’ Club Sofia | Art & culture, Coffee & tea | Library+drink/presentation BGN 2-6
5, Victor Hugo Street
Mon – Fri 18:00 – 21:00 | According to events