Sofia is offering a series of free guided walking tours this late summer, organised by Visit Sofia in partnership with the Sofia Platform Foundation. The tours take participants through the city centre and cover Bulgaria's decades of totalitarian rule and the transition that followed.
Two routes through the same era
The programme, which Mediapool reports runs across the final weekend of August and into September, features two tours under the shared theme of regime and transition. The first, titled "In the Footsteps of Freedom," traces the early pro-democracy demonstrations of the late 1980s that helped end 45 years of communist rule. Participants visit key sites including Alexander Batenberg Square, the National Assembly, and the Kristal garden, starting from the fountain in front of the Presidency and finishing at Sofia University. Tours depart at 10:00 and 19:00 and each runs approximately 90 minutes.
The second tour, "The Imposition of the Regime," focuses on the communist takeover that followed the coup of 9 September 1944 and traces how totalitarian rule was established across Bulgarian society. The route passes through buildings and public spaces in the city centre connected to that period.
Both tours run on Saturday and Sunday, with two departures per day. Spaces are limited and pre-registration is required through Visit Sofia's official channels.
