<a title="Alexander Nevski Cathedral by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/2902964946/"><img class="alignleft" src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3184/2902964946_c7bae36e3c.jpg" alt="Alexander Nevski Cathedral" width="375" height="500" /></a>One of the reasons I like Sofia is because it's not an outwardly beautiful city. It's no Buda and Pest. There's no Eiffel Tower. We don't do past and wine or curry dogs and the Berlin wall. People don't come here to bike al-la Amsterdam and Copenhagen. In fact I think that bike riding in Sofa is down right scary. Nope. We've got Shopska salad and banitsa to keep us happy.  There's Nevsky Cathedral which looks pretty good when the sky is bright blue or lit up at night and we've got a couple of museums in old historic buildings. We've got a walk-able downtown and a metro with two lines! This said, in my mind, what makes Sofia special are the little shops, the holes in the wall cafes and the unexpected treasures that line Sofia's side streets. So if you're visiting Sofia, what's a girl to do? to see? to eat? Here's what I would do. I'd start things off with a visit to <a href="http://www.freesofiatour.com/" target="_blank">Free Sofia Tours</a>. They do a really great walking tour.  I love the intersection of history, architecture and attitude on the tour. <a href="http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/04/23/sofia-and-easter-weekend/" target="_blank">I've been on it twice</a> and I'd go again. The tour is really the best of Sofia and it would give you a good sense of what you want to return to and visit further.<!--more--> <strong>Things to Eat</strong> From the tour, I'd then decide what I wanted to eat. Some of my favorite options include<a href="http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/03/07/new-sofia-restaurant-tavite-or-%D1%82%D0%B0%D0%B2%D0%B8%D1%82%D0%B5/" target="_blank"> Tavite</a> a restaurant that makes traditional Bulgarian food with a modern twist. The food is well made and  the service is great. Or maybe you're looking for something easier and faster like soup and a sandwich. There are a number of new soup places but my favorite remains <a href="http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2010/04/18/new-find-supastar/" target="_blank">SupaStar on Shishman</a>. I've never been disappointed by the soup or by a sandwich and that's saying something. This said you can't really go wrong with Sofia-classics like Ugo, Divaka or Don Domat. I'm not the biggest Happy fan but lots of people really like the food. Recently I also went to <a href="http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/09/25/made-in-home/" target="_blank">Make in Home</a> and loved it. Other restaurants that I like are Sun and Moon a vegetarian place and <a href="http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/06/15/boom-burger-in-sofia/" target="_blank">Boom Burger</a> a hamburger place but really if you're just visiting there are other places I'd go first. <strong>Things to Do </strong> After some food, I'd probably want to check out a museum or maybe two. There's a little bit something for everyone in downtown Sofia. You <em>must</em> go to see Nevsky. After this feel free to do any or all of the following. In the city center depending on what you like I'd recommend the <a href="http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/07/29/the-national-art-gallery-and-vladimir-dimitrov-the-master/" target="_blank">National Art Gallery</a> in a beautiful old building, the <a href="http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2009/04/22/sofia-city-art-gallery/" target="_blank">Sofia City Art Gallery</a> is free everyday but the exhibits are always rotating and/or <a href="http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/05/20/night-at-the-museums-in-sofia/" target="_blank">the National Archaeological Museum</a> which is in a old mosque and has an interesting collection of things. Oh and there's the icon museum in the basement of Nevsky Cathedral  I've never seen another collection like that before but you have to have some interest in icons to hit this one up. If you're up for a little adventure, I'd also recommend Boyana Church and the National History Museum in Boyana. Take a taxi and you shouldn't have a problem getting to either of these places. After a museum and an art gallery, I'd consider some shopping. My two favorite Bulgarian shops are <a href="http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2009/04/17/friday-finds-paradise-garage/" target="_blank">Paradise Garage</a> and <a href="http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2010/12/14/zona-urbana/" target="_blank">Zona Urbana</a>. Zona Urbana is the place to go if you're looking for a unique souvenir as they make all sorts of bags and purses out of old communist newspapers. You really have to see this shop to believe it. This shop is a go to for me when it comes to giving gifts. This said in the underpass by the National Archaeology Museum there are some cheesy-but-great Bulgarian souvenir shops. If you're looking fo<a href="http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/03/12/a-stroll-through-sofia/" target="_blank">r art or old artifacts, there's a daily flea market</a> nearby Nevsky. I've shied away from the flea market but mostly because much of the art is really great and the prices are relatively low. <strong>Where to Drink</strong> This is the easiest and the hardest category. It's impossible to walk down the street and not pass a cafe or a bar in downtown Sofia so if you're not picky you can just go anywhere. For coffee and cocktails my favorites include <a href="http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/09/23/vitosha-street-memento/" target="_blank">Memento</a>, <a href="http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/07/31/lime-cafe-and-friends/" target="_blank">Lime</a>, <a href="http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2010/03/30/one-more-bar-shishman/" target="_blank">One More Bar </a> and <a href="http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2009/06/29/museum-kind-of-day/" target="_blank">Toba &amp; Co</a>. Sure there's also Starbucks, Onda and Costa but why buy from a chain if you can go local? If you're nearby Shishman, you could stop by Bilkova for a cold beer (or something stronger)--often in the fall before it gets cold people sit outside and drink on the patio. Another crowd pleaser is <a href="http://www.spottedbylocals.com/sofia/hambara/" target="_blank">Hambara</a> a bar that is lit by candles but shows up in <em>every</em> guidebook. <a href="http://www.spottedbylocals.com/sofia/butchers-bar/" target="_blank">Butchers</a> is another unexpected but wonderfully fun bar not far from Sofia University. A place I cannot recommend enough is <a href="http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/10/16/tova-coffee-the-arts-and-a-decent-dose-of-cool/" target="_blank">+Tova</a>. It's a coffee shop/bar/art space. The space is open and airy and all of the art on the walls is for sale. It's just enough off the normal tourist paths that you'll feel like you've found something really special. And really if you make it to +Tovva you'd better stop by <a href="http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/10/08/cupcakes-in-sofia/" target="_blank">Take a Cake</a> for a cupcake. If this isn't enough a while ago, I wrote these two posts: <a href="http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/09/09/a-sight-seeing-scavenger-hunt-in-sofia/" target="_blank">A Sofia savager hunt</a> and <a href="http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/04/26/sofia-for-a-day/" target="_blank">a day in Sofia</a>.