Shopping Tips

Markets
Book Market Graf Ignatiev Boulevard.
Rik tells us that this is a great open-air second hand book market very close to the Sofia Grand that is perfect for browsing. This long rectangular square is home to a hugely enjoyable book market. If your language skills aren’t quite up to the latest in Bulgarian fiction then you can at least browse your way through lavishly illustrated books on Bulgarian culture, or pick up the Bulgarian-English phrasebook you always pined for.

Zhenski Pazar (Women’s Market) Stefan Stambolov Boulevard, between Slivnitsa Boulevard and Exarch Yossif Ulica.Opening hours: Daily 0900-1800
The largest and busiest market in Sofia, Zhenski Pazar offers a wide range of fruit and
vegetables, cheese, cured meats, dried fruit and nuts, homemade halva and other Turkishinspired goodies. The stall holders at the Women’s Market were once all women but now male and female peasants from the surrounding hills travel to town each morning, to sell their produce here. The atmosphere is chaotic and a bit dirty but fun. There are also some good Turkish cafés around the perimeter of the market. There’s not much in the way of fancy goods or souvenirs, but the raw street-level vigour of the place makes it well worth a visit. It’s a location popular with pickpockets too, however, so take good care of your belongings.
Rik suggests another excellent fruit & vegetable market, along Graf Ignatiev Blvd (same street as the book market), along the park. This market is open 7 days a week, 09:00 – 22:00 and has the most wonderful fresh fruits & vegetables and is cheap, safe and clean. It is an easy 10 minute stroll from the Sofia Grand.
Ploshtad Alexander Nevski Open 09:00-18:00
Open-air bric-a-brac market offering communist-era medals, stamps, postcards, junk from granny’s attic, and some genuine antiques. Lace-makers and embroiderers sell their wares at the eastern end of the strip on the corner of pl. Aleksandur Nevski and ul. 11 August.
Rimska stena ul. Hristo Smirnenski. Open 09:00-19:00
One of the liveliest food markets, worth visiting for the piece of preserved Byzantine fortress wall which sticks up amidst the stalls.

Shopping
Shopping in Bulgaria will be quite a different experience from what many of us are used to. Credit cards may or may not be accepted, especially in smaller shops, and customer service varies. That said, the interesting array of different wares makes up for this. Please be aware that Bulgaria is a large producer of fake goods, especially CD’s and DVD’s! Most shops are open 10:00 – 20:00, Monday – Saturday, and on Sundays too in the City Centre.
Tsentralni Hali (Central Food Halls) 25 Maria Louiza Boulevard, Opening hours: Daily 0700- 2400
Reopened in May 2000, after three years of restoration work, the Tsentralni Hali offers a clean, well organised and modern version of the bazaar shopping experience but retains its early 20thcentury ironwork. Archaeological excavations reveal that the area was a marketplace from Roman times and some of the finds are on display in the basement. Stalls on ground level sell fruit and vegetables, local cheeses, olives, meats, wine and spirits, plus an array of breads and pastries. There are also a few coffee and drinks bars, Opening hours: Daily 0700-2400.
Vitousha Boulevard. The city's high-end shopping street. Look to one end and you'll see a nice old church; look to the other end and you'll have a beautiful view of Vitousha mountain. The shops are all nice (but familiar to Western tourists), but some coffee shops and restaurants are surprisingly nice. Be bold and walk around the back streets. Galleries, nice little bars, shops and restaurants will be your reward! The largest department store can be found here, TZUM
City Centre Sofia bul. Arsenalski 2, tel. 865 72 85.
Glossy consumerist temple comprising 3 storeys of shops (including Bulgaria’s first Marks & Spencer), a cinema, and a floor of food options including sushi bar and a brace of Italian restaurants. The ground-floor newspaper kiosk is a good place to pick up English-language press.
Mall of Sofia bul. Aleksandur Stamboliiski 101.
Sofia’s newest shopping mecca is an enormous retail, business and entertainment centre boasting over 130 shops (many selling international brand-names), fancy cafés and restaurants, and a 12-screen multiplex cinema.
Zum, Maria Luiza Blvd 1. Just a 5 minute walk from the Sofia Grand, Zum is located in a
traditional ‘communist-style’ building. It offers you a Western European style, high-end
department store style shopping opportunity with clothes, luxury goods, coffee shops and ATM machines. A ‘must’ for the ‘easy-shopper’.