Sofia
Capital of Bulgaria: population, location, elevation, climate and landmarks.
Panoramic view over central Sofia and the Vitosha Mountain 2017-10-08: Deensel, CC BY 2.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
Overview
Sofia is the capital of Bulgaria, in Sofia-Capital. About 1.2 million people live in the city proper, making it the 1st largest city of Bulgaria in our atlas.
It lies at 42.70° N, 23.32° E, about 562 m (1,844 ft) above sea level, and keeps time on the Europe/Sofia time zone.
Location
Red dot: Sofia. Green dots: other major cities of Bulgaria. Map data: Natural Earth.
Climate
Sofia has a temperate oceanic climate (Köppen Cfb). The warmest month is usually Aug, with average highs near 28°C (82°F); the coolest nights come in Jan at about -6°C (20°F). Around 705 mm (28 in) of rain and snow falls in a typical year, spread fairly evenly through the year.
Bars: average daily high and low (°C) for each month; blue columns and figures: average precipitation (mm). Gridded 2001-2025 averages from NASA POWER, so mountain and coastal spots can differ from local station records.
Landmarks and places to see
Popular sights within a few kilometres of the city centre, ranked by how widely they are documented on Wikipedia.
What to eat in BulgariaNational dishes, street food, desserts and drinks on Intercontinental Chef.Nearby major cities
- Population, coordinates, elevation, time zone: GeoNames 727011 (CC BY 4.0)
- Wikidata Q472 (CC0)
- Climate: NASA POWER 2001-2025 climatology
Text written by Geographical Effect from these sources.
- Panoramic view over central Sofia and the Vitosha Mountain 2017-10-08: Deensel, CC BY 2.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
- National-theatre-Bulgaria 2022: JukoFF, CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
- Royal Palace Sofia: MrPanyGoff, CC BY-SA 3.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
- Царю освободителю признателна България - panoramio: kuchin ster, CC BY 3.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
- Interior del museu regional d'història de Sofia als Sofia Public Mineral Baths: Pitxiquin, CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
- Pond-Sofia-Zoo: Maymay, CC BY-SA 3.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
- Independence square, Sofia at night PD 2012 3: Bin im Garten, CC BY-SA 3.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
- Сградата на Народно събрание: Miroslav.Nikolov, CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
- Maccabi Sofia in Yunak conference 1938 p 29: AnonymousUnknown author, Public domain (Wikimedia Commons)
