Getting Around Sofia: Metro, Trams, Buses and Taxis

Sofia is a compact capital with a cheap public transport network: four metro lines, plus trams, trolleybuses and buses, all on the same €0.80 fare. Here are the 2026 tickets and how to pay with a bank card, which line reaches which sight, what runs after midnight, and when I'd walk or take a taxi instead.

Getting around Sofia at a glance

For most visitors, Sofia comes down to walking in the center and the metro for anything farther. Trams and buses fill the gaps, mainly for Boyana and Vitosha Mountain, and taxis cover late nights.

Walking around central Sofia

I'd walk almost everywhere in the center. Serdika station, the ruins of the Roman town, the Banya Bashi Mosque and the synagogue sit within a few minutes of each other. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral lies a short walk east, and the National Palace of Culture stands at the far end of Vitosha Boulevard.

Vitosha Boulevard runs 2.7 km from St Nedelya Square toward South Park, with a long car-free stretch through the middle, and it is the easiest walking route between the north and south of the center.

Public transport tickets and fares

Every fare has been in euros since 1 January 2026. The ticket most visitors use is the 30-minute ticket, which the operator calls Ticket 30 plus. It costs €0.80 and lets you change between the metro and any tram, trolleybus or bus within 30 minutes of the first validation. Validate it again in every vehicle you board.

You do not need to buy any of these in advance. Tap a contactless bank card or phone on the reader at a metro gate or on the validator inside a tram or bus, and it buys the €0.80 ticket for you. Keep tapping the same card and the fares stop once you reach €2 in a day. Paper metro tickets do not count toward that cap.

The day cards load onto a Sofia City Card or an Ultralight card at the metro ticket desks, and the day pass is also sold in the Mpass app. Each passenger carries two pieces of luggage free, and each extra piece needs its own ticket.

The Sofia metro

The Sofia metro is the fastest way across the city, with four lines meeting in the center. On the airport line, trains come every 7 to 14 minutes on weekdays and every 12 to 15 minutes on weekends.

These are the lines and stations I'd expect a visitor to use:

• M4, the yellow line, starts at Sofia Airport next to Terminal 2 and reaches Serdika in about 20 minutes, with Sofia University, the stop for Alexander Nevsky, one station before it.
• M2, the blue line, crosses the center through Serdika II and NDK. Going north it reaches Central Railway Station two stops after Serdika II, and going south it ends at Vitosha station, where the buses to Boyana and the mountain leave.
• Serdika and Serdika II form the main interchange. The Roman streets and buildings of ancient Serdica were uncovered while the station was built, and you can walk through them for free during metro hours.
• Patriarh Evtimiy on line 3 sits a short walk from the bars around Tsar Shishman and Graf Ignatiev streets.

The first trains run a little after 5 AM. On weekdays, and Friday counts as one, the last train toward the airport passes Sofia University at 11:26 PM, line 3 leaves Patriarh Evtimiy just before midnight, and line 2 leaves NDK at 11:58 PM and 12:14 AM. On Saturdays, Sundays and holidays the last trains move by a few minutes, so check the time at the station before a late dinner.

The ride from Sofia Airport to the city center costs the same €0.80 as any other metro trip.

Trams, trolleybuses and buses

Sofia also runs trams, trolleybuses and buses, and the 30-minute ticket and card taps work on all of them. I'd save them for the edge of the city, since walking is quicker in the center.

The buses I'd point visitors to are the ones that reach the sights the metro misses. Bus 64 leaves from near Vitosha metro station for Boyana and runs every 15 to 20 minutes. Bus 66 runs from the same station up to Aleko on Vitosha Mountain, with more departures on weekends. Bus 84 links the airport with Gen. Gurko Street in the center, and bus 63 serves the National Historical Museum, which is not on the metro.

Getting to the sights by public transport

Here is how I'd reach the sights that most visitors ask about, from the center.

For Boyana Church, the medieval church at the foot of Vitosha, the metro and bus 64 take 30 to 40 minutes, and a taxi from the center costs about €15 to €20. The same Vitosha station is the start for Vitosha Mountain, where bus 66 climbs to Aleko, the base for the hike to Cherni Vrah at 2,290 m.

Alexander Nevsky Cathedral is about 850 m from Serdika, a 10-minute walk, so the metro is only worth it there in rain or snow.

Public transport at night

Night buses N1 to N4 leave Knyaz Alexander I Square on the hour from midnight to 4 AM. N2 reaches Studentski Grad, the student district with the club streets, in about 30 minutes and comes back at half past, with the last run at 3:30 AM.

Most of Sofia's nightlife sits in the center, which stays busy late, so walking back from the bars around Vitosha Boulevard and Tsar Shishman Street is easy. For anywhere farther after the metro stops, I'd take a taxi.

Taxis and ride apps in Sofia

Uber left Bulgaria in 2015. Bolt runs no cars in the country, only e-bikes and scooters. What works is a licensed cab from a company such as TaxiMe, Yellow! or OK Supertrans, ordered in their apps or by phone. A 5 km ride across the center by day comes to about €5 on OK Supertrans's published tariff, and about €8.50 for 8 km at night.

A licensed cab is yellow, or green for hybrids and electric cars, with a roof sign and a checkered band on the doors. Taxis in Sofia all carry a price sticker on the windshield, and the meter must be running before the car moves.

Bikes and scooters

Bolt's Sofia app offers e-bikes and electric scooters. Borisova Gradina, the oldest and biggest park in the center, is where I'd ride one. On the streets, keep your wheels well clear of the tram tracks.

Apps for planning routes

Google Maps and Moovit both show Sofia's routes and departures for trams and buses as well as the metro, and I'd have one of them open on any ride outside the center.

Leaving Sofia by train and bus

Central Railway Station and the Central Bus Station stand next to each other in the north of the center, two stops from Serdika II on the blue M2 line. Trains and coaches to Plovdiv and the Black Sea coast leave from there, so getting around Bulgaria from Sofia starts on the blue line.

Staying safe on Sofia's public transport

Sofia's metro, trams and buses are safe to use, and the main risk is pickpockets in crowded vehicles and stations. Keep your phone and wallet in a front pocket or a closed bag at rush hour and on the airport line. Unlicensed taxis at the airport are a bigger risk than anything on the metro. After the last train, Sofia is safe to walk around Vitosha Boulevard.