Mural of a girl's face
Gallery: looking for street art in Sofia

Gallery: looking for street art in Sofia

Before I came to Bulgaria’s capital I was warned that Sofia was not an especially attractive city and had little to see. I soon found out how wrong that is. In recent years the city has tidied itself up and done a lot to highlight its history, especially its Roman antiquities.

But history is not its only attraction. There are plenty of grand buildings in a variety of architectural styles, from ornate Orthodox churches to brutalist Communist office blocks. And as I walked around I found plenty of attractive street art.

Huge mural of a girl in a yellow dress
Full length shot of the mural featured above
Huge mural of a candle
Peeling mural of a person's face
Mural of a man's face

Some of most attractive paintings were on to what seemed to be electrical or telephony cabinets of some sort. I found quite a few examples of such decorated bits of street furniture, both here and in Plovdiv. I thought it a great idea to make the mundane look so attractive!

Mural of a girl playing the violin
Mural of a grey head
Mural of a dog

And on my final morning in the city I came across another great collection of really bright street art; this time in a small car park near the Serdika metro station.

Mural of a lady with a crown
Mural of a colourful eagle
Mural of a blue lion

I hope you’ve enjoyed this quick wander past some of the brightest street art in Bulgaria’s capital, shared for Becky’s Bright Squares.

I visited Sofia in 2019

38 thoughts on “Gallery: looking for street art in Sofia”

  2. Wow, gorgeous collection… and that featured mural is just way beautiful and way humongous! Thanks for sharing, Sarah.

  5. The full body mural of the woman takes my breath away! It must be so stunning to come across that while walking down a street.

  6. I love that you showcase unusual destinations and are not persuaded by public gossip.
    Distinctive street art worthy of a visit.

    1. Thank you Amanda, although you maybe credit me too much! I visited Sofia on the way to the Virtual Tourist meeting in Plovdiv, along with some other VT friends. I doubt I would have gone had it not been for that meeting 😉

  7. I always wonder about those people who say there is nothing to see in a place. I guess they must mean that there is nothing that interests them, which is sad for them. People say the same thing about San Jose, Costa Rica.

    1. Yes, I think that’s true Rosalie. Most places have something to offer – it’s just that some have more than others and maybe people get spoiled and jaded?

  8. I’ve never been to Sofia but your street art alone makes me want to go there. It’s quite fab, isn’t it? And like Jo, I’d like to hear more about Sofia from a ‘proper traveller’ like yourself who finds the oddities in a place as well as the touristy bits.

    1. Thanks Mari 🙂 And there’s a challenge – to find some not so touristy bits of a city where I only spent two days! I’ll see what I can do 😀

  9. I also meant to say that there are some good examples here in Sofia from what you’ve shown us, and to be honest I love to see good wall art like this.

  10. The beauty or otherwise of Street art/graffiti is in the eye of the beholder isn’t it Sarah? An artist I know hates practically everything he sees painted on walls because he thinks of it as vandalism, whereas another person I know photographs nearly everything he sees painted on walls. I’ve learnt a lot about street artists from him, and it can be more interesting than the casual observer might think

    For me, our walk around Brick Lane showed some great wall art but also plenty of dross. What did you think?

    1. Absolutely – like all art there will be some you like and some you don’t, so I don’t think it’s possible to say either ‘I like street art’ or ‘I hate street art’. Personally I’m inclined towards liking it because it brightens often dull city streets but I don’t love every piece I see. The ones around Brick Lane are good on the whole, I think, but some appeal to me more than others for sure 🙂 And I WILL share those one day soon!!

  11. Fabulous art, we always love to see street art. A few years ago a street artist had done a trail of Amie Winehouse wall art around Camden, we followed the trail and the images were incredible 🙂

    1. Thank you 🙂 Yes, Camden is great for street art generally and I think I’ve seen some of those Amy Winehouse pieces but not through deliberately following a trail. I’ll have to look out for more, if they’re still there that is. Street art can be quite ephemeral!

  13. Sarah, I think you are someone who could find beauty no matter where you go. This is interesting street art. I particularly like the colorful Bird. I’ve noticed a few times, you mentioned someone said there was little to see at a place, but you always find a way to bring out the magnificence. When a fellow traveler shares advice, I think sometimes we don’t take into account each other’s tastes. I am not a foody, or a shopper, nor do I enjoy nightlife. But I love architecture, history/ancient ruins, landscapes, nature, churches/cathedrals/places of worship, art, and creative happy people. You demonstrate those things so well in your photos and writing.

    1. Thank you so much Rose, I’m glad you enjoyed these 🙂 I don’t know if I necessarily find beauty wherever I go but I do usually find something of interest to photograph. Maybe that’s the same thing??? As a traveller I think the only advice you can share is what pleased (or displeased) you and it’s for the reader to decide if those things also appeal to them. It helps if you know something about the writer, which is why blogs are so great. You get to know the blogger and can judge if you share their tastes. That’s so much better than reading Trip Advisor reviews or similar! I love all the things you mention, and I would say I’m also a foody, but I’m not into nightlife other than a relaxing drink in a bar where we can do some people-watching perhaps, or meet a friendly local or two.

  14. Sarah, I love the way you cropped that first mural. I wonder what the story is with the helmet. That sort of ruins the full version for me. Art as camouflage is always a good idea. Thanks for sharing.

    1. Thank you Suzanne 😀 I have no idea about the helmet but I do like all the detail on the dress in the full version – the buildings and what looks like a dragon’s tail! Someone is squirting water on to the dragon from one of the windows and although you can’t see it in this crop, the water coming from the street is being squirted by a sort-of hamburger character – very odd!

    1. It was a fun few days there, wasn’t it? Did you recognise the car park ones? They were right by that lovely cafe we discovered with Kirsty, near our hotel 🙂

  16. Oh these are marvellous 😍 everyone is going to want you to share even more.

    Welcome to Squares!

  17. Wonderful. And often the stories behind these paintings add such a lot too. But you have to find the person to tell those stories!

    1. True. These were just random encounters so I have no idea of any stories attached to them – it was just a pleasant surprise to find them in a city people had told me I wouldn’t like. They were totally wrong about that!

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