General Information

Area: 110,994 sq km (42,855 sq miles).
Population: 7 973 671
Capital: Sofia
Country dialing code: 359
Religion: 95% Bulgarian Orthodox, 5% Muslim, Jewish and other
Time zone: GMT + 2
Electricity: 220 volts AC, 50Hz; round two-pin or three-pin plugs are in use
Average January temp: - 2°C (28.5°F)
Average July temp: 22°C (71.5°F)
Annual rainfall: 645mm (25.4 inches)
Language: Bulgarian
Currency: Bulgarian Lev
1 Bulgarian Lev (Lv1) = GBP 0.33; US$0.51; C$0.80; A$0.91; EUR 0.51

Int. Airports: Sofia (SOF), Varna (VAR), Bourgas (BOJ)

Emergency numbers

Police - 166
Medical emergency - 150
Fire emergency - 160
Traffic Police - 165
Road emergency service - 146

Public Holidays

Jan 1 2003 New Year’s Day.
Mar 3 National Day (Day of Liberation).
Apr 25 Good Friday.
Apr 28 Easter Monday.
May 1 Labour Day.
May 6 St George’s Day (Day of Bulgarian Army).
May 24 St Cyril and Methodius Day (Day of Culture and Literacy).
Sep 6 The Unification of Bulgaria.
Sep 22 Independence Day.
Nov 1 Day of the Spiritual Leaders of Bulgaria.
Dec 24-26 Christmas.
Dec 31 New Year

Travel By rail

The Bulgarian State Railway, Balgarski Darzhavni Zheleznitsi (tel: (02) 931 1111 or 932 3333; runs cheap and extensive services throughout the country, although trains can be very slow. The monumental, concrete Tsentralna Gara, Sofia’s main station, is located at 112 Maria Louiza Boulevard, a 20-minute walk north of the city center. Facilities include left-luggage, money exchange kiosks, ATMs, bars and fast-food outlets. Tickets for lines covering the northern half of Bulgaria are sold on the ground floor of the station – all others are sold in the basement.

Rail services: From Sofia there are six main routes – to Varna or Burgas on the Black Sea coast, to Plovdiv and beyond on the Turkish border, to Kalotina on the Yugoslavian border, to Kulata on the Greek border and to Ruse on the Romanian border. There are also daily services to Belgrade (journey time – 8 hours), Bucharest (journey time – 11 hours), Budapest (journey time – 16 hours), Istanbul (journey time – 15 hours), Kiev (journey time – 38 hours), Moscow (journey time – 45 hours), St Petersburg (journey time – 65 hours) and Thessaloniki (journey time – 10 hours). The price for one way ticket is around 6-10 leva.

Travel By car

Roads in Bulgaria tend to be poorly surfaced and inconsistently numbered. European roads are prefixed by the letter ‘E’, while internal motorways and main roads are indicated by numbers only. Place names, signposted along main roads, are in both Cyrillic and Latin script – on minor roads they may be in Cyrillic only – but road signs are international. While petrol stations are found on the main road exits from most large towns and every 30-40km (18-25 miles) along the motorways, on minor roads these can be few and far between. The minimum age for driving is 18 years. Traffic drives on the right. Speed limits are 120kph (75mph) on motorways, 90kph (56mph) on country roads and 50kph (31mph) in urban areas. The maximum legal alcohol to blood ratio for driving is 0.05%

A Green Card and Motor Insurance certificate are obligatory. UK driving licenses and EU pink-format licenses are valid in Bulgaria.

Routes to the city: The A1 and A2 are the major roads out of Sofia. The A1 heads east toward Plovdiv, while the A2 heads northeast to connect with the E772 toward Veliko Tarnovo, continuing northeast to where it becomes the A2 again, reaching Varna on the Black Sea. The E79 goes to Sofia from Greece, crossing the border at Kulata. The E80 from Turkey crosses the border at Kapitan Andreevo, while the E79 travels from Romania, crossing the border at Vidin-Kalafat. In addition, the E80 motorway runs to Sofia from the Yugoslavia border at Kalotina and the E871 from the Russian border at Gyueshevo