Shopping in Bulgaria
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Daily Market
There's a daily market in the park behind the Opera House, selling fruit and vegetables, books, souvenirs and clothes.
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Samovodska Charshiya Complex
Roughly opposite the Hotel Bolyarski, ul Rakovski veers upwards from the main road, ul Stambolov. On and behind it is the Samovodska Charshiya Complex, the town's historic centre of craftsmanship; blacksmiths, potters and gunsmiths, among other artisans, still practice their trades here. The numerous bookshops and purveyors of antiques, jewellery and art are also housed in appealing Bulgarian National Revival houses.
It's a great place for shopping, or just a stroll, as is the equally appealing old residential quarter of Varosha just above it.At the beginning of ul Rakovski, a prominent map signposts the name and location of each shop in the charshiya, in both Bulgarian…
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Property Shop
Sozopol is easy to get around on foot and there’s no need to hire one of the pricey cabs from around the bus stop. If you do need a cab, get one on ul Republikanska, the main road in the new town. If you need a car, there are several travel agencies around the new town’s main square, pl Harmanite, which can arrange car rental from about €40 to €45 per day, including unlimited kilometres and insurance (petrol not included). In the old town, try the Property Shop. In summer, you’ll need to make arrangements a few days ahead.
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Ladies’ Market
The ‘Zhenski Pazar’ stretches several blocks along a street between ul Ekzarh Yosif and bul Slivnitsa. It’s Sofia’s biggest fresh-produce market, with all kinds of fruit and vegetables on sale. Other stalls sell clothes, shoes, car parts, kitchen utensils and pretty much anything else you can think of. You can buy traditional Troyanska kapka pottery much more cheaply here than in souvenir shops. It’s great fun to wander around, but it does get very crowded, so watch your belongings.
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pl Aleksander Nevski
Artists sell paintings, mainly of traditional rural scenes, near the Mineral Baths and around pl Aleksander Nevski, where you'll also find stalls selling reproduction religious icons, jewellery, souvenirs and embroidery. But be wary of the ancient coins, Soviet and Nazi paraphernalia and other 'antiques': there are some genuine items here, but most of it's fake, and prices are very much aimed at tourists.
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Central Hali Shopping Centre
This elegant, covered market hall, built in 1911, has three floors of shops and cafés. Stalls on the ground floor sell varied produce, including fruit, vegetables, pastries, wine and cheese. Upstairs there’s a cheap food court and more shops. The centre also holds a pharmacy, post office, bank and ATMs. Despite the posted opening times, the place is invariably closed before 10pm.
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Traditzia
Everything in this wonderful little store is made by ‘socially excluded artisans’ from the Roma and Turkish ethnic minorities and by people with disabilities whom this project aims to help become self-sufficient. On sale is a selection of traditional and contemporary Bulgarian handicrafts such as ceramics, glassware, carpets and textiles.
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Icons Krasimir Ivanov
Krasimir Ivanov has been painting icons since the fall of communism, when religious art was allowed again. His detailed ink sketches of old Târnovo (20 lv), displayed outside the shop are another excellent take-home memento. The shop doubles as Krasimir’s workshop, so you can watch him painstakingly painting while you browse.
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Centre of Folk Arts & Crafts
Inside the former Royal Palace, this shop offers a huge selection of folk art, including colourful hand-woven rugs from Chiprovtsi, Troyan pottery, woodcarvings, silver jewellery and rose-oil products, as well as books and CDs of Bulgarian music. However, prices tend to be on the high side. There’s another branch on ul Parizh.
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Craft Shop
The souvenir shops surrounding the main square are fairly generic. If you want a specific memento of Koprivshtitsa, snatch up a felt-cloth carpet or bag; examples are on display inside Lyutov House. At the Craft Shop, visitors can see locals producing felt-cloth products, some of which are sold next door.
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Art Gallery Laskaridi
In summer, the streets in the old town are lined with stalls selling the usual array of tourist tat, but there are some better quality souvenirs to be found. Art Gallery Laskaridi sells contemporary art, jewellery and pottery, as well as souvenir books about Sozopol.
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Sparm Supermarket
There are plenty of restaurants around Sveti Konstantin, many attached to hotels, and prices tend to be fairly reasonable compared with the bigger resorts further up the coast. The Sparm Supermarket near the bus stop probably offers the best value for self-caterers.
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Tsum Retail Centre
The former all-in-one state department store is now an upmarket shopping mall, with five floors of pricier shops such as Laura Ashley and Tommy Hilfiger. However, it feels staid compared with the city’s more modern malls and often seems to have more staff than customers.
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Open-Air Bookmarket
Dozens of bookstalls crowd this square daily, selling mostly Bulgarian novels and technical manuals, but plenty of books on Bulgarian history, culture and cuisine are available in foreign languages, as well as some second-hand English novels.
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Magazin za Manasta
You’ll recognise this cosy shop from the sign out front reading ‘hand-made jewelry’, and the walls lined with brightly coloured glass and silver beads. Buy them by the piece, or choose from the many unique necklaces.
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Mall of Sofia
The city’s newest, biggest and busiest shopping centre, filled with international brand-name stores and coffee bars. There’s a big supermarket in the basement, and a cinema, IMAX screen and food court on the top floor.
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Valentina
The city centre’s main department store, this ugly block has an eclectic range of goods on sale over three floors, ranging from replica Samurai swords and souvenirs to fancy soaps and clothing. It also has a café.
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City Center Sofia
Modern shopping mall with three floors of shops, including Bulgaria’s only Marks & Spencer. It also holds a supermarket, cinema, restaurants and a newsstand selling international papers and magazines.
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ul Knyaz Aleksandâr
Trendy clothes and shoe stores line the pedestrian mall, ul Knyaz Aleksandâr. Where this street meets pl Dzhumaya, south of the mosque, silver jewellery, icons and paintings are sold outside.
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Alpin Sport
Slightly out of the way, near the Akademik Stadium in the eastern Slatina neighbourhood, this shop nevertheless has an excellent stock of skiing, camping and climbing equipment.
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Knigomaniya
Has a good stock of English-language fiction and nonfiction, plus maps, guidebooks and tourist-oriented books on Bulgaria. It also sells magazines and Bulgarian pop-music CDs.
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Denyl
One of several branches of the nationwide men’s clothing chain in Sofia, offering a range of fairly conservative suits and shirts for the office plus some casual wear.
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Art Gallery Paris
This welcoming little art gallery showcases, and sells, the works of contemporary Bulgarian artists, with an ever-changing stock of prints, paintings and sculptures on offer.
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Gallery Bissera
Gallery Bissera, set up in an old wooden barn behind the cinema, offers a similar range of local paintings and ceramics, as well as some antique oddments.
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Alexandra Video
This bright chain store has a mixed collection of jazz, folk and pop CDs, with more space given to DVDs of Hollywood films, comics and some English-language books.
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