Parking around and in Sofia

Parking in Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria, could be really a hard task as it is in all major European capitals. On first place the cars and trucks on the road in Sofia are more than 500 000 according to the official statistic. Second, the streets in the center and in the neighborhoods haven’t been built in the way to have the capacity to accommodate so many vehicles. As a consequence, there isn’t enough space for everybody. For this reason the city council of Sofia has decided to implement 2 different paid zones in the center and around it. The one is called “The blue zone” and it is the hearth of the city center. The other is called “the green zone” and it is around the hearth of the city center in Sofia.
– Blue zone parking is payable Monday till Friday from 08:00 till 19:00, except on national holidays;
On Saturdays parking is payable from 08:00 till 14:00, except on national holidays, then it is free the whole Saturday; on Sundays parking is always for free; maximum stay is 2 hours
– Green zone parking is payable Monday till Friday from 08:00 till 19:00, except on national holidays;
Green zone parking is free on Saturdays and Sundays; maximum stay is 4 hours

There are two ways to pay for the parking in the blue and the green zones.
1)  To send an SMS to number 1302 (for the Blue Zone) and to number 1303 (for the green zone) but you have to have a mobile number from a Bulgarian mobile operator. You have to send the SMS before you have got off your vehicle. After your payment has been processed you will receive an SMS confirmation and than you can exit your vehicle. 
Examples:
– If your vehicle’s plate shows the following number SI2905DH and you have parked in the green zone, than you have to send an SMS to number 1303 with the following text: SI2905DH.
– If your vehicle’s plate shows the following number CB7000TT and you have parked in the blue zone, than you have to send an SMS to number 1302 with the following text: CB7000TT and use only Latin/English alphabet

The price for green zone parking is 1 Lev per hour (50 Cents)
The price for blue zone parking is 2 Leva per hour (1 Euro)

2)  Another option is to buy a parking ticket and use it. There are 3 types of parking tickets:
– 0,50 leva ticket which gives you the right to park for 30mins in the green zone
– 1 lev ticket which gives you the right to park for 60 mins in the green zone or for 30 mins in the blue zone
– 2 leva ticket which gives you the right to park for 120 mins in the green zone or for 60 mins in the blue zone
You can buy parking ticket at each bus station ticket shop or metro station ticket office. All addresses of stations offices and metro station offices where you can buy a parking ticket you can find here:
https://www.sofiatraffic.bg/en/transport/punktove-za-prodazhba-na-prevozni/p/1

3)  If you don’t like all this hectic you can simply pick up a paid parking in the center or around it and enjoy your foot walk;
On the following link you can find all paid parkings in Sofia. Pithily it is only in Bulgarian.
http://www.kartasofia.com/%D0%BF%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%BA%D0%B8%D0%BD%D0%B3%D0%B8-cat85.html
– IF you are a tourist probably the best will be to park your car in “Mall of Sofia” on this address:
101 Al.Stamboliiski Blvd., Mall of Sofia
And continue by foot.
– Something else you can do is to park your car here:
27, Ivanitsa Danchev str
And explore the sightseeings of Sofia
– If you come from the airport probably your best bet is to park your car in the big parking of “The Mall” (42.6604001, 23.3813880) and take any of the busses 204, 604, 72, 213 from the bus stop which is right in front of
“The Mall” in direction City Center (The Busstop is called “Orlov Most” and is located right here (42.690550, 23.337369) From here you can start exploring the city on food, visiting the following most popular sightseeings:
1) Sofia University Kliment Ohridski
2) National Library Saint Kiril and Methody
3) Catedral Saint Alexander Nevski
4) Parliament of the Republic of Bulgaria
5) Russian Church Saint Nikolay
6) National Theater Ivan Vazov, Sofia
7) Bulgarian National Bank
8) The House of The President
9) Cathedral Saint Nedelya
10) National Pallace of Culture

Here you can find a googlemaps map of your walking tour.

You can look at the tour map here as well:

You can learn more about the public transport in Sofia and in Bulgaria on this link. There I will explain everything you have to know about our trains, buses, shared community drives, facebook car pooling and the underground (tube) in Sofia.

If there is anything you would like to know about Sofia and you can not find it on this website, please let me know on in WhatsApp (+359 888 981 781) or per email georgi.nikolov@cars-help.com
I will be very glad to help and include every question asked in this website, so that everyone can learn.