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.
08/03/2021 @ 11:16 am
Здравейте, бих искала да попитам относно годишният абонамент за платено паркиране в зелена зона – тъй като не съм от София, ще живея там на квартира, мога ли да получа със съдействието на собственика в чийто апартамент живея талон за паркиране в зелена зона. Без да си сменям постоянният адрес.
08/03/2021 @ 6:23 pm
Здравейте, г-жо Калудова! Трябва в талоните на Вашия автомобил да е вписан собственикът на жилището като ползвател.
16/09/2020 @ 4:10 pm
Hi! I’m a studen in Sofia and i’m interested in buying a car, but im confused with the parking. Is there a year-card for green zone that i can buy and park my car out of my apatment all year long? if yes how much it costs? thanks in advance!
20/09/2020 @ 12:58 pm
Hi, Aristi! Yes, there is a green card and it is linked to the your resident address in Sofia. You can pay for 1 year upfront and receive a sticker to put on the car which you own.
26/03/2020 @ 12:41 pm
Hello,
I am doing some analysis about parking in Bulgaria.
Can you tell me how many parking spaces off and on street is in Bulgaria?
Thanks in advance,
Aleksandar
27/03/2020 @ 10:45 am
Hello, Aleksandar! I have really not counted the parking spaces in Bulgaria if I get your question right.
BR
G
14/02/2020 @ 12:49 pm
Hello,
We arrive late around 11:30 p.m. in Sofia by plane this evening.
We hired a car. Can we leave it
101 Al.Stamboliiski Blvd., Mall of Sofia for 5 days?
Thank you
14/02/2020 @ 8:29 pm
Hi, Nadir! Yes, you can use the parking of Mall of Sofia, just beware the parking fees, they are not small. There is another guarded parking 50m across the mall, you can ask there as well – just across the Lidl store.
BR
G
03/10/2019 @ 8:30 pm
Hi. I need hel. We want to came in Sofia, but we wont to park car in safe parking garage in centre near levski stadion. Can yo hel me and give some advice. Thank you
05/10/2019 @ 10:42 am
Hello, Milan! I cannot give you any suggestions about a parking garage nearby. You would better park next to a metrostation outside of the blue or gree zone and take the metro to Vasil Levski Metro-Station.
BR
G
27/05/2019 @ 12:51 pm
Hi
I am coming to sofia in june for 5 days and renting a car for the whole time. (We want to tour out of sofia alot of the time.
We are staying in the center near Park Vuzrajdane.
1. Is there a safe parking lot if we want to leave tge car for 1 whole day(24hrs)?
2. If we park after hours on the street (after 19:00 when its free), is there still a limit of time we can park there?
27/05/2019 @ 1:33 pm
Hi, Elinatan! There is one right across the park, next to Lidl. You cannot miss it because it is a huge one. I just can’t tell you whether there will be free parking places. You can park for free on the streets (of course where is allowed) between 19:30 at the evening and 8:30 at the morning.
Best Regards
Georgi
03/02/2019 @ 10:34 am
Hello, is the maximum 4h stay on payable hours only or does it apply when parking is free? (e.g Sunday). Thank you.
04/02/2019 @ 5:57 pm
Hi, Alejandro! Sunday is completely free everywhere. 4h stay is the maximum duration in the Green Zone on working days (Monday-Saturday) except public holidays.
28/12/2018 @ 8:20 pm
Hi. Do you know if saturday is considered a working day in Sofia?? It is free to park on green zone on Saturdays?? If yes, the maximum is 4 hours?? Thank you
29/12/2018 @ 6:01 pm
Hi, Tonya! Yes, Saturday is considered a working day in Sofia. There are some exceptions as well. If for example there is an official holiday on Saturday or if the comming monday is a holiday, then saturday is considered a parking-free day. Green Zone Parking has to be paid 1BGN per hour and the maximum stay is 4 hours.
Best Regards
Georgi
22/11/2018 @ 5:03 pm
Hi …im planning to cam to sofia at the 29th of November and stay for 4 nights. Is there any parking around НДК парк in reasonable price?
22/11/2018 @ 8:30 pm
Hi, almost every parking around NDK will take you 2leva pro hour. There is one right next to Mr.Pizza. It is a paid one. You can check it out.
Best Regards
Georgi
08/11/2018 @ 2:01 pm
Hello, so i received a yellow paper on my windshield for parking on the pedestrian area, there were 6 other cars parked there but as far as i saw only mine had the yellow paper on the windshield (mine was the only one with foreign numbers). There were no yellow donuts blocking my tires so i am wondering if this fine can be send to my country (RO) or can i just move the car and not go to the place written on the note.
09/11/2018 @ 7:26 am
Hi, Claudiu! Would you please send me a photo per email or WhatsApp of the note, which you have received? Thanks!
Regards
Georgi
03/07/2018 @ 9:18 am
Hello! Can you tell me where I can pay a parking fine in Sofia? Thank you!
03/07/2018 @ 3:08 pm
Hello, Oana! Please tell me what happened so that I can give you a correct answer.
Thank you!
21/06/2018 @ 8:22 pm
Thank you, thank you very much!
I’m gettin ‘in the morning today about 05 am and I hope to get in Sofia by 17 pm. Thank you very much for helping me and solving my uncertainty! I am very happy to have a journey through Bulgaria 🙂
Emir
21/06/2018 @ 7:48 pm
Thank you, Georgi
In fact I’m coming with a cheaper car (Dacia Sandero) but 90 Lv is acceptable to me. I just want my car to be safe for 10 days and at the official parking lot (I do not want to override the law). I want to know exactly how much I will pay and get for that account / ticket / confirmation. Which metro station specifically has the option to leave the car for 10 days and cost about 80-100 Lv? I would like to park as close to the Railway Station. I know the trains are slow but i do not hurry anywhere, i’m a tourist 🙂
Best Regards Emir
21/06/2018 @ 8:01 pm
Hi, Emir! There is one car parking right next to “Nadezhda” Metro station. Here are the coordinates. 42.727483, 23.299559
It should cost 3-4 BGN per night. When you park, you can the underground metro from “Nadezhda” to the “Central Train Station”. It takes no more then 10 mins and a ticket costs 1.60 BGN.
Best Regards
Georgi
18/06/2018 @ 5:19 pm
Greeting,
I beg you for help
I’m coming to Sofia by car on Friday 22.06 and I continue my journey by train.
I’m going back to Sofia on the morning of 02.07. (around 09:00 AM)
I need a cheap parking in the center from 22.06 / 18.00 to 02.07 / 09: 00
So a total of 9 days and 15 hours.
I see some parking in the center eg “Parking Garage Boulevard” Knyaginya Maria Luiza “Sofia Center” – 15 days 90LV Is this the current price?
Where could I park (leave a car) conveniently and near the train station in this period (9.5 days)?
21/06/2018 @ 7:10 pm
Hi Emir! Thank you for your question. There is no cheap parking in the city center. If the car is very expensive, I think 90BGN is not a big deal. If the car is less expensive, you can park around the Metro Station and continue with the underground. There is a underground station next to the main train station. But I would not recommend you to travel by train in Bulgaria. There is no comfort and the train is really slow.
Best Regards
Georgi
26/04/2018 @ 6:04 am
Hi!
I am from Finland and visiting my friends in Sofia first time by car. I will be here several weeks and instead of leaving the car some remote hall (good idea on some cases) I would like to ask: is there a possibility to buy longer parking ticket by zone from the “ticket office” to be placed in your window? As a foreign driver I got one free in Timisoara, Romania, because of the system didn’t accepted foreign operators and different plate numbers. I don’t expect to get one free. Thanks a lot for help to make my stay here even more enjoyable.
Markku ?
28/04/2018 @ 5:39 am
Hi, Markku! Unfortunatelly, it is not possible. Parking in the city center of Sofia is limited to 2 hours, unless you drive a fully electric vehicle. Fully electric vehicles can park for unlimited time in the green and blue zone of Sofia. Good luck!
Cheers
Georgi