Sofia  is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Bulgaria, with a population of 1,270,450 (making it the 15th largest city in the European Union), and some 1,380,406 in the metropolitan area, the Capital Municipality.[1] It is located in western Bulgaria, at the foot of the mountain massif Vitosha, and is the administrative, cultural, economic, and educational centre of the country.
One of the oldest capital cities in Europe, the history of Sofia dates back to the 8th century BC, when Thracians established a settlement there. Sofia has had several names in the different periods of its existence, and remnants of the city's millenary history can still be seen today alongside modern landmarks.

• The late Roman Church of St George (4th century), situated in the courtyard of the Sheraton Sofia Hotel.
  
• The outdoor book-market on Slaveykov Square.
  
• The early Byzantine Church of St Sophia, built in the 6th century.
  
• The gold-domed Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, built in the early 20th century in memory of the 200,000 Russian soldiers, who died in the Russo-Turkish War, 1877–1878, which led to the liberation of Bulgaria from Ottoman rule.
  
• St Nedelya Church
  
• The tiny Church of St Petka of the Saddlers from the 14th century featuring some fine frescoes.
  
• The Monument to the Tsar Liberator commemorating Alexander II of Russia.
  
• The Banya Bashi Mosque, built in the 16th century.
  
• The Sofia Synagogue, the largest in the Balkans.
  
• The Bulgarian National Historical Museum, noteworthy for its Thracian treasures.
  
• The National Palace of Culture cultural and congressional centre — the largest multifunctional complex in Southeastern Europe, inaugurated in 1981 and situated in a lush green park surroundings.
  
• The Ivan Vazov National Theatre.
  
• The National Gallery of Foreign Art.
  
• The National Archaeological Museum.
  
• Sofia Public Mineral Baths, decorated with the finest majolica tiles and completed in 1911.
  
• TZUM, Sofia's oldest and largest department store.
  
• Sofia's central boulevards paved with Viennese yellow cobblestones.
  
• Vitosha mountain, one of the symbols of Sofia, just a short drive or lift trip away, open year round. Ski and snowboard are popular in the winter, and hiking in the summer.
  
• Borisova gradina, Sofia's main and oldest garden, the construction of which began in 1884.
  
• The Largo, an architectural complex in downtown Sofia which includes the headquarters of many national institutions

In 510 BC the Greeks founded Nesebâr, ancient Mesembria, on the site of a Thracian settlement. The town sits on a small rocky peninsula connected to the mainland by a narrow isthmus. There are still remnants of the second-century city walls, and stone and timber houses line winding, cobbled streets.

It was once of great importance to Byzantium as a trading town, although many of the 40 churches built in Nesebâr during the 5th and 6th centuries are now in ruin. Nesebâr ceased to be an active trading post in the 18th century and today lives mostly from fishing and tourism.