Hram-pametnik Aleksander Nevski (St Alexander Nevski Memorial Church)
Said to be Sofia's most photographed monument, Alexander Nevski is a magnificent neo-Byzantine cathedral-sized church, topped by copper and golden domes. Considered the heart of the city, it was built between 1882 and 1912, in honour of the Russian soldiers, who fell when the Russian army helped liberate Bulgaria from Ottoman rule in 1878. The church takes its name from Alexander Nevski, credited with saving Russia from Swedish troops in 1240 and the patron saint of the family of the tsar at that time, Alexander II (also known as Tsar Osvoboditel, the ‘Tsar Liberator') who led the army that drove out the Turks.

Inside, the central altar is dedicated to St Alexander Nevski, the southern altar to St Boris (who brought Christianity to Bulgaria) and the northern altar to Saints Cyril and Methodius (who created the Cyrillic alphabet). A total of 32 Russian and 13 Bulgarian artists worked on the delicate murals. The Icon Museum is located in the crypt, to the left of the main entrance. Here, over 300 icons and mural frescoes from the country's many monasteries trace the development of Bulgarian icon-painting from the late ninth century up to the end of the 19th century. There are English labels, as well as a guidebook available in Bulgarian and English.

Ploshtad Aleksander Nevski
Tel: (02) 988 1704.
Opening hours: Daily 0700-1800; services 0800 and 1700, Sat 1800, Sun 1700.
Free admission.

Icon Museum
Tel: (02) 981 5775.
Opening hours: Tues-Sun 1000-1730.
Admission charge.

Tsurkva Sveta Sofia (Church of St Sofia)
Standing next to St Alexander Nevski, this early Byzantine brick church dates back to the fifth century, although there were several churches here before it, as well as the pre-Christian Serdica city necropolis. The present church still follows the classic Byzantine plan of a regular cross with a central dome. The city took its name from the church in the 14th century, which was converted to a mosque under Ottoman rule, when the original 12th-century frescoes were destroyed and minarets added. During the 19th century, the building was abandoned, following damage caused by an earthquake. After the Liberation in 1878, it was restored and reinstated as a church and now is a popular spot for weddings, funerals and baptisms.

Outside, to the left of the main entrance, stands the Monument to the Unknown Soldier, lit by a perpetual flame in honour of those who died for Bulgaria.

Ploshtad Aleksander Nevski
Tel: (02) 987 0971.
Opening hours: Daily 0700-1800 (winter); 0700-1900 (summer).
Free admission.

Antique Market
The narrow walkway off ploshtad Aleksander Nevski, leading up to Hram-pametnik Aleksander Nevski, has a daily antique market. The two rows of tables are filled with all sorts of treasures including wind-up gramophone records, daggers, Russian military helmets, communist memorabilia (whose authenticity could be questionable), old violins, silver jewellery, religious icon paintings and a whole host of bric-a-brac. Around the other side of the church, women often sell traditional fabrics and rugs. Prices escalate if the potential buyer is foreign, but join in the fun and try haggling.

Ploshtad Aleksander Nevski
Opening hours: Daily 0900-1800.
Free admission.

Zhenski Pazar (Women's Market)
The largest and busiest market in Sofia, Zhenski Pazar offers a wide range of fruit and vegetables, cheese, cured meats, dried fruit and nuts, homemade halva and other Turkish-inspired goodies. Syrian stalls selling sheesha pipes have become popular. The stall holders at the Women's Market were once all women but now male and female peasants from the surrounding hills travel to town each morning to sell their produce here. There are also some stalls selling cheap fake designer clothes and a few tourist-orientated items. The atmosphere is chaotic and fun. There are also some good Turkish cafés around the perimeter of the market selling espresso coffee and cheese pastries.

Bulvard Stefan Stambolov, between bulvard Slivnitsa and ulitsa Ekzar Yosef
Opening hours: Daily 0900-1800.
Free admission.

Tsurkva Sveta Nedelya (Church of St Nedelya)
Sveta Nedelya, with its huge dome, is a typical example of neo-Byzantine architecture. There has been a church here since medieval times, although the present building dates from the mid-19th century. In 1925, the church was largely destroyed when Communist rebels exploded a bomb during a funeral service attended by Tsar Boris III and his cabinet ministers, killing 123 people.

The square, ploshtad Sveta Nedelya, used to be named after Lenin and a statue of the Communist leader once stood here. It has since been replaced by a 24m (79ft) bronze statue of the goddess protector of the city, Sofia, holding the symbols of wisdom and fame. This is a favourite location for weddings on Sunday afternoons.

Ploshtad Sveta Nedelya
Tel: (02) 987 5748.
Opening hours: Daily 0700-1800.
Free admission.

Tsentralna Sofiiska Sinagoga (Central Sofia Synagogue)
Situated behind the Hali, the Central Sofia Synagogue is the largest Sephardic synagogue in Europe, although nowadays it serves a very small community. During the Diaspora of the 15th century, Jews exiled from Spain were welcomed into the Ottoman Empire and settled quite peacefully. At the liberation from the Turks in 1878, Jewish people made up 20% of Sofia's population. Although spared in the war, from the 1950s onwards, 90% of the Jewish population immigrated to Israel. Designed by the Austrian architect Grunanger, the synagogue was built to resemble a former synagogue in Vienna, which was destroyed by the Nazis. Building began in 1905 and the official opening took place in 1909. The building is a square block of Spanish-Moorish design, with a large central dome lit by a showpiece 2,250kg (4,960lb) chandelier. The outer walls are ornamented with floral and geometric motifs. The building was restored by Bulgarian emigrants in Haifa (Israel), in the 1990s and officially rededicated in 1996. The synagogue was originally intended to accommodate 1,300 worshippers, but nowadays services are only attended by 50 or 60 people, and services on regular Sabbaths are usually held in a small room off the main gallery. Visitors must ring the bell on the gates for entry.

Ulitsa Ekzar Yosif 16
Tel: (02) 983 1273.
Website: www.sofiasynagogue.com
Opening times: Mon-Fri 0930-1600; closed Bulgarian and Jewish Sabbath and holidays.
Admission charge.

Jewish Museum of History
The small museum, in the building behind the central synagogue (accessible by ringing the bell at the synagogue's gates), houses a permanent exhibition of The Rescue of the Bulgarian Jews (1941-1944). This depicts the history of local Jewry against a background of the horrors WWII and the extermination of 6 million Jews in Europe by the Nazis, and part of the story of their life and settlement in the Balkan Peninsula and their centuries-long good relationship with other religions. The museum also contains religious icons used in synagogue services, dating from between the 18th and 20th centuries, introducing visitors to the rituals, festivals and culture. Organised tours and lectures in English are included in the admission price.

Ulitsa Ekzarh Yosef 16
Tel: (02) 983 1440.
Website: www.sofiasynagogue.com/p_museum.php?lang=en
Opening times: Mon-Fri 0830-1230 and 1300-1630.
Free admission.

Natzionalen Archeologicheski Musei (National Archaeological Museum)
Housed in the ivy-clad 15th-century Buyuk Mosque (Big Mosque), the National Archaeological Museum is worth visiting just for the building itself. Recently reopened after extensive renovation work, the interior is airy and well lit and all exhibits are labelled in Bulgarian and English. Most of the pieces are of Thracian, Greek and Roman origin and there is a mosaic rescued from the floor of the St Sofia church. The star attraction is the Vulchitrun Treasure (a 12.5kg/27lb collection of 13 decorated and strangely shaped vessels of solid gold, probably used by a king-priest during Thracian religious rituals) which is upstairs in a guarded room of its own. It is best for English tourists to visit with a Bulgarian speaker, as the guard knows a great deal about what is to be found here. This is helpful, as the captions in the museum are vague. There are a few antiques and reproductions for sale in the museum foyer. After visiting the museum, the fashionable new Art Club Museum café behind the main building, is a good place for tourists to stop for a drink or snack. Some of the larger carved Roman marbles are displayed in the courtyard.

Ulitsa Saborna 2
Tel: (02) 988 2406.
Opening hours: Daily 1000-1800 (summer); Tues-Sun 1000-1700 (winter).
Admission charge.

Rotonda Sveti Georgi (Rotunda of St George)
Standing in the courtyard of the Sheraton Balkan Hotel, the tiny sunken redbrick Rotunda of St George is the oldest preserved building in the city, built in the fourth century, as a Roman temple. Partly destroyed by the Huns, it was rebuilt as a church by Justinian, in the sixth century. The Turks converted the rotunda into a mosque, until it was finally reinstated as a church. Careful restoration work has revealed three layers of exquisite medieval frescoes (some dating from as early as the 10th century), which had been hidden by plaster during the 500 years of Ottoman rule. The impressive cupola bears a 14th-century portrait of Christ the Pantocrator, surrounded by four angels and symbols of the Evangelists. Beneath, 12th-century fresco work depicts 22 prophets holding scrolls, with texts alternately in Bulgarian and Greek. To the east lie excavated foundations of an octagonal-shaped Roman public building and paved street.

Ploshtad Sveta Nedelya 5
Tel: (02) 981 6541.
Opening hours: Daily 0800-1700 (winter); 0800-1800 (summer); liturgy 0900.
Free admission, donations welcome.

Banya Bashi Dzhamiya (Banya Bashi Mosque)
Once there were 70 mosques in Sofia but today the Banya Bashi Dzhamiya is the only one still functioning. It was designed in 1576 by the greatest of all Ottoman architects, Mimar Sinan, who also built the Sultan Selim Mosque in Edirne and the Blue Mosque in Istanbul. The mosque's finest feature is the domed ceiling, which was restored to its original design after the fall of Communism. Subdued loudspeakers on the elegant minaret call the city's Muslim minority to prayer five times a day - on Friday there can be as many as 400 worshippers in attendance. The mosque is not officially open as a tourist attraction but visitors are welcome outside prayer times, including women, if modestly dressed. The inside is decorated with fine calligraphy, citing texts from the Koran, as the portrayal of human figures is banned in Islamic art.

The mosque takes its name from the neighbouring Tsentralnata Banya (Central Baths) - Banya Bashi means ‘a lot of baths'. The first thermal baths were built here by the Romans, although the present building dates from 1911. However, the baths are closed to the public while a major restoration takes place, after which they will reopen as the Museum of Sofia. The ornate mosaic domes of the exterior are still visible above the hoarding.

Corner of bulvard Maria Louiza and ulitsa Triaditsa
Opening hours: Daily 0500-2000 or 2100.
Free admission.