After my highly successful post on Three places in Sofia your kids will love from a couple of years ago, I prepared another three places that your children will enjoy in the capital of Bulgaria.
We spent about three months in Sofia in 2022 and took advantage of the big city. All of these places are indoors, thus perfect for a rainy day or a winter day.
The Museum of illusions
I am a big fan of the museums of illusions and the concept behind them. The guys that came up with the idea of such a museum are actually Croatian. After the great success of the museum in Croatia, it became a franchise business and now there are many similar museums across the world. Although similar, each museum of illusions has a different exhibition, so the experience is also different every time.
So far my family has visited three museums of illusions – in Zagreb, Zadar and now Sofia. The Museum of Illusions in Sofia is right in the city center, close to the mosque. It will take you around 60 minutes to check the exhibition inside. It is suitable for children of all ages. My baby and my 5-year-old enjoyed the museum equally!
This sphere was a total hit with both my kids!
Matzalo
Matzalo is a pottery art studio where one is able to draw and decorate all kinds of plates and ceramic figures. My oldest daughter and I had a lot of fun decorating a place and a horse. Guess who chose the horse.
Anna loves arts and crafts and enjoyed Matzalo a lot.
Since summer 2022 there are two Matzalo studios in Sofia – the smaller one on Parchevich Street and the bigger and newer one close to Park Borisova Gradina. Matzalo is a lovely place for children old enough to work with brushes and paint, but also children that enjoy quiet arts and crafts time.
Finally, it is worth mentioning that decorating at Matzalo comes at around at least EUR 10/15 for an item. For instance, my daughter and I spent almost EUR 40 for two items which took us 90 minutes to draw on. Reservation made in advance is also required.
The items at Matzalo and their prices in BGN. 2 BGN = 1 EUR (almost)
The Red Flat
I kept the best place on the list for last. The Red Flat impressed me the most during our last visit to Sofia. It is flat-museum that brings you back to the past. As they put it, entering the Red Flat means travelling back in time to Communist Bulgaria of the 1980’s. By visiting the home of an average family you will discover what everyday life was like for ordinary Bulgarians during the Cold War. Being born at the end of the 1980s I remembered most of the stuff but never actually lived through communism, so it was a lovely journey of “discovering” out old TV, radio, kitchen appliances, etc.
The famous Balkanche bicycle at the Red Flat in Sofia
Toys at the kid’s room
I visited this one with a 5-year-old alone. She spent most of the time at the kid’s room exploring the 11980s toys and typing on the typewriting machine. She liked it so much she didn’t want to leave, so I was able to listen to most of the stories about the items. This museum will be very interesting to all kids above 5 years of age. The older they are, the better they will get what it is all about. Teenagers would appreciate it the most, in my opinion.
The desk at the children’s room in the Red Flat
The Red Flat is close enough to the Museum of Illusions, so you can plan a visit on the same day in case you don’t have a lot of time in Sofia.
Let me know if you visited some or all of these places and your thoughts on them! Here is what you need to know about Bulgarian cafeterias and you’ll probably visit one while in Sofia ; )
Have a nice trip to Sofia!
Smiling at the Museum of Illusions in Sofia