City Center Sofia

Opening hours: 10am - 10pm
On the corner of Cherni Vruh and Arsenalski Boulevards, across the road from the Hemus Hotel.

The City Center Sofia (note, of course, center, not centre) is being billed as the first "Western-style" mall in Bulgaria. It opened its doors on May 12. Sofians and foreigners alike flocked to the grand opening at which there was entertainment in the form of a brass band, celebrity chef, clowns and models. There was a queue at the doors most of the afternoon and inside it was difficult to have a proper look around because of all the people and balloons. We returned again a few days later to have a better look when the crowds had subsided, in order to give you a guided tour of Sofia's new mall.

Probably those of you who live in the capital will have seen the building in its various stages of completion. It's large, modern and yellow, with lots of shiny glass. The main entrance is from Arsenalski Boulevard. This brings you in at Floor 1.  Here, you will find the information desk. They haven't got any maps or information leaflets to give out, but the woman I spoke to was very friendly and willing to help and spoke good English. From here, we took the lift up to the top floor, Floor 4. The glass ceiling allows natural light into the building, making for a light, open feel on all the floors above ground level. The top floor is one of the smallest. There is a fairly big TechMarket, offering electrical goods from car stereos to computers. There is also a furniture shop and a household goods shop, as well as the CCS management.

Taking the escalator down to Floor 3, brings you to the cineplex and food hall floor. At the bottom of the escalator on the right is the high-tech-looking sushi bar, complete with a projector screen showing computer animation in the window. Next to it, is the upmarket Fancy pizza restaurant. The there are the fast food and takeaway counters. Iceline advertises its luxury icecream next to the Bulgarian  counter offering cream cakes, pastries and canteen-style meals. KFC serves up its Kentucky fare next to a continental-style coffee shop with sandwiches and pastries. The outlets don't have their own seating areas. Food is consumed at tables in a central eating area. The best spot is next to the large windows that overlook the grassy park. The cineplex has six screens, tickets cost the same as at the two Arena cinema centres: six leva for adults, four leva concessions. The last screenings start at 10.30pm.

Down on Floor 2, there is a variety of shoes, jewellery and clothes shops, including names such as Nike, Tom Tailor, Wrangler and Madoc. Coming soon are Puma and Women's secret lingerie.

Back down on Floor 1, mobile phone shops dominate the area by the entrance. Beauty Zone offers well-known names in cosmetics, perfumes and beauty products. There is also a travel agent, more jewellery and clothes shops - Lee Cooper at the more casual end, to Bigotti, specialising in men's business wear. There are two more lingerie shops - Reflection and Etam - a children's clothes shop, and a designer sunglasses shop. Calvin Klein jeans is opening soon.

Going down another floor, to Floor -1, brings you to the underground car park, as well as the sport, surf and skate clothes shops. Hot Spot stocks shoes and clothes from names including Gap, Acupuncture, Gola and Airwalk. Sabotage has male and female skate clothes. Ripcurl has surf wear, and Sun and Snow, surf and snowboarding gear. Sport Mania offers general sports wear.

The final escalator ride down to Floor -2 delivers you to Piccadilly supermarket and a photo processing shop. In terms of stock and price, Piccadilly is pretty much on a par with Billa. It has the usual things you would expect to find in a large supermarket: fresh bread, meat and cheese counters, but also a fresh fish counter. There are some luxury items, like smoked salmon and caviar and a few imports that I haven't seen in other supermarkets, such as Philadelphia cream cheese. Perusing the newspaper and magazine stands, I found one woman's magazine in English and a couple of German and French car magazines. As at Billa, there are a few car shopping trolleys to put the kids in. The plastic bags aren't as sturdy, but they are free.

So, does CCS, live up to its reputation? It is certainly large, and modern and clean. All staff from the information desk to the security guards to the check-out were helpful. Because it has only just opened, not all of the shops are up and running yet and it will probably be a month until they are, so it's a question of wait and see.