Alexander Battenberg Square

A bit further along is Alexander Battenberg Square, formerly called "9th of September Square".

During Communist times in honour of the Fatherland Front Coalition takeover of the government on that date in 1944. Communist parades and ceremonies were held here regularly on dates commemorating important events, such as the anniversary of the Bolshevik Revolution which took place November 7, 1917.

Tsar's Palace

On the North side of the square is the former Royal Palace, a beautiful yellow late-19th century Viennese Baroque recently refurbished building.

Built in 1873, as the seat of the local Turkish governor during the time of the Ottomans, it later became the residence of the Bulgarian monarchy, beginning with Knyaz (Prince) Alexander Battenberg.

The building currently houses the National Art Gallery in its western wing. Established in 1948, the gallery contains over 12,000 pieces of Bulgarian artwork from the 19th and 20th centuries that are displayed amid the often-faded decor of the former palace. There is also a continually changing exhibit of current artists. Tel. # 980-3325Open 10:30-18:30, except MondaysAdmission 3 leva (Tuesdays free!), 9 leva for guided tour.

The palace also houses the Ethnographic Museum in its eastern wing, which was established in 1878 but severely damaged in 1944 air raids during The Second World War. Exhibits of original national folk costumes from around the country, various displays of everyday tools and implements and celebrations of harvests and holidays are labelled in Bulgarian and sparsely in English. Possibly of more interest is the magnificent wooden carved ceiling - and the museum does have a very decent gift shop selling Bulgarian rugs, crafts and souvenirs.

There were recent rumours about moving the museum in order to again make this a political site, as the Bulgarian President's Offices, but that still seems to be a rumour. Tel. # 987-4191Admission 3 leva, guided tour 7 leva (no tours Tuesdays). Student discount of 50 per cent. Open 10:00-17:00, except Mondays

City Garden Area

Across the square from the Ethnographic Museum is the wide open City Garden, the oldest public garden in Sofia.

Until the autumn of 1999, it wasn't so open, as the North end was blocked by the squat, boxy white marble Mausoleum of Georgi Dimitrov - Bulgaria's first Communist Prime Minister after The Second World War.  After his (some say suspicious) death in 1949 while on a business trip in Moscow, the mausoleum was constructed in an amazing six days. His body was returned to Sofia, embalmed, and put on display inside the structure for all to parade past, much as Lenin's body lies in Moscow's Red Square.

His family removed his remains in 1990, cremated and buried them next to his mother in the city graveyard. The mausoleum remained and sometimes served as the stage and backdrop for outdoor opera performances such as Aida in 1997.

However, at the end of the summer of 1999, much to the dismay of many in the public, the UDF government decided to tear the mausoleum down. Prime Minister Ivan Kostov claimed it was a "symbol of autocratic totalitarian power" and the "negation of parliamentary democracy." Proceeding without popular backing and despite protests that expressed the need to preserve Bulgaria's history, even the Communist parts, workers tried in vain to blow up the structure several times with dynamite. After several failed attempts to topple the monument, it was discovered that the structure had been reinforced to withstand a nuclear blast. Amid much smirking from the general public (and especially from the Socialist BSP party), it was finally bulldozed with the help of the Army Corps of Engineers. By the end of the rather embarrassing event, an estimated $400,000 had been spent and the UDF had lost much of its hard-won credibility. The debris was replaced within a couple of weeks with a sprawling autumn beer festival, complete with a concert stage placed exactly on the site of the former monument.

Ivan Vazov National Theatre

A walk through the park away from Boulevard Tsar Osvoboditel will take you to the impossible-to-miss pink and white Ivan Vazov National Theatre, where the National Theatre Company performs Bulgarian, as well as international, plays.

It was built in 1906-07 (in either Neoclassical or Baroque style, depending on which publication you read), and is brimming with Greek mythological figures. The triangular white and gold frieze above the front stairs shows Apollo and the Muses, and twin towers on either side of the building depict the Goddess Nike in a chariot.

The interior was restored in 1929, after a fire had destroyed it six years earlier. The stage curtain was created by Panagyurishte carpet weavers and depicts the Tsar Ptitsa, or King Bird from Stravinsky's ballet.

The fountain area stretching out in front of the theatre is usually full of men playing chess if the weather is decent enough. The fountain and its reflecting pool were built in 1976, and have recently been restored to working order, but it only operates from spring to autumn.

City Art Gallery

At the far end of the City Garden is the City Art Gallery, which was actually a casino until 1944.

It now contains over 3000 pieces of mostly contemporary Bulgarian art, and hosts occasional musical recitals.

Tel. # 872181 Open 10:00-18:00, except Mondays. Admission free.

The National Archaeological Museum

Travelling further back to the Yellow Brick Road and continuing away from the Russian church, you'll find the Archaeological Museum, founded in 1879 and recently re-opened after massive restoration work which began in 1992. The interior of the museum is now open and airy, well lit and full of artifacts with English captions. Most of the pieces are from Thracian, Greek and Roman periods, including the Vulchitrun Treasure - a 12.5kg collection of solid gold objects of Thracian origin.

Besides the antiquities, the building itself is quite interesting, originally a late-15th century mosque called the Buyuk Djamiya (Great Mosque), it is always covered with vines and ivy. A common complaint of the museum in the past has been that most of its 200 000-plus pieces have been tucked away and not made available for public viewing, but this has changed slightly.

If you visit the swanky-looking new Museum cafe behind the main building, you can dine among some of the larger artifacts that are now sprinkled about the courtyard, but have yet to find their way to an inside exhibition.

Tel. # 882405, Open 10:00-16:00, except MondaysAdmission free, but donations gladly accepted