Sofia

Sofia sits at the foot of a mountain: Vitosha Nature Park begins where the last houses stop, and its trails start half an hour from the centre. The city is two thousand years old and wears it lightly: Roman streets lie open under the metro stations, the gold domes of the Patriarchal Cathedral of St Alexander Nevsky rise above the rooftops, and a church, a mosque and a synagogue stand within the same few blocks. The Rotunda of St George, small and built of red brick, has been standing since the fourth century. Terraces spill onto the pavements, and beer with a plate of tomatoes and sirene, the local brined cheese, costs almost nothing. Two hours away, Rila Monastery lifts its black-and-white painted arcades inside a ring of mountains. The city was born from its mineral springs, and bottles are still filled at the public fountain downtown.