How to Visit Boyana Church in Sofia, Bulgaria

Boyana Church is one of the most important attractions in Sofia and the only UNESCO World Heritage Site in the capital of Bulgaria. This medieval Orthodox church is famous for its impressive and well-preserved frescoes, showing Biblical scenes and figures. Even if the church is rather small, it surely is worth visiting for its huge historical and cultural value.

Unfortunately, the place is located a bit away from the center, and visiting Boyana Church independently might be a bit tricky, but not impossible. And it’s definitely worth the hassle, as the place is truly impressive.

I was lucky to visit Boyana Church in Sofia recently, on my own, and I’m here to share all the details of this small excursion with you. Hopefully, this will help you plan your own trip to Boyana Church so you can enjoy this amazing place, too.

A brief history of Boyana Church

The Boyana Church was built in three stages: the first one was between the late 10th and early 11th centuries, the second took place in the mid-13th century, and the last one in the mid-19th century. The most beautiful and important frescoes you can admire today date back mostly to the mid-13th century (1259) and were commissioned by Sebastocrator Kaloyan and his wife Desislava (whose portraits are also painted inside the church). There are some older frescoes, too, although they are only partially preserved. 

Boyana Church was granted UNESCO World Heritage Site status in 1979 and is now open to visitors (though at a very limited capacity). It is one of the best-preserved monuments of Eastern European medieval art.

Where is Boyana Church

Boyana Church is located in the southern suburbs of Sofia, at the foot of Vitosha Mountain. The city center (Serdika) is located 10 km away from Boyana Church. At the end of the article, you will find a map with the exact location of the church as well as other places mentioned here.

How to visit Boyana Church

Because of the site’s importance, its small size (the oldest part of the church is only 5.80 by 5.60 meters), and its UNESCO protection, the church entrance is limited to only 9 people at a time. This might cause issues, especially for independent travelers, so be aware of this limitation. 

Visiting Boyana Church with a tour

You can visit Boyana Church with a tour, and this is the easy option. I can recommend it if you have a tight schedule, with many things to do in Sofia and not enough time. With the tour, your entrance to the church is guaranteed, and you don’t need to worry about longer waiting times (or not getting inside the church at all).

Tours usually have other interesting places included in their itineraries (like Rila Monastery), so you can combine visiting Boyana Church with other attractions. You also don’t need to worry about figuring out public transport and getting to the church (as it can be a bit tricky, too).

Here are the recommended tours that stop at Boyana Church, too:

• Rila Monastery and Boyana Church Full-Day Tour
• Vitosha Boyana Church and Waterfall Half Day Morning or Afternoon
• Sofia – National History Museum and Boyana Church Guided Tour
• Rila Monastery and Boiana church private tour

Visiting Boyana Church independently

How to get to Boyana Church

Since the place is located a bit away from the center, you first need to get to the site, and it’s not always easy. There are a few buses that reach this neighborhood; one of them arrives close to Boyana Church, while it’s a short 10-minute walk from a bus stop a bit further away (so it’s still not too bad, even if it’s a bit uphill and there might be scary dogs barking at you from behind the fence). 

I took bus no. 61 from the bus stop “Bul. Tcherni Vrah” (БУЛ. ЧЕРНИ ВРЪХ), behind the National Palace of Culture, near the Evropeyski Sayuz (ЕВРОПЕЙСКИ СЪЮЗ) M2 metro stop. The bus starts here and goes in the direction of “Zlatni Mostove” (ЗЛАТНИ МОСТОВЕ).

You can also take bus no. 63 in the direction of “Zlatni Mostove” from the stop “Bul. Tsar Boris III” (БУЛ. ЦАР БОРИС ІІІ) – you can reach it by trams no. 4, 5, and 15. These two buses will take you to the bus stop “KV. Boyana” (КВ. БОЯНА), from where it’s a 10-minute walk to the Boyana Church. 

Another option is to take bus no. 64 in the direction of “Zooparka” (ЗООПАРКА) from the bus stop “Bul. Akad. IV. Geshov” (БУЛ. АКАД. ИВ. ГЕШОВ), next to the M3 metro stop “Balgariya” (БЪЛГАРИЯ). This bus will take you a bit closer to the Boyana Church, to the bus stop “Boyansko Hantche” (БОЯНСКО ХАНЧЕ), around 5 minutes from the church. 

The most convenient option is bus no. 65 that goes from the bus stop “ZH.K. Krasno Selo” (Ж.К. КРАСНО СЕЛО) next to the “Tsar Boris III” (ЦАР БОРИС III) M3 metro stop all the way to Boyana Church (bus stop “Boyanska Tsarkva” – БОЯНСКА ЦЪРКВА), which is around the corner from the entrance to the site. 

You can check each bus schedule on the Sofia public transport website here. Google Maps works well in Sofia, too – I relied on it when checking public transport schedules. 

Since popular car-sharing apps like Uber and Bolt don’t work in Sofia, public transport is your best option for getting around. Fortunately, public transport in Sofia is easy to use.

You don’t need to worry about tickets; you can pay by card or Apple/Google Pay on the bus by tapping your card or phone on the validator. A 30-minute ticket is 0,80€, but if you use public transport more during the day, it will charge you only €2 for all journeys. 

If you arrive at Boyana Church by car, there is a small parking space in front of the entrance. Depending on the time, it can get busy with tour buses, though.

Tickets to Boyana Church

Getting tickets to visit Boyana Church can be tricky.

First of all, the visiting hours are unusual, split between individual tourists and groups with prior reservations. There are 15-minute slots for a visit inside the church; individuals can enter at 9:30, 9:45, 11:15, 11:30, 11:45, 13:15, 13:30, 13:45, 14:00, 15:30, 15:45, 16:00, 17:30, 17:45 in the summer season (1st April – 30th September); the rest of the slots is reserved for groups. According to online reviews, even when no groups were present, or when groups had only a few participants, people still had to wait for their allocated time to enter the church. 

Technically, you can reserve a ticket for your visit in advance, but it’s not an easy process. You need to email reservation@boyanachurch.info with the date and time you would like to visit. Once you get confirmation that the slot is available, you will receive details for a bank transfer payment. When you pay (with all the necessary information included in the transfer), send the payment confirmation and your spot is reserved. 

You can also try to get the tickets on site, which is what I did. If you are lucky (I was), you can enter the church without waiting too long. However, when buying the ticket, you are not informed about your time slot; it’s written on the receipt. Again, online reviews said that many people, after purchasing the ticket, found out they needed to wait a few hours to visit Boyana Church; many of them gave up. Honestly, the whole ticketing system needs improvement, as with only 9 people able to visit the church at the same time, the whole experience can be frustrating.

I arrived at the site at 9:25, shortly before opening. There were already a few people waiting in front of the gate. Still, I was lucky (or smart) to stand close to the gate, reading the information about the church there, so once it opened, I was the first one to buy the tickets. I was able to enter the church at 9:30. When I was leaving the place around 10, the site was significantly busier as group tours started arriving. I highly recommend visiting Boyana Church early in the morning, before others get there – this can improve your chances of scoring a ticket to the church without too much waiting time. 

At the time of my visit, the entrance was €10. The ticket office is located a few steps from the gate, on the right side. You can pay in cash or by card. 

You can find all the information (including opening hours, slots for individuals and groups, and tickets) on the Boyana Church website here.

Visiting Boyana Church

Once you have a ticket, you need to wait for your time slot, then enter the church with the group. It’s a really tiny place, so the 9-person limit actually makes sense. The group is accompanied by an on-site guide; with my group, it was a young woman who was really kind (a rarity there) and very knowledgeable. She patiently answered all the questions, and there were many of them. The frescoes are stunning, and she explained each and every one of them in detail. The church is really jaw-dropping inside and worth all the hassle. 

There is also a set of rules for visiting the church, and they seem to be extremely strict about not taking pictures inside (the ones you see in this article are stock photos, not taken by me). During my visit, one person only took out the phone, didn’t even attempt to take a photo, but was already yelled at by the other worker who was present in the church.

Even after the person apologized right away, the guy kept yelling for three solid minutes. This honestly spoiled the whole experience for me and was such an unnecessary unpleasantness, as it left everyone in the group feeling a bit awkward. At least our guide did her best to diffuse the tension. If you don’t want to be scolded, be sure to follow the rules.

How much time for visiting Boyana Church

I don’t think you need more than 30 minutes to visit Boyana Church and its surroundings. It’s a really small site, so after your allocated 10 minutes inside the church, you don’t need much more time there. You can see the church from the outside, wander around it, and that’s basically it. 

What to see near Boyana Church

Fortunately, Boyana Church isn’t the only interesting place in this area. Since you’ve ventured to this suburb, it’s worth adding a few more interesting places to your itinerary. 

From the bus stop “KV. Boyana” (КВ. БОЯНА), the same one you arrived at, you can take bus 61 or 63 to its final stop, “Zlatni Mostove” (ЗЛАТНИ МОСТОВЕ). You will arrive in the heart of Vitosha Nature Park, a perfect area for hiking, with numerous hiking trails to choose from. Next to the bus stop, you can already see an impressive stone river. It’s up to you where you go next (I hiked to the Boyana Waterfall and then took the bus back from the Arboretum). 

Another interesting place not too far from Boyana Church is the National Historical Museum. It’s the largest museum in Bulgaria, with numerous interesting artifacts spanning from antiquity to more modern times. The building itself is really impressive, too, both from the outside and inside. Fun fact: if you watched the “For All Mankind” or “Star City” series, the exterior of the National Historical Museum in Sofia was used as the headquarters of Roscosmos (Soviet space agency). 

Final thoughts on visiting Boyana Church

To be honest, I have mixed feelings about visiting Boyana Church, even if I think it’s a spectacular place and the frescoes are magnificent. But the whole hassle of getting there and scoring the tickets, plus the staff’s rudeness, spoiled the experience for me. I’m glad I went and got to see this amazing masterpiece with my own eyes, but it was far from perfect (or even good).

I hope this honest article helps you decide whether you want to deal with visiting Boyana Church or not. After all, there are so many other great things to do in Sofia.

Useful map for your trip to Boyana Church

I created a map with all the places mentioned in this article, including bus stops and attractions near Boyana Church. You can find it here or by clicking on the picture below.

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Further reading

I published many articles about Bulgaria that you might find useful when planning your trip there. Here are some of them:

• 23 Amazing Places to Visit in Bulgaria
• Bulgaria itinerary – what to see in Bulgaria in 2 weeks
• 19 Amazing Things to Do in Sofia, Bulgaria
• 11 Wonderful Day Trips from Sofia, Bulgaria
• Koprivshtitsa, Bulgaria – is this the prettiest town in the country?
• 7 Perfect Things to Do in Sozopol, Bulgaria
• 9 Great Things to Do in Burgas, Bulgaria
• Why you should visit Shumen, Bulgaria
• and more!

If you are looking for articles about a specific destination – check out the map with all the articles I’ve published (and their locations). You can also join my Facebook group about traveling in the Balkans and ask your questions there.

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• Sign up to my newsletter or follow me on Bloglovin to get updates about the new posts
• Join my Facebook group about Eastern Europe, the Balkans and former USSR and connect with fellow travellers and enthusiasts of these regions – just click here!
• I’ve included a few handy links of services and products I personally like and use so you can plan your own trip to Bulgaria too. They are often affiliate links. This means I will get a small commission if you book/purchase anything through my links, at no extra costs for you. Thank you!

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