Sofia Metro

Sofia is a nice case where the metro is more useful than the city's reputation prepares you for. It is cheap, clean enough, easy to understand, and the airport connection is the big traveler win.

The main thing to know is simple: if you land at Sofia Airport Terminal 2, follow the signs to the metro and use Line M4 toward the center. Serdika is the central interchange. If your hotel is around the old center, that is usually the move.

How to pay

For a visitor, the easiest version is contactless. Tap your card or phone at the validator/gate and keep using the same card or device for the day. The official ticket page describes Ticket 30+ as the transfer ticket that can be paid by bank card at validators, with a 30-minute transfer window.

You can still buy paper or card-based tickets from the metro machines and desks. I would only do that if contactless is failing or if you specifically want a pass product.

Network character

M4 is the airport line. M2 is useful for the Central Railway Station and Central Bus Station via Central Railway Station / Lavov Most / Serdika 2. M1 and M4 share a long central section, which is why the map can feel more tangled than the city actually is.

The built-environment detail I like is that the system is not all one technical era. The official operating summary calls out third-rail power for Lines 1 and 2 and pantograph power for Line 3. The airport station is also a little more interesting than a plain platform: it is elevated beside Terminal 2, with a direct pedestrian connection into the terminal side of the airport.