Beyond the Iron Curtain: Sofia's Communist Era Tour

We went on 21st October at 16:00 with tour guide Ioan (I think that is John). He was superb - the best guide I have ever had. Very knowledgeable, interesting to listen to, good interaction with all of us on the tour. He presented the time of the communist party rule with great sympathy and understanding.

We had a very wet and cool walk, but our guide for the communist walk was excellent. He rooted the stories in his own family experiences, which made it very authentic. We learned a lot and would definitely recommend this tour.

The leader of our group was outstanding. Well informed, easy to listen to and accommodating. He really know his stuff.

Nikola was a wonderful guide. Lots of knowledge about Communist period as well as Bulgaria’s transition to present. Highly recommend this introduction to Bulgarian history!

This is more than a tour — it’s a message that needs to be heard. I truly recommend that anyone with the opportunity makes time to walk through Sofia’s Communist/Socialist Authoritarian history. History doesn’t sleep in the past; we live it now and shape it through our thoughts and actions. The detail and design of this tour provides deep insight and awakens your mind to the present by revealing the Soviet regime’s machinations, strategies, and the culture of fear, suppressed freedoms, and stifled creativity that resulted from authoritarian control. Like the Free Sofia City tour, it’s a privilege to hear local people share their knowledge and stories. Yoan was an excellent, eloquent guide with vivid storytelling skills and a deep passion and care for Sofia’s history. His personal family stories made the information especially resonant and accessible, and showed the everyday impacts on Bulgarian people — Благодаря, Йоан : ) The tour is insightful and educational — it makes you think and helps you understand.

I can absolutely recommend this tour. At about 3 hours it is quite long and covers quite some distance BUT it is well worth it. Our guide Vasko planed for plenty of breaks and chosen path was easy to walk. Vasko’s knowledge was super waste. He told us so many interesting stories, anecdotes and helped us understand things using pictures. He made sure not a single question stayed unanswered.

Vasil’s tour was excellent! Clear structure, lots of information, fluent in English (and Spanish), and we learnt so much as we walked the streets of Sofia. And sensitive to needs for a quick refreshment stop.

My daughter and I really enjoyed this tour. Yoan was our tour guide; he was friendly, knowledgeable, and professional. We took the tour the day after we arrived in Sofia so we knew very little about the place. The tour was a very good starting point to try to understand some of the incredible history of Bulgaria.

A really interesting tour which brought the - relatively recent - past to light. The tour guide was both knowledgeable and engaging and I learned a lot. Would highly recommend

Really interesting experience, definitely recommend going. You learn a lot about Bulgaria's communist regime and people's life in geral in that period of time.