0xCarbon
Bulgaria · 42.70°, 23.32° · 562 m

Sofia

Sofia, Bulgaria
Photo: Deensel, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Reaching Sofia from London emits 59.5 kg CO₂e return by rail (36h 18m each way) against 507 kg by air — 9× the carbon. It averages 24.6 °C in July and 2.1 °C in January.

Sofia is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria, with about 2 million citizens (including suburbs). — Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA 4.0

When to go: Sofia is warmest in July (24.6 °C); coldest in January (2.1 °C). Month by month

59.5kg CO₂e return by rail, from London
507kg CO₂e return by air, from London
14.3hours of sunshine a day in July, its brightest month

Getting there

Return carbon and one-way journey time to Sofia. Times are modelled.
FromDistanceBy railRail timeBy airAir time
Amsterdam1,744 km51.5 kg34h 42m439 kg5h 48m
Barcelona1,749 km51.6 kg37h 12m440 kg5h 48m
Berlin1,319 km38.9 kg30h 6m332 kg5h 18m
Birmingham2,166 km72.5 kg39h 6m545 kg6h 24m
Bristol2,175 km73.2 kg39h 18m547 kg6h 24m
Brussels1,698 km50.1 kg33h 54m427 kg5h 48m
Cardiff2,215 km76.4 kg39h 36m557 kg6h 30m
Copenhagen1,637 km48.3 kg38h 12m412 kg5h 42m
Dublin2,472 km——622 kg6h 48m
Edinburgh2,397 km102 kg42h 6m603 kg6h 42m
Frankfurt1,389 km41.0 kg29h 42m349 kg5h 24m
Glasgow2,452 km104 kg42h 12m617 kg6h 48m
Leeds2,199 km81.3 kg39h 54m553 kg6h 24m
Lisbon2,755 km81.3 kg54h 42m693 kg7h 12m
Liverpool2,270 km82.5 kg39h 54m571 kg6h 30m
London2,015 km59.5 kg36h 18m507 kg6h 12m
Madrid2,253 km66.5 kg40h 48m567 kg6h 30m
Manchester2,227 km80.5 kg39h 48m560 kg6h 30m
Milan1,168 km34.5 kg23h 54m294 kg5h 6m
Munich1,097 km32.4 kg25h 12m276 kg5h
Newcastle2,259 km91.4 kg40h 36m568 kg6h 30m
Nottingham2,138 km73.5 kg39h 24m538 kg6h 24m
Oslo2,096 km61.9 kg47h 48m527 kg6h 18m
Paris1,758 km51.9 kg32h442 kg5h 48m
Prague1,067 km31.5 kg25h 12m268 kg4h 54m
Rome893 km26.4 kg19h 54m225 kg4h 42m
Sheffield2,175 km77.7 kg39h 42m547 kg6h 24m
Southampton2,078 km68.4 kg39h523 kg6h 18m
Stockholm1,884 km55.6 kg44h 36m474 kg6h
Vienna818 km24.1 kg20h 6m206 kg4h 36m
Warsaw1,074 km31.7 kg25h 12m270 kg4h 54m
Zurich1,269 km37.5 kg28h 18m319 kg5h 12m

The year in Sofia

Average temperature, °C — warmest in July
January: 2.1 °C2.1 °CJanFebruary: 4.5 °CFebMarch: 7.4 °CMarApril: 11.2 °CAprMay: 14.2 °CMayJune: 20.9 °CJunJuly: 24.6 °C24.6 °CJulAugust: 23.9 °CAugSeptember: 18.7 °CSepOctober: 14.0 °COctNovember: 5.5 °CNovDecember: 2.9 °CDec
Sunshine, hours a day — brightest in July
January: 6.1 hJanFebruary: 8.1 hFebMarch: 8.5 hMarApril: 10.3 hAprMay: 10.0 hMayJune: 13.2 hJunJuly: 14.3 h14.3 hJulAugust: 12.6 hAugSeptember: 10.3 hSepOctober: 9.8 hOctNovember: 6.1 hNovDecember: 5.5 h5.5 hDec
Historical daily means for 2023–2024, by month (ERA5 reanalysis) — averaged across day and night
 JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Temp °C2.14.57.411.214.220.924.623.918.714.05.52.9
Sun h/day6.18.18.510.310.013.214.312.610.39.86.15.5
Rain mm/day1.80.51.72.43.22.90.41.11.10.73.42.4

When to go

Sofia is warmest in July at 24.6 °C, and that is also its brightest month. Its coldest is January at 2.1 °C.

On these lists

Three months worth booking

The same year of measurements, decided rather than tabulated. Each opens the map below on dates in that month.

warmest and sunniest and driestJuly24.6 °C · 14.3 h sun · 0.4 mm rainSee rooms in July →

How busy it gets

София (столица) records 1.8 overnight stays per resident a year (2,267,902 nights in 2024). Comparatively quiet by European standards.

Eurostat, nights spent at tourist accommodation by NUTS 3 region, against resident population. Shown for context only — it plays no part in which destinations appear or in what order. Eurostat does not cover the United Kingdom after 2016, nor North Africa or the Levant at all, so this figure is absent for roughly a third of the destinations here.

Where to stay in Sofia

Places to stay in Sofia, Bulgaria, on a live map. Prices and availability come from Stay22 and its booking partners.

Search places to stay in Sofia →Opens the booking search in a new tab. Same partners as the map below.

Affiliate disclosure. A booking made through this map may earn 0xCarbon a commission, at no extra cost to you. It changes nothing above it: the emissions figures come from UK Government conversion factors and are computed before anyone is paid anything.See the method.

Distances are great-circle. Rail assumes international rail at 0.01135 kg CO₂e per passenger-km with a 1.3× track detour allowance; flights use 0.12576 kg per passenger-km including radiative forcing. Journey times are modelled, not timetabled. Full method.