Grafa and Shishman Streets Shopping (Self Guided), Sofia

Graf Ignatiev Street also called Grafa (meaning The Count) is a hugely popular shopping street in the center of Sofia. It is named after an important Russian statesman and diplomat Count Nicholas Pavlovich Ignatiev and its shops sell a vast range of everyday items. For example, clothes, accessories, books, shoes and bags. This tram-only thoroughfare also hosts numerous fruit and vegetable stalls that are full of impressive displays of fresh fruit, vegetables, nuts, honey-based products and dried fruit.

A walk down Graf Ignatiev Street will also take you past some of the city's landmarks. They include, Patriarch Evtimiy Square and Sveti Sedmochislenitsi Church, an early 20th-century Bulgarian Orthodox church. If books are your thing, go to the large open-air book market on Slaveykov Square. This plaza is named after Bulgarian writers Petko and Pencho Slaveykov, a father and son, and there is a sculpture here of the two men sitting on a bench.

All the shopping and walking may leave you feeling a little tired and hungry, so boost your energy levels with a drink and a meal in one of the cafés and restaurants lining the street. Nearby is the narrow Shishman Street that runs from the Parliament to Graf Ignatiev Street. It is known for its fascinating galleries as well as its collection of bars and coffee shops.