National Museum of Military History
National Museum of Military History
4.5
10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Wednesday
10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Thursday
10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Friday
10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Saturday
10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Sunday
10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
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Detailed Reviews: Reviews order informed by descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as cleanliness, atmosphere, general tips and location information.
Popular mentions
4.5
301 reviews
Excellent
182
Very good
95
Average
13
Poor
6
Terrible
5
leileireid
London, UK477 contributions
Feb 2023 • Family
Outside there is a display of tanks, aircraft, artillery pieces and additional military vehicles- this area is free to visit and does not require a ticket.
Once you go inside you have 4 ticket options (upstairs, second outside area, special exhibition or everything)depending on how much you want to do which is great! We opted to do everything (option4), the staff where very friendly and had a good command of english.
The upstairs everything except the timeline has an english translation but we got around that by using google translate. They had several examples of uniforms and weapons form post Warsaw agreement.
The second outside area has an impressive display of vehicles from helicopters, to sea mines, missile launchers and a cannon plus everything in-between.
The special exhibition was about the Balkans war preceding ww1 and then how ww2 affected Sofia. I found the exhibition about how Sofia was affected during ww2 very affective as they used a lot of sounds and videos.
For context I am a history buff but not military history at all however I did find this museum very engaging and interesting
Once you go inside you have 4 ticket options (upstairs, second outside area, special exhibition or everything)depending on how much you want to do which is great! We opted to do everything (option4), the staff where very friendly and had a good command of english.
The upstairs everything except the timeline has an english translation but we got around that by using google translate. They had several examples of uniforms and weapons form post Warsaw agreement.
The second outside area has an impressive display of vehicles from helicopters, to sea mines, missile launchers and a cannon plus everything in-between.
The special exhibition was about the Balkans war preceding ww1 and then how ww2 affected Sofia. I found the exhibition about how Sofia was affected during ww2 very affective as they used a lot of sounds and videos.
For context I am a history buff but not military history at all however I did find this museum very engaging and interesting
Written February 1, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
D0gThatHunts
Charleston, SC13 contributions
Nov 2019
Superb range of Soviet and German armoured and other vehicles. It also has three floors of very well presented military history and artifacts.
If you don’t have time for a full visit - the outer park with the WW2 vehicles is free. (Check opening hours - but I think it’s closed on Wednesday..)
If you don’t have time for a full visit - the outer park with the WW2 vehicles is free. (Check opening hours - but I think it’s closed on Wednesday..)
Written December 1, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
iantheextreme
Dymchurch, UK83 contributions
Jul 2017 • Couples
Really good museum and it is half price on Monday and Tuesday. Says staff only but was all open. Tickets are around 2 Euro. Possibly the best place to visit here. About a twenty minute walk from the nearest Metro. Well worth the walk.
Written July 18, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Me_n_my_rucksack
Yorkshire, UK6,100 contributions
May 2017 • Couples
It's a bit of a walk from the middle of town to get here but the journey was actually very pleasant with some nice coffee shops on the way.
There are a lot of tanks and artilery outside the front of the museum, more tanks artillery jets missiles and radar inside a grasses area once you have paid to get in and internal displays in a 4 story building.
My wife noticed an odd no photography for safety reasons temporary signs - which seemed to be being ignored by the locals.
The entry fee was, by Western European standards, extreemly cheap - there is a kind of multi entry ticket for the other military museums 9Including the air museum located in in a different City - although usefull if you are turing the country.
The external display items are largley cold war Soviet designed armour air power and missiles with a smattering of WW2 armour. There is an impressive number of SAM systems complete with Radar - as a radar engineer this was superb ! Inside there is an
extensive collection of uniforms insignia etc.......
Although outside everyone seemed to be taking photos a particularly grumpy curator moaned at me "no photos" while apparently ignoring the locals. No idea how they justify no photos for safety reasons - especially as these are decades old pieces of hardware one can see in all E European military museums - MiG21s and T34s are hardly secret or uncommon and standing on a path taking a photo is hardly dangerous - cant work that one out. Bit of a shame as otherwise this is an excellent museum.
There are a lot of tanks and artilery outside the front of the museum, more tanks artillery jets missiles and radar inside a grasses area once you have paid to get in and internal displays in a 4 story building.
My wife noticed an odd no photography for safety reasons temporary signs - which seemed to be being ignored by the locals.
The entry fee was, by Western European standards, extreemly cheap - there is a kind of multi entry ticket for the other military museums 9Including the air museum located in in a different City - although usefull if you are turing the country.
The external display items are largley cold war Soviet designed armour air power and missiles with a smattering of WW2 armour. There is an impressive number of SAM systems complete with Radar - as a radar engineer this was superb ! Inside there is an
extensive collection of uniforms insignia etc.......
Although outside everyone seemed to be taking photos a particularly grumpy curator moaned at me "no photos" while apparently ignoring the locals. No idea how they justify no photos for safety reasons - especially as these are decades old pieces of hardware one can see in all E European military museums - MiG21s and T34s are hardly secret or uncommon and standing on a path taking a photo is hardly dangerous - cant work that one out. Bit of a shame as otherwise this is an excellent museum.
Written May 27, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
wingate
London, UK2,528 contributions
Nov 2011 • Solo
This is a couple of miles away from my hotel,the Hilton.No metro there,i had nt a clue about the bus services so relied on my Google directions and my hand held sat nav.You walk past the big stadium to get there.I had got to the point where my Sat Nav said there should be an entrance but still no sign of the museum.I could see military hardware through the rails,Then i came to some large gates in the wall,still no sign.So i walked in.Everywhere there was tanks,vehicles,Mig jets,helicopters,rocket launchers,guns.I found the entrance buiding about 200 yards on the right.I paid i recall 4Levs.The first being contained some old artefacts.I was pointed in the direction of the next building.I went into the courtyard and there was all this equipment which seems to be slowly rotting away.no real attempt seems to be made to preserve anything.The descriptive panels were partly in English but they were corroding.I went into the main building and i was asked for my ticket.I couldnt find it so the museum keeper phoned the doorlady to verify i had just paid.I spent the best part of 2 hours in this building.It was a history of military matters from prehistoric times up to the present day.there were explanatory panels in english.I have to say that there was probably to much about the 18th and 19th century and too little about the 20th century.I was interested to find out the Bulgarians experiences in the two world wars ,particularly since they had the habit of siding with the wrong allaince.There was not enough about their part in the Axis nor their time under Communist rule and how it was overthrown.However it was by far and away the best museum i visited in Sofia.
Written November 17, 2011
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Dave T
Newcastle upon Tyne, UK456 contributions
Sep 2022 • Couples
There are lots of tanks, planes and artillery pieces on outdoor display, mostly from the post WW2 era but there are a few German, Czech and French tanks which the Bulgarian army also used. The indoor displays cove the Bulgarian military across the centuries as the Balkans was a regular battleground between the Turks, Russians and Europeans!
An easy few hours to be had strolling around here, loved it
An easy few hours to be had strolling around here, loved it
Written September 19, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Andrei C
Bucharest, Romania30 contributions
Aug 2014 • Friends
In my opinion, Boyana Church is the only other attraction that is as much worth seeing as this museum. It has a great range of military equipment from WWII and later - both Soviet and German. This museum should appeal to both military equipment enthusiasts (the courtyards are full of war machines) and those interested in Bulgarian history - there are several floors of history to see. Everything is translated into English and the staff is very helpful, although they only speak Bulgarian.
Written August 11, 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Richard10024
New York City, NY485 contributions
Jul 2014 • Family
I though they did a nice job showing buglarian military and political history with a focus on the 1800-1918 (pre-world war one period). This was helping in understanding the fist balkan war, the second balkan war and then world war I.
The museum is not very modern in its approach to exhibits. I was reading books and visiting other museums on similar topics in other countries, so for me this was an excellent museum. I could see some people getting confused at the exhibits with the signage.
The soviet era tanks, plans, and other equipment being exhibited was interesting to see up close - in particular the size of various equipment.
The museum is a bit out of the center of sofia. You need to take either a bus or taxi to get to the museum.
While I really enjoyed this museum - I can see that it might not be for everyone. If you are not really interested in the topic, you might not want to go as the museum itself doesn't have great exhibits for people with no knowledge or not really interested in the topic.
The museum is not very modern in its approach to exhibits. I was reading books and visiting other museums on similar topics in other countries, so for me this was an excellent museum. I could see some people getting confused at the exhibits with the signage.
The soviet era tanks, plans, and other equipment being exhibited was interesting to see up close - in particular the size of various equipment.
The museum is a bit out of the center of sofia. You need to take either a bus or taxi to get to the museum.
While I really enjoyed this museum - I can see that it might not be for everyone. If you are not really interested in the topic, you might not want to go as the museum itself doesn't have great exhibits for people with no knowledge or not really interested in the topic.
Written August 6, 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Ivan Marinkov
Sofia, Bulgaria17 contributions
Feb 2020
I love this museum as much as I loved it as a kid. All those weapons, missiles and war machines. Only the Iron Man suit is missing, hahahaha!
Written January 19, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Neil K
Liverpool, UK617,263 contributions
Dec 2019 • Friends
The National Museum Of Military History is an absolutely amazing military museum that we visited on our holiday to Sofia.
I am in general not a museum visitor ,love the architecture of museum buildings but generally not big on museums,my brother Stephen is a big fan of military history so he was always going to visit here and I must admit even I was impressed with this museum.
Set over three floors ,all types of militaria you can imagine from small arms to propelled rockets,all type of military memorabilia but what impressed me most was the amazing collection of military vehicles and aircraft, absolutely amazing and all in excellent condition, looked amazing ,even though it was raining it was just so good walking around the grounds and checking out the huge and impressive machines of war .
Most definitely well worth checking out if your planning a trip to Sofia and easy to locate along Ul Cherkovna.
I am in general not a museum visitor ,love the architecture of museum buildings but generally not big on museums,my brother Stephen is a big fan of military history so he was always going to visit here and I must admit even I was impressed with this museum.
Set over three floors ,all types of militaria you can imagine from small arms to propelled rockets,all type of military memorabilia but what impressed me most was the amazing collection of military vehicles and aircraft, absolutely amazing and all in excellent condition, looked amazing ,even though it was raining it was just so good walking around the grounds and checking out the huge and impressive machines of war .
Most definitely well worth checking out if your planning a trip to Sofia and easy to locate along Ul Cherkovna.
Written December 5, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Χριστίνα Γ
Piraeus, Greece3 contributions
Πώς φτάνουμε στο μουσείο? Είναι κοντά σε στάση μετρό??
What does it cost?
Admission Ticket prices for the National Museum of Military History:
Children up to 7 years – free of charge
Students (School, College, University), retirees and handicapped – 2 lv.
Military men – 6 lv.
Adults – 8 lv.
Family ticket – 10 lv.
Extra ticket for the Collection Halls – 4 lv.
For Groups from 12 up to 20 visitors – 6 lv. per visitor
For visiting Children’s Museum – 2 lv. per child no matter of age
Guided tour in Bulgarian language – 15 lv.
Guided tour in foreign language – 40 lv.
Specialized tour – 25 lv.
Asef1975
Birmingham, UK51 contributions
Are there guided tours in English or French at the museum? If so, are they at set times and for how long? Thanks in advance for anyone posting an answer... :-)
Leo
Strunjan, Slovenia7 contributions
no, however we met a guide who spoke german, because she lived there...
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Frequently Asked Questions about National Museum of Military History
- National Museum of Military History is open:
- Wed - Sun 10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
- We recommend booking National Museum of Military History tours ahead of time to secure your spot. If you book with Tripadvisor, you can cancel up to 24 hours before your tour starts for a full refund. See all 1 National Museum of Military History tours on Tripadvisor
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National Museum of Military History Information
Excellent Reviews | 182 |
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