Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, Sofia

Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, Sofia tickets: which one to buy

Entry to the cathedral is free. The crypt below houses the national gallery of icons, one of the finest collections of Orthodox painting in the Balkans, with a separate small ticket that is among the best value in Sofia. A photography permit inside the church costs a token sum and is sold at a desk by the door. Guided walking tours of Sofia include the cathedral and cost several times that;

free tip-based tours leave from the Palace of Justice daily and pass it. The cathedral is on its own square in the government quarter, ten minutes from the centre, with a metro station at Sofia University nearby. Nothing needs booking. The market of icons, Soviet badges and embroidery on the square outside is a permanent fixture. The icon crypt is entered from a separate door on the north side of the building and closes earlier than the church above.

Visiting Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, Sofia: what to see

Bulgaria voted to build the cathedral in 1879, a year after independence, as a memorial to the 200,000 Russian soldiers who died in the war that ended Ottoman rule; it is named after the patron saint of the Russian tsar of the day. Alexander Pomerantsev designed it in a neo-Byzantine manner and most of the work was done between 1904 and 1912. It covers 3,170 square metres and holds five thousand people, which makes it one of the largest Orthodox churches anywhere.

The central dome is gold-plated and 45 metres high, and the bell tower carries twelve bells cast in Moscow, the largest weighing twelve tonnes and audible across the city. Inside, Bulgarian, Russian and Czech artists covered the walls with murals, and the iconostasis is Italian marble, onyx and alabaster. The building was briefly renamed during the First World War, when Bulgaria and Russia were on opposite sides. The murals include work by Viktor Vasnetsov, and the cathedral's largest bell can be heard across most of central Sofia on feast days.

Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, Sofia opening hours and the best time to go

Open daily from early morning to evening, with services in the morning and evening; the crypt gallery keeps museum hours and closes on Mondays. Sunday liturgy fills the nave and is sung by one of the best choirs in the country. Sofia is cold and often snowy from December to February and hot in July and August; the interior is dim and cool year-round. Dress modestly; women are not required to cover their heads.

Photography needs the permit. Allow half an hour for the church and an hour for the crypt. The Russian church of St Nicholas with its green and gold domes is five minutes west, and the Sveta Nedelya cathedral is fifteen minutes into the centre. Sofia's National Assembly and the Russian church are both on the same square, which makes this the easiest cluster of sights in the city.