Sofia vs Warsaw

Now that I’m back in Sofia, I’d like to run a quick comparison with Warsaw.

Skyscrapers: Warsaw Wins

Despite the housing bubble and the gigantic buildings that popped everywhere in the city, Sofia doesn’t have anything resembling a skyline with skyscrapers, and likely won’t ever have that. It doesn’t sound economically viable to destroy old buildings to get the lots, and empty lots exist at random places too far from one another to justify building a city. We do, however, have 10-ish skyscrapers, built because we can.

Food: Warsaw Wins

All the skyscrapers have modern business district style infrastructure, including restaurants with good food. The food is what you can find elsewhere in Europe, Sofia as well., However Warsaw has fine burgers and we don’t. They also have Balkan restaurants, and we don’t have Polish food. So I’d say, we give the Poles a slight advantage in cuisine.

Walking Infrastructure: Tie

The part of Warsaw we explored had wide avenues, broad sidewalks, and very few cars parked where they shouldn’t be, although it still happens occasionally. Sofia, in contrast, has narrower streets, occasional gaps in the sidewalks, and is far more car-centric than Warsaw, especially outside of the city center. Still, in Warsaw, having cyclists and pedestrians share the same paths isn’t particularly relaxing either. I’d rather walk under trees, without constantly glancing over my shoulder for speeding bikes.

I’d say it’s a tie here.

Public Transport: Tie

Warsaw has an extensive and efficient network of trams, buses, and a subway that seems to reach everywhere. Services are frequent and generally punctual. Sofia, however, has better metro coverage and a more modern ticketing system, where you can simply tap your contactless card, while in Warsaw you buy paper tickets. Warsaw’s taxis, on the other hand, are better organized, with several reliable companies serving the airport. They have Uber, operating as a regular taxi.

In both places, you can be packed on a bus as a sardine during rush hour, so I’d say a tie is fair.

General Vibe: Sofia Wins

Spending a week under the dark skies with London style weather, London style busy people, cyclists in a hurry, clean and ordered everything, I can see the appeal of a city that functions well. It feels, however, a bit soulless and I prefer the more chaotic and relaxed Sofia, even if for the sunnier weather.

Cats: Sofia Wins

No contest. The warmer and disorganized chaos of Sofia leaves room for all kinds of critters and vegetation to thrive, Cats, included.

Warsaw is a pretty place, worth exploring. More Oslo than Sofia, planned, organized, and intentional. I hope to have the opportunity to visit it during the summer one day.