Sofia as a Place to Study: Life During Medical School

What kind of city is Sofia?

With around 1.2 million residents, Sofia is Bulgaria's largest city and its economic centre. The cityscape mixes historic government buildings, residential blocks from the socialist era, and modern office architecture. Many national and international companies are based here, thanks to the country's well-regarded education system and labour costs that are low by European standards.

How does the Vitosha mountain range fit into everyday student life?

Sofia sits right beside a mountain range that you can see from many points in the city. Two cable cars run up from the city, and once you're up there you can hike, ride, and ski in winter — no travel planning, no weekend trip required.

For me, that was the underrated advantage of this location. Anyone studying medicine or dentistry for six years needs a place where their head can switch off. For me, that was the mountain right outside my front door.

Where do you study in Sofia?

The library is the obvious choice, and it gets boring after a while. I did a large part of my studying in cafés, of which Sofia has plenty, and they're inexpensive compared to German cities.

That's not a minor detail: studying abroad means spending more time outside your own flat than you would at home. A city where you can sit and work for hours without spending much money makes studying easier.

How international is studying in Sofia?

My year group included students from over 40 countries, most of them from EU member states. Teaching took place in groups of no more than ten students per lecturer, in English. The Representation of the European Commission is just a few minutes' walk from campus.

This changes more than just where you live. You spend six years working in an internationally mixed team and come out with confident command of medical English. That's a real advantage for career paths outside Germany later on.

What's student life like?

Sofia has a lively bar and concert scene, plus events organised by the faculties. I wrote a dedicated post about this in 2018, because I kept getting asked about it.

My honest take today: the leisure scene isn't a reason to choose a place to study — it's a question of balance. Six years of medical school is not an Erasmus semester. If you keep up the rhythm of lectures, clinical placements, and two exam sessions a year, you'll still have time for a life outside your studies — and if you don't keep up that rhythm, you'll notice by September at the latest.

What has changed since I studied there?

The most visible change is the currency: Bulgaria introduced the euro on 1 January 2026, at a conversion rate of 1.95583 lev per euro. Since 1 February 2026, the lev is no longer legal tender. That means every price you read in older experience reports needs converting — including my own.

Second, rents in central neighbourhoods have risen over the past few years. Sofia is still cheaper than any comparable German university city, but the gap has narrowed since 2015. If you're putting together a budget, work with current figures — we'll go through them with you in a free consultation.