Bulgaria · Sofia-Grad · Sofia
Ovcha kupel, Sofia — Area Guide & Where to Stay
Ovcha kupel is a quarter of Sofia, Bulgaria, in the district of the same name, named after the warm spring where shepherds' flocks once bathed.
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Where to stay in Ovcha kupel
Where visitors usually base themselves, and why.
Ovcha kupel suits travellers on the metro and the bus: line M3 has four stations here, Ovcha kupel, Mizia/NBU, Ovcha kupel II, and Gorna banya, the last linked to the railway. Trams 4, 5, and 11 cross the quarter, and the Sofia West bus station serves routes to the south and west, Vitosha among them. Cycle lanes follow Tsar Boris III Boulevard and Montevideo Street.
Traffic around the quarter often jams.
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Direct booking search for this neighbourhood.
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Things to do in and around Sofia
Ranked by global recognition; descriptions from Wikidata (CC0).
Museums & Galleries
2- National History Museum
- Галерия УниАрт
Churches & Religious Sites
3- Saint Elijah Church
- Света Екатерина (Княжево)
- Saint Nicholas Church
Stadiums & Sports
1- Slavia Ice Centre
Landmarks & Notable Places
1- House with the Tower
worth knowingacross 4 categories in and around Sofia
About Ovcha kupel
What are the main landmarks in Ovcha kupel?
The old mineral bathhouse served cures until the end of the 1980s, and beside it are the national rehabilitation hospital and a beach fed by the 32 °C mineral water, with three pools. The writer Kiril Hristov bought a home near the baths late in his life. PFC Slavia plays at the Slavia stadium, built in the early 1960s.
New Bulgarian University is in the quarter.
What is the history of Ovcha kupel?
After an earthquake in 1858 warm water welled up in the marshy meadows, and the sheep waded in as if bathing: hence the name, 'sheep's bath'. A neighbourhood grew around the spring. Building began in earnest in 1914, the spring was first captured in 1915, and the architect Georgi Ovcharov built the bathhouse between 1925 and 1928.
The Krasnoselsko reading room opened in 1922 and took the name of Nikola Vaptsarov in 1950. Panel blocks of Ovcha kupel 1 and 2 followed up to the early 1990s.
Where is Ovcha kupel?
Ovcha kupel lies about 6 kilometres from the centre of Sofia. Ovcha Kupel Boulevard, on the third city ring, forms its eastern edge, the Sofia ring road runs to the west, Tsar Boris III Boulevard bounds it on the south, and President Lincoln Boulevard on the north. The Vladayska River separates the spa grounds, on its west bank, from the Slavia sports complex.
Common questions
What is the best area to stay in Ovcha kupel?
Ovcha kupel: Travellers who want four metro stations and the West bus station close by.
Good for
More areas in Sofia
Updated October 2026