Shopping info

Shopping malls
You want do to some shopping at reasonable prices? Well, you are on the right place! Bulgaria is one of the best places in Europe to get some of the world-famous brands at low prices, and the Malls are the perfect place to do it! Almost every big city has at least 2 shopping malls where you can find designer clothes, famous local brands, shoe stores, traditional gift shops and other services. Here are some of the shopping malls in the big cities of Bulgaria:

1. Sofia – As fits a capital, Sofia has the biggest amount of malls in Bulgaria.
Paradise Center – Located near some of the most expensive neighborhoods in Sofia, the mall which is also described as one of the “lifestyle malls”, is the biggest in Bulgaria. The mall has a floor area of 208 000 m² where you can shop, go to a restaurant, watch a movie and many more additional services.
Ring Mall Sofia – It is the second largest shopping center in Sofia. Located in the southern part of Sofia, it has more than 200 shops from various brands. It is called the designers gem by some people, because of his unique architecture and open areas.

2. Plovdiv – There are 3 major shopping centers in the city: Mall Plovdiv, Mall Markovo Tepe and Galeria Mall. Mall Plovdiv is the first shopping mall in Plovdiv. Here you can visit some of the 110 stores, see a movie or grab something to eat. Recently opened, at the foot of one of the hills in the city, Mall Markovo Tepe is the newest shopping center in Plovdiv. Awarded the prize shopping building of the year in 2016, the mall is located near the city center. Boasting some really good architectural work, here you can shop in style.

3. Varna – Currently the city has 2 major Malls and there is one more coming in 2018. The shopping here is crazy when it comes to the summer season and the tourists take over. It is very common to hear Russian, German or English speaking people around you, if you go shopping between May and September. Varna is pretty convenient for shopping fans, since the two big malls are not more than 10 minutes away from each other (on foot). Mall Varna has more than 150 stores, a playground, cinema and plenty of restaurants. Grand Mall Varna is located near the bus station and it’s the biggest shopping center in the area.
It’s good to know that there are some regular shuttle busses from the sea resorts nearby to the shopping malls, so if you are planning to spend some time in Golden Sands, you can easily go shopping right after going to the beach.

4. Burgas – There are 2 major shopping malls in the second-largest city near the Bulgarian seacoast. As well as Varna, Burgas is one of the hot-spots for shopping during the summer season. Many foreign tourists come to buy famous-branded clothes on lower prices. Burgas Plaza is the first shopping mall in the city. Located near the main road from Sofia to Sunny Beach and Nessebar, Burgas Plaza provides for its guests various stores, cafés and restaurants. Mall Galleria is the biggest one in Burgas and it’s the first green shopping center in Bulgaria, certified by the US LEED sustainable building system. It is 5 minutes away from the city center and near the main roads to the sea resorts in the area.

Souvenir shops
If you want to buy some real, authentic souvenirs from your trip to Bulgaria, you won’t have any problems – souvenir and gift shops are on every corner in the popular summer or winter resorts. That doesn’t mean you cannot find any in the other cities – you can, but they are not that many.
The good thing is that most of the stuff in those shops are authentically Bulgarian. Like in any other gift shops, here you can buy fridge magnets, picture frames, hats, t-shirts, pens and whatnot. Among the things you should not miss out on is the famous Bulgarian rose oil. As the biggest rose oil producer in the world, this is one of the products Bulgarians are most proud of. Usually they are bottled in small vials and put in wooden containers so you would be able to recognize them easily. The rose oil is also used in many cosmetics, so in many cosmetics shops you can find a stand only for rose products. They are not that expensive, and the aroma is unique, that’s why it’s a very attractive souvenir for tourists.
Other products you should not miss are the famous Bulgarian wine, the delight (or as it is called in Bulgaria lokum), traditional Bulgarian pots, flat sausages (or as they are called here sudjuk and lukanka) and many more.

Traditional and national craft shops
It is good to know that almost every Bulgarian town has an old part where one can find many authentic traditional shops, crafts shops and restaurants. If you want to buy some real old-fashioned, traditional Bulgarian clothes you should definitely look up if the town you is going to has an old area.
In those small traditional shops you can find only true Bulgarian stuff – typical handmade ceramics (such as gyuvecheta), traditional chans (bells), kukeri’s masks and costumes, handmade icons, typical Bulgarian cherga (rugs), beautiful wood crafted widgets, woolen socks (or as called in Bulgarian terlitsi), lacecloths for your table and many more.
Usually when you are in those parts of the towns, where everything is old an authentic, you can also find some craft shops where you can learn how to make your own stuff the Bulgarian way. Despite not being the most popular business in the country, there are still people who have kept the craftsmanship in their families for centuries. For example, in Veliko Tarnovo you can visit a place where they can show you how to make a wooden barrel, or to learn how rugs were made in the past and teach you to sew with a spiddle or a weaving loom.

Open markets
Open markets are one of the places where you can find everything, literally everything. The markets in Bulgaria are not quite the same as those in the Arab countries, since you cannot bargain for the price, but it’s good to know that they are quite an attraction for foreigners. Even though in most of the open markets (or as called in Bulgarian pazari) you can get vegetables, fruits, meat, fish, dairy products, olives and honey. Bulgarians prefer them over the supermarkets, since the products on the open markets are considered to be fresher and tastier. The prices are reasonable and the products are better in the most of the cases. On most of the stalls you can see a sign, indicating the place where the products are coming from, but in most of the cases they are written in Bulgarian. Usually the vendors are friendly and talkative and might let you choose the vegetables yourself. But as we already said, you cannot bargain with them.

E-shops
In Bulgaria, the Internet usage per capita is really high compared to some other European countries. Almost every household has access to computer and Internet. This is the reason why Internet shopping is gaining more and more popularity in recent years. There are plenty of on-line stores where you can buy everything you need – some goods are branded, some not, there are even second-hand boutiques with a lot of clothing choices.
Even though buying clothes and shoes is the most common thing, Bulgarians are quite familiar with buying electronics as well. There are some popular shopping platforms, such as Emag where you can get the latest trends in technology. Of course, many of the tech-supermarkets offer the chance to shop online and deliver the product to you.
It is good to know that when shopping online you can pay with your credit or debit card; do it using EasyPay – cash desks where you can do the payment for the product you are buying, after that the selling company will receive the payment and send you the product; or, the most common way of payment in Bulgaria – pay on delivery. Using this option, first, you order the product, then when it’s delivered you pay cash or by card to the courier and he gives you the product.

Special offers and best-buys
Special offers and best-buys are very popular and Bulgaria. Many Bulgarians buy almost everything from such kind of web-platforms, since the discounts in some cases are pretty big. In most of those websites you can make an account and even win bigger discounts when you shop. The things you can find are mainly vacations (both in Bulgaria and abroad), food services, beauty services, massages & spa, entertainment and many more. The service is on a good level, even though you use the same product but discounted. Actually, this is the way to discover new things, you have never done before – when there is a % off the price.
One of the biggest sites for those kind of services is Grabo. Many others can be found in VsichkiOferti where almost every special offer platform in Bulgaria is included. The problem is that most of those websites are in Bulgaria, but still if you want to save some money, don’t miss them.
There are also many ways of paying your voucher (the discount coupon) – with debit/credit card, using EasyPay, bank transfer, with Bitcoins (on some websites) and at a ATM. Most Bulgarians pay their vouchers using EasyPay – cash desks where you can make the payment for the product/service you are buying. After you pay, the service provider will get your payment and most likely you would have to contact them to discuss the details (for example, when you intend to use the voucher if it’s a service like a holiday or a massage). It’s good to know that when you pay, you will receive on your e-mail a security number which you should present when you use the discount on the service or product.

Flower delivery
If you want to surprise your loved one for a special occasion, or want to send a friend of yours a nice bouquet of flowers – you can use many of the flower delivery services provided by the flower shops in Bulgaria. Many of the fancy shops even provide services like cake and chocolates deliveries on special holidays as Valentine’s Day or Woman’s day (which is celebrated on March 8 in Bulgaria). You can also include a flower in a basket, a special crafted pot or a box. There are also some flower shops which are specialized only in flower delivery. One of them is Vanila flora design and Bulgaria flowers.