Sofia is the second oldest capital city in Europe blending its past and present in a remarkable architectural style. Historic landmarks include the 10th century Boyana Church (one of the UNESCO World Heritage protected sites), the Alexander Nevski Cathedral (one of the world's largest Orthodox churches), and the Byzantine Church of St. Sofia. More modern architecture is represented by the Bulgarian National Opera and Ballet, the Ivan Vazov National Theatre, the Rakovski Str. theater district, Slaveykov Square's outdoor book market, and the NDK, which is

Southeastern Europe's largest cultural and congressional center.

Sofia houses numerous museums, notably the National Historical Museum, the Bulgarian Natural History Museum, the Museum of Earth and Men, the Ethnographic Museum, the National Museum of Military History, the National Polytechnical Museum and the National Archaeological Museum. In addition, there are the Sofia City Art Gallery, the Bulgarian National Gallery of Arts, the Bulgarian National Gallery for Foreign Art as well as numerous private art galleries.The city also offers many places of special interest such as the Sts. Cyril and Methodius National Library (which houses the largest national book collection and is Bulgaria's oldest cultural institute), the Sofia State Library, the British Council, the Russian Cultural Institute, the Polish Cultural Institute, the Hungarian Institute, the Czech and the Slovak Cultural Institutes, the Italian Cultural Institute, the French Cultural Institute, Goethe Institut, Instituto Cervantes, the Open Society Institute - Sofia, along with Sofia Land the nearly nine-acre amusement park adjacent to the Sofia Zoological Garden founded in 1888. Sofia currently enjoys a booming film industry as it is the filming ground of several international film productions. Vitosha Boulevard, also called Vitoshka - ranked as the world's 22nd most expensive commercial street - represents numerous fashion boutiques and luxury goods stores and features exhibitions by world fashion designers. Sofia's geographic location, situated in the foothills of the beautiful weekend retreat Vitosha mountain, further adds to the city's specific atmosphere.There are 16 universities in the city, among them Sofia University, founded in 1888. Sofia is the see of an Eastern Orthodox and of a Roman Catholic diocese.