The Palace - National Art Gallery

Nice cozy gallery, too much baroque splendor for me, but few paintings actually pleased my sight. Very comfortable place. Exhibition on wars make my knees tremble and I left soon. Go look only if you like this topic.

The museum is one of few parts of the national gallery, this one, together with ethnographic museum is located in former royal palace, on the first floor. 6 rooms contain art pieces from royal collection. Other ones are dedicated to lives of Bulgarian kings- a lot of reading, interesting history. The visit took about 1h

If I could rate this lower than a one star I would. If you are visibly Muslim and a person of colour please do be careful entering these spaces. We went here and since the moment we entered we’ve been followed by security. Eventually four other staff joined in and followed us around. They said the reason they followed us around was because we were taking pictures of the place. We asked to see the rules or where the signs are and they ignored our requests. They weren’t able to provide us with the rules stating so or show us the signs saying no pictures. Many other people have been taking pictures and as you can see in the other reviews, people always take pictures at these places. I love galleries and museums and have been to many and I know there is moments you aren’t allowed to take photos or touch items however there is ALWAYS a signs showing it isn’t allowed or they tell you. We asked another staff member who provides information and he said we can take pictures. We asked other Bulgarians who speak English and they said they have been taking pictures and are allowed to take pictures. The level of disrespect was astounding. Never felt so uncomfortable before in my life. We paid for this experience and left early because of how uncomfortable they made us feel. Attached a beautiful photo of one of the women giving us a dirty look for simply doing what everyone else was doing, taking photos.

An old lady with glasses who sells tickets for the art gallery was very unpleasant and disrespected me. She made fun of me because I didn't speak Bulgarian. unbearable to put such people at reception and behave in such a way with tourists👎🏼. First Time this is happen when I'm travelling

The gallery was fairly empty when we came in. Great experience to learn from. As far as I know, one of the most famous paintings here is Titian's Bacchus and Ariadne which illustrates a story told by the classical authors Ovid and Catullus. The gallery is a true treasure trove of masterpieces and a testament to the enduring power of human creativity.

If you’re visiting Sofia I recommend a trip to the Palace National Art Gallery. For a nominal fee of 3 Bulgarian lev (approx £1.50 GB) it’s well worth a visit. There was hardly anyone there when I went so it felt like a private viewing. The gallery itself is stunning with beautiful marble fire places and tiled flooring. The paintings and sculptures aren’t bad too!

Perfect museum for everyone. You can see lots of paintings from old and new (modern) art. Ticket prices are very affordable. Inside is very beautiful and it is worth to check

I loved this place - a little saddened by the lack of upkeep (many rooms needed a paint job or just a good clean), but the Palace itself is stunning. 1-2 hours is more than enough.