The Amphitheater of Serdica is one of Sofia’s most unusual archaeological encounters: part of a late Roman arena preserved below a modern building at 2 Budapeshta Street. Official city tourism information places it in the basement of the former Arena di Serdica hotel, just east of ancient Serdica’s fortified core. That indoor setting protects important remains, but it also means access cannot be assumed in the way it can at an open municipal square.
Visit Sofia dates the amphitheatre to the end of the third century and explains that it was constructed above an earlier theatre. Seating occupied the southern side, using the natural slope, while the arena opened beyond the city wall near the road from the eastern gate. The combination of two entertainment buildings from different phases makes the site valuable: it records changing forms of public spectacle within a city favoured by Roman emperors.
