The Steps

On Bratya Miladinovi Street in central Sofia, The Steps is much more than a bar. It is the city’s main LGBTQ+ community space. It is run as a social enterprise of the Single Step Foundation, which supports LGBTI young people and their families, and its profits are reinvested in the LGBTI community in Bulgaria. Every drink you order here helps.

By day, The Steps is a relaxed bistro and coworking spot with food and drinks. Its event hall hosts exhibitions, film screenings, talks and meetings of local LGBTI groups, including trans and non-binary meetups. In the evenings and on weekends the mood shifts to entertainment, with drag shows by local queer collectives and dance nights. The space is also known as the home of VAULT, one of Sofia’s best-known gay party brands. For first-time visitors, it’s the easiest and friendliest way into the city’s queer scene: a place to meet locals, find out what’s on, and start the night before moving on to the clubs.