This year, the World Escape Room Championship Finals will take place in Bulgaria’s capital city – Sofia – in an incredible industrial venue called The Purgatory. Here’s a quick urban guide on how to reach the event, and what escape rooms and restaurants are nearby.

How to Get to the ER Champ Finals

Sofia is one of the most well-connected cities in Europe – you can fly directly from major capitals such as Vienna, Frankfurt, Munich, London, Paris, Warsaw, Berlin, or Athens via airlines like Austrian, Lufthansa, Ryanair, Wizz Air, or Bulgaria Air.

Sofia Airport (SOF), officially named Vasil Levski, is the largest airport in Bulgaria. In 2024, it handled around 7.9 million passengers, making it the country’s main international hub.

Airport to City Center

The fastest and most affordable way to get from the airport to the city center is by metro. Line M4 connects Terminal 2 to the city center (Serdika station) in around 18–25 minutes. It runs daily from 5:30 AM to midnight every 5–15 minutes.

The best way to pay for public transport in Sofia is via contactless payment – just tap your bank card, phone, or watch on the reader inside the metro gate, tram, or bus. You only need to tap once when entering each vehicle. Pricing is automatic and bundled for the best fare – no need to pre-purchase tickets or worry about paper fares.

Alternatively, bus 84 also connects the airport to central Sofia (e.g., Sofia University / Orlov Most), though travel time may take 35–45 minutes depending on traffic. Again, just use contactless payment when boarding.

NOTE: Avoid using cash-based ticket machines or buying paper tickets – they’re often out of service or confusing, with pricing varying between 1.60 and 2.20 BGN. Contactless is faster, cheaper, and easier.

Taxis from the Airport

Taxis are generally convenient, but choosing a trusted company is crucial. We do not recommend OK Supertrans, as they’re often impersonated and no longer have an official desk at the airport.

Instead, use:

• Yellow! – the official airport taxi partner (with a working app)
• Volt – another highly-rated and reliable company (also with an app)

A typical ride to the city center should cost 6–20 BGN (~€3–€10).

Uber and Bolt are not available in Bulgaria.

PRO TIP: The Bulgarian lev (BGN) is pegged to the euro at a fixed rate of 1 EUR = 1.9558 BGN. Avoid airport or station currency exchange desks. Letting your card provider or app like Revolut handle the conversion is usually much cheaper.

Getting to The Purgatory

Sofia’s public transport network includes the metro (4 lines, 47 stations), buses, trams, and trolleybuses. All of them support contactless payments – just tap once per vehicle and you’re good to go. One ride costs ~1.60 BGN and is valid for 1 hour with transfers on the metro.

You can easily reach The Purgatory from the city center by metro, tram, or bus. The journey takes around 15–20 minutes.

The Purgatory

The 2025 ER Champ Finals venue, The Purgatory, is located in Sofia’s industrial district of Orlandovtsi. It’s a striking space with a raw-yet-cozy industrial design: high ceilings, lots of natural light through glass walls, and steel-concrete details – creating a truly unforgettable vibe.

Escape Rooms Nearby

Most escape rooms in Sofia are located near the city center, easily accessible by foot or public transport. But if you’re dreaming of squeezing in an extra game or two before the finals, here are some rooms closest to The Purgatory:

• 3KEY Rooms – BOOM! The Room – 900 m
• Cult of Pleasure and Pain – 1.1 km
• 3KEY Rooms – The DETECTIVE, The Time Machine & The MaTRICK – 1.3 km
• Bornazium – Brainwatch – 1.5 km

You can find and book all of them at lock.me website.

Restaurants Around the Venue

Feeling hungry during the finals or the conference? Here are a few local spots near The Purgatory worth checking out:

• КАФЕ МРАЗ – restaurant & wine bar
• Sofia Electric Brewing – craft beer and brewery vibes
• Mesceto – grill bar
• Liani – Bulgarian home-style lunch restaurant

NOTE: Some smaller venues like Mesceto may not accept card payments, or may have unreliable POS systems. For convenience and peace of mind, we recommend prioritizing card-friendly places like Cafe 1920.

What About Funky Monkey?

Funky Monkey is one of this year’s ER Champ Finals co-hosts. They’re preparing a special pre-event for all finalists on the day before the championship!

Their escape rooms – including some legendary ER Champ scenarios – are located a bit outside the center, but are very easy to reach by taking the M4 yellow metro line to Tsarigradsko Shose (ЦАРИГРАДСКО ШОСЕ).

You might wonder: “Why travel all the way across the city when there are so many rooms in Sofia?”

Here’s why – Funky Monkey hosts not only original games, but also real ER Champ rooms from past editions! If you want to challenge yourself with rooms from the 2023 and 2024 championships – this is your unique chance.

You can already book The Cube and The Teleportation Chamber, while the ER Champ 2024 rooms will be available soon.

Tickets for the ER Champ Finals & Conference

Planning to join the event – as a Finals spectator or a participant of the Escape Room Conference? Tickets are available online on our official website – don’t miss out! 

The detailed agenda will be published soon