From Sofia: Skopje, Northern Macedonia Day Tour

The history of Skopje began with the settlements of the Thracians and establishing the fortress of Scupi. Since then, the town has changed its sovereign numerous times, being part of the Roman, Byzanatine, Bulgarian and the Serbian countries for short time.  The Ottomans conquered the city in 1392 and changed the name to Uskub, which became home for numerous Ottomans, Bulgarians and Albanians. 

In 1912, the city was liberated from the Ottomans during the First Balkan war, and eventually became a part of the Serbian country. During the two world wars, it was eventually given to Bulgaria, before becoming capital of the Macedonian Federation in the Yugoslavian socialistic republic. The city then started growing rapidly industrially and economically.  Unfortunately a huge earthquake in 1963 destroyed a huge part of the town, leaving more than 100,000 people without homes. Skopje managed to recover quickly from it, just in time to become a capital of the independent country of Macedonia.

Your Day in Skopje (North Macedonia)

The departure is 8.00 AM (depending on the option with hotel pick-up or from meeting point) because the driving time is 4 hours each way and the border crossing may take a while. On the way to Macedonia, you will use the picturesque road via the Osogovo mountains, one of the most beautiful mountain ranges both in Bulgaria and Macedonia.
Around 12.00 AM (11:00 AM local time), you will arrive in Skopje and the walking tour will start straight with your local guide, including: the Museum of History of Skopje in the old railway station, the Memorial House of Mother Teresa, the main square, to see the huge statue of Alexander the Great, the Stone bridge - the oldest and the most famous bridge in Skopje, today marked as the symbol of the city.
The walking tour (2h - 2h30min) ends in the Old quarter where your hunger for knowledge will be replaced with some good food (optional) and free time to buy some souvenirs or enjoy coffee or beer. At the end of your 4-hour visit of Skopje, you will head towards the car, without missing to see the huge buildings of Skopje 2014's project.

At 4:00 PM, you will depart from Skopje and arrive back in Sofia at around 8:00 PM.