NATIONAL GALLERY OF CANADA

This superb neoclassical palace, the main building of the National Gallery, was built immediately after Bulgaria's liberation from Ottoman domination (1878) and the choice of Sofia as its capital (1879). After September 9, 1944, the building became the seat of the Council of Ministers. In 1953, the State granted the former palace to the National Art Gallery and the National Ethnographic Museum. Today, it hosts high-quality temporary exhibitions, while Square 500, the gallery's new building inaugurated in 2015, showcases the collection of over 2,000 Bulgarian and international paintings from the Middle Ages to the present day, with a particular focus on the post-independence period at the end of the last century. The new gallery is spread over 28 rooms on four levels. On display are works of Bulgarian art from the ^mid-19th and ^20th centuries, European art from the ^15th to ^19th centuries, and exhibitions of art from Asia, Africa and America. A richly rewarding visit, to be complemented by that of the National Gallery's other exhibition spaces, including the one dedicated to Christian art and the one devoted to art during the Communist period. On the Galerie Nationale website, you'll find a list of the rich and varied program on offer at this major cultural structure in the Bulgarian capital, which also makes room for contemporary art.