Bucharest or Sofia (Romania or Bulgaria)
 

My partner (somewhat handicapped, very slow walker) and I have travelled quite extensively in Western Europe but never been to either Bulgaria or Romania, and are thinking of plugging this gap during November 2021. Which city, Bucharest or Sofia do you suggest we visit (we are most likely to have time for only one)? Other than general sightseeing, we like sampling local food & wine and exploring places using public transport (preferably trams). Other than the main capital city we would like to explore other worthwhile locations in the country, using either trains or a rental car (if local driving conditions do not present a hazard of their own). Not interested in shopping or 'entertainment' at all.

Which place(s) would you recommend?

I've been to Bucharest only on business, but I'd say that Romania's charms (which are plenty) lie elsewhere. Transylvania, Timisoara, the Carpathians... I'd personally go for Sofia.

I would say SOF:

- the Downtown is compact, all the stuff worth seeing is grouped almost in one area
- Despite located close to the mountains, it is fairly flat and walkable
- I always feel very safe in SOF (it could be just the perception but or me it matters)

Now, you need to be aware that:

- there are still many pavements that are uneven and unstable - maybe not that much on the main streets but for sure on smaller streets (for the record: BUH is not much better)
- many streets (even main streets in the downtown, e.g. Tsar Osvobiditel) do not have asphalt surface but paving stones (the reason I was told is that most streets - regardless how small or big have trees on both sides that provide much needed shadow in the summer - as SOF does not receive a lot of rain small gaps between the paving stones ensure these trees are watered when it rains - sounds plausible). So watch your step while crossing the streets
- Subway system is excellent with all announcements in Bulgarian and English and all station names written in Cyrillic and Latin, but buses and trams have everything in Cyrillic only. Street names are in both (apart from very small streets)

I would still go to SOF but you need to plan carefully with e.g. hotel location etc.

And agree with 13901 - if you would like to go to Romania - skip BUH (unless you would like to see this crazy socialist brutal architecture like Parliament, Piata Unirii etc.)