Kyiv
The interior is the most astounding aspect of Kyiv's oldest standing church. Many of the mosaics and frescoes are original, dating back to 1017–31, when…
Must-see attractions in Ukraine
Kyiv
Tourists and Orthodox pilgrims alike flock to the Lavra, set on 28 hectares of grassy hills above the Dnipro River in Pechersk. It's easy to see why…
Lviv
Don't leave town until you've seen this amazing 42-hectare cemetery, only a short ride on tram 7 from the centre. This is the Père Lachaise of Eastern…
Kyiv
Be it celebration or revolution, whenever Ukrainians want to get together – and they often do – 'Maidan' is the nation's meeting point. The square saw pro…
St Michael's Golden-Domed Monastery
Kyiv
Looking from St Sophia's past the Bohdan Khmelnytsky statue, it's impossible to ignore the gold-domed blue church at the other end of proyizd Volodymyrsky…
Kyiv
It's hard to characterise this beachfront hippie haven on Trukhaniv Island. It derives its name from the smattering of raised wooden chill-out huts that…
National Museum and Memorial to the Victims of Occupation
Lviv
This infamous building on vul Bryullova was used as a prison by the Poles, Nazis and communists in turn, but the small and very moving exhibition over two…
Lviv
Around a 2km walk from pl Rynok, visiting the High Castle (Vysoky Zamok) on Castle Hill (Zamkova Hora) is a quintessential Lviv experience. There’s little…
Western Ukraine
A block back from bul Shevchenka, this former KGB prison is where several prominent members of UPA and OUN were held, tortured and shot in the years of…
Lviv
Lviv was declared a Unesco World Heritage Site in 1998, and this old market square lies at its heart. The square was progressively rebuilt after a major…
Kyiv
The rotating exhibits at this world-class gallery feature elite names in the world of European contemporary art and design, all financed by billionaire…
Lviv History Museum – Rynok 24
Lviv
This branch of the Lviv History Museum expounds on the city's very early days starting with early cultures that inhabited Galicia and ending with the…
Lviv
The city fathers have occupied this location since the 14th century, but the present-day Italianate look dates to 1835. In a sign of openness and…
Lviv
This fascinating pharmacy museum is located inside a still-functioning chemist's shop dating from 1735. Buy a ticket from the pharmacist and head down…
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Lviv
Revamped in 2017, the museum belonging to Lviv's brewery is an impressive, modern experience, a world away for the rickety post-Soviet repositories of the…
Kyiv
This 15th-century women's convent remained open during the communist era. Pass through the bell tower to the peaceful grounds, which contain several…
Western Ukraine
Its ornate golden domes rising up from the surrounding plain, Pochayiv Monastery is a beacon of Ukrainian Orthodoxy (Moscow Patriarchate) on the edge of a…
Kyiv
On 29 September 1941, Nazi troops rounded up Kyiv's 34,000-strong Jewish population, marched them to the Babyn Yar ravine and massacred them. Victims were…
Kyiv
As you journey into Kyiv from the airport, at some point this giant statue of a female warrior will loom up on the horizon and make you wonder, 'What the…
Kyiv
Kyiv's newest tourist attraction is Mezhyhirya, the estate that once 'belonged' to ex-president and wannabe Ukrainian dictator, Viktor Yanukovych,…
Pyrohiv Museum of Folk Architecture
Kyiv
Some 300 traditional structures, some dating back to the 16th century, have been transplanted form various parts of Ukraine to this open-air folk museum…
Kyiv
It's hard to convey the full horror of the world's worst nuclear accident, but the Chornobyl Museum makes a valiant attempt. It is not so much a museum as…
Kyiv
Many of the 'chimeras' that adorn the awning of Kyiv's weirdest building are depictions of architect Władysław Horodecki's hunting trophies – antelope,…
Kyiv
Located at the base of the towering Rodina Mat, this museum was built belatedly in 1981 to honour Kyiv's defenders during the Great Patriotic War (as WWII…
National Museum of Ukrainian History
Kyiv
Located more or less at the spot where history began for Kyiv, this huge museum has been fully modernised in recent years and represents a fantastic…
Kyiv
The much-loved author of The Master and Margarita lived in this house between 1906 and 1919 – long before writing his most famous book. The house became…
Kyiv
Izolyatsia is a self-described platform for cultural initiatives and contemporary culture occupying an old shipyard in north Podil. Originally from…
Kyiv
Part of Kyiv's fortifications during the rule of Yaroslav the Wise, the famous Zoloti Vorota was erected in 1037. Modelled on Constantinople's Golden Gate…
Kyiv
This museum's 'Western Art' wing houses Kyiv's most impressive collection of European paintings, with Bosch, Velázquez and Rubens among the many masters…
Lviv
In summer the broad pavement in the middle of this wide prospekt is the town's main hang-out and a hub of Lviv life, where homegrown tourists pose for…
Kyiv
In a historic neoclassical building designed by Władysław Horodecki, this long-running museum has a wide-ranging collection of Ukrainian paintings…
Kyiv
Kyiv's main drag is named after a river, which these days runs underneath, enclosed in an underground pipe. Getting gussied up and strolling Khreshchatyk…
Kyiv
At the far end of Vichnoy Slavy Park, which is centred around a Soviet-era war memorial, you will find a shrine from an entirely different epoch. Former…
Kyiv
According to legend, a man walked up the hill here, erected a cross and prophesied, 'A great city will stand on this spot.' That man was the Apostle…
Kyiv
The long, steep hill running along the Dnipro River from Olympic Stadium and Mariyinsky Palace to Rodina Mat continues south for several kilometres,…
Kyiv
The gold-and-blue baroque masterpiece that dominates the view as you walk up Andriyivsky uzviz was built in 1754 by Italian architect Bartolomeo Rastrelli…
Lviv
On the way between the city centre and the train station stands the historic and sacred centre of the Greek Catholic Church in Ukraine, which was handed…
Lviv History Museum – Black House
Lviv
Occupying the conspicuous Black House with its seemingly sooty facade, this is possibly the least interesting of the four pl Rynok branches of Lviv's…
Kyiv
Although not one of Kyiv's most important churches, St Volodymyr's Cathedral arguably has the prettiest interior. Built in the late 19th century to mark…
Lviv
With various chunks dating from between 1370 and 1480, this working cathedral is one of Lviv’s most impressive churches. The exterior is most definitely…
