Kharkiv
Just west of pl Konstytutsiyi, the gleaming domes of the Pokrovsky Monastery (Intercession of the Virgin) are visible from miles away. The predictably…
Must-see attractions in Ukraine
Eastern Ukraine
Life in Chernihiv revolves around the huge Krasna pl (Red Sq). As with its Moscow namesake, there is nothing remotely bolshie in the word 'red', which…
Central Ukraine
Rabbi Nachman (1772–1810) was the 18th-century sage who founded the Breslov branch of Hasidism. Tens of thousands of Jewish pilgrims flock to Uman every…
Central Ukraine
This large and diverse museum is well worth an hour or two for its interesting archaeological artefacts, bug-eyed taxidermy and large WWII exhibition with…
Eastern Ukraine
With a helmet-shaped cupola typical of Kyivan Rus church architecture, the 12th-century cathedral is one of the earliest tributes to the first Russian…
Central Ukraine
About 1.5km before you get to the chapel containing Pirogov's body, you can see his house, now a museum. It's actually more interesting than you'd expect,…
Kharkiv
Central Shevchenko Park is one of those post-Soviet parks where you can sit for hours watching families boarding the kiddie train, listening to some…
The Carpathians
With its own police station, bus station and dedicated bank branches, this 33-hectare bazaar is like a town unto itself. As a conduit into Ukraine for…
Central Ukraine
One of the old gates to the city, the 17th-century Ruska Gate is on the south side of the isthmus in the old Ruthenian (Ukrainian) quarter. Along with the…
Odesa
Near the train station you can't help but spy the five silver onion domes of this Russian Orthodox church, built by Greek monks with stone from…
Eastern Ukraine
About 2km southwest of St Catherine's Church you'll spot the 58m bell tower of the Troyitsko-Illynsky Monastery (Trinity Monastery). It's worth climbing…
Western Ukraine
In the 18th century the nuns at this working convent (no access inside) were so strict about their 'no-male-on-the-premises' rule that they didn't allow…
Eastern Ukraine
A small neoclassical building contains a museum dedicated to 18th-century Georgian poet David Guramishvili, who was made a major local landowner for his…
Lviv
About 500m north of the Theatre of Opera and Ballet on pr Chornovola is the Holocaust memorial, a vaguely cubist statue of a tormented figure looking…
Lviv
For the uninitiated, salo is the cured pig fat (lard) that Ukrainians love to slip down with vodka and use an an ingredient in national dishes. This …
Eastern Ukraine
Once a major theology school set up on the orders of tsar Peter the Great with the money of hetman (Cossack chieftain) Ivan Mazepa in 1700 (when the two…
Sts Peter's and Paul's Cathedral
Western Ukraine
The Jesuit complex on vul Kafedralna was designed in the early to mid-17th century by Italian architect Giacomo Briano. The stately, newly renovated…
Khrestovozdvyzhensky Monastery
Eastern Ukraine
About 3km east of Korpusny Park is the early 18th-century Khrestovozdvyzhensky Monastery (Elevation of the Cross). The main cathedral is one of only two…
Central Ukraine
Flanking the Teteriv River about 1.5km south of the city centre, this park is a hive of activity in the summer months and serves up great views of the…
Western Ukraine
When the Poles regained control of Kremenets, they sealed their victory by building another of the town's main sights, the Jesuit Collegium (1731–43), on…
Odesa
The semiderelict Vorontsov Palace, at the western end of bul Prymorsky, was the residence of the city's third governor. It was built in 1826 in a…
Eastern Ukraine
With just two rooms, this quaint museum has an interesting collection of antiques and locally produced porcelain. Note the portraits of Myrhorod celebs –…
The Carpathians
Kosiv is a minor Hasidic pilgrimage destination, though almost all the town's Jews were murdered by the Nazis on the Miska Hora (Town Mountain), a hill…
Birthplace of Leopold Von Sacher-Masoch
Lviv
Opposite the Pototsky Palace is the supposed birthplace of Leopold von Sacher-Masoch, the world’s original ‘masochist’. The author of Venus in Furs came…
Kharkiv
At the western end of pl Svobody, this late-1920s building is an example of early Soviet-era constructivist architecture: a geometric series of concrete…
Spaso-Preobrazhensky Cathedral
Kyiv
A beeswax candle's throw from pl Soborny is the Spaso-Preobrazhensky Cathedral, which has a much more atmospheric interior than the rather plain 1830s…
Regional Administration Building
The Carpathians
Nicknamed the 'White House', this Soviet-realist hulk is worth seeing for its sheer size and bombast. The two glum-looking traditional Ukrainian musician…
Lviv
In the outer district, you’ll find the Jewish Hospital one of Lviv’s architectural highlights. From afar this Moorish, dome-topped building looks like a…
Kharkiv
The park across the street from Uspensky Cathedral offers the best vantage point of the striking red-and-cream striped cathedral down in the valley, built…
Kharkiv
Locals are perhaps overly proud of this statue. Yes, it’s big and it does portray the heroic poet surrounded by 16 peasants, Cossacks and other Ukrainians…
Lviv Art Gallery – 19th-20th Century Collection
Lviv
This branch of the Lviv Art Gallery contains 19th- and early-20th-century art (plus some 21st-century pieces); this includes a superb collection of Polish…
The Carpathians
Castle aside, Mukacheve's most impressive chunk of architecture is its mint-green secessionist/neo-Gothic town hall, an unusual find in rural Ukraine. It…
Central Ukraine
Vinnytsya's epicentre is maydan Nezalezhnosti (Independence Sq), where major demonstrations and meetings take place. A rather inconspicuous monument on…
Western Ukraine
Displaying over 100 painted icons, this museum provides an overview of the celebrated Volyn school of icon painting from the 16th to the 18th century. The…
Eastern Ukraine
From the river you’ll have views of the Assumption Church with its golden domes dusted with blue stars. If you find it open, come in to see locals and…
Central Ukraine
Looking south from the New Bridge you can spot the 1583 Potters' Tower, so named because it was looked after by the town's potters. Twelve of these towers…
Western Ukraine
The obscure Regional Museum is worth a spin for its back-to-the-1980s exhibition and light-switch monitors. Highlights include some interesting Cossack…
Eastern Ukraine
An endearingly old-fashioned museum, only slightly updated since the Brezhnev era, has the compulsory stuffed-animal section and interesting exhibits…
Kharkiv
This cathedral with its landmark mid-19th-century bell tower (89.5m tall) is now used only as a concert hall. The ticket office in the entrance is open in…
Western Ukraine
Apart from the castle, Dubno's only other attraction is the recently renovated Church of St Nicholas (1630), whose telltale plain interior suggests it was…
