Must-see attractions in Kyiv

  • Saint-Sophia Cathedral in Kiev, Ukraine

    St Sophia's Cathedral

    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…

  • Kyevo-Pecherska Lavra

    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…

  • Khreshchatyk-Stalinist buildings on Maydan Nezalezhnosti (Independence Square).

    Maidan Nezalezhnosti

    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 Monastery.

    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…

  • Skvorechnik

    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…

  • The PinchukArtCentre, Kyiv, Ukraine.

    PinchukArtCentre

    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…

  • Statue of the Motherland, in Kiev, Ukraine.

    Rodina Mat

    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…

  • Mezhyhirya National Park, Novi Petrivtsi, Kyiv region, Ukraine - October, 16, 2020: Museum of Corruption. The large natural complex Mezhyhirya Residence with a beautiful garden, a cascade of lakes.

    Mezhyhirya

    Kyiv

    Kyiv's newest tourist attraction is Mezhyhirya, the estate that once 'belonged' to ex-president and wannabe Ukrainian dictator, Viktor Yanukovych,…

  • Izolyatsia

    Kyiv

    Izolyatsia is a self-described platform for cultural initiatives and contemporary culture occupying an old shipyard in north Podil. Originally from…

  • Khanenko Museum of Arts

    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…

  • Khreshchatyk

    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…

  • Ukraine, Kiev, St Andrews Church (1754 by Bartelomeo Rastrelli) on Andrews Decent (Andriyivsky Uzviz)

    Andriyivsky Uzviz

    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…

  • St Andrew's Church

    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…

  • Babyn Yar

    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…

  • wooden church pyrohovo folk museum kiev ukraine

    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…

  • Chornobyl 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…

  • House of Chimeras

    Kyiv

    Many of the 'chimeras' that adorn the awning of Kyiv's weirdest building are depictions of architect Władysław Horodecki's hunting trophies – antelope,…

  • Great Patriotic War Museum

    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…

  • Bulgakov Museum

    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…

  • Zoloti Vorota

    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…

  • National Art Museum

    Kyiv

    In a historic neoclassical building designed by Władysław Horodecki, this long-running museum has a wide-ranging collection of Ukrainian paintings…

  • Ukrainians place candles in memory of the victims of the Holodomor famine during a ceremony at the Holodomor memorial in Kiev on November 22, 2014. Ukraine marked 81 years since the Stalin-era Holodomor famine, one of the darkest pages in its entire history that left millions dead and which is regarded by many as a genocide. The 1932-33 famine took place as harvests dwindled and Soviet leader Josef Stalin's police enforced the brutal policy of collectivising agriculture by requisitioning grain and other foodstuffs. AFP PHOTO/ SERGEI SUPINSKY        (Photo credit should read SERGEI SUPINSKY/AFP/Getty Images)

    Holodomor Victims Memorial

    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 Botanical Garden, Ukraine

    Hryshko Botanical Gardens

    Kyiv

    The long, steep hill running along the Dnipro River from Olympic Stadium and Mariyinsky Palace to Rodina Mat continues south for several kilometres,…

  • Museum of Microminiature

    Kyiv

    Beneath the Great Bell Tower on the south side of the Upper Lavra, the Museum of Microminiature provides something even for atheists within this holiest…

  • Vydubytsky Monastery

    Kyiv

    Few churches appear more frozen in time than those of the Vydubytsky Monastery, nestled into a hill beneath the Hryshko Botanical Gardens. If you found…

  • Andriyivskyy Descent. Kiev, Ukraine

    Museum of One Street

    Kyiv

    This museum lays out individual histories of Andriyivsky uzviz buildings. The sheer jumble-sale eclecticism of the collection – showcasing the lives of,…

  • Historical Treasures Museum

    Kyiv

    This museum in the Upper Lavra, behind the Dormition Cathedral, has an astounding collection of precious stones and metal found or made in Ukraine. The…

  • Mystetsky Arsenal

    Kyiv

    Once a storage for gunpowder and harnesses, these days it is a playground for visionary curators – each exhibition becomes an event of national importance…

  • Aviation Museum

    Kyiv

    Located at the far side of Zhulyany airfield, this open-air museum displays dozens of Soviet aircraft designed to carry people or tanks, land on ice or…

  • Kyiv National Museum of Russian Art

    Kyiv

    With 2000 paintings, only a fraction of which are on display at any one time, this museum, set in an impressive tsar-era mansion, has the largest…

  • Florivsky Monastery

    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…

  • St Volodymyr's Cathedral

    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…

  • Peyzazhna aleya

    Kyiv

    Starting by the National Museum of Ukrainian History, the alley skirts around a large ravine offering great views of the city. It's always full of people…

  • Fomin Botanical Gardens

    Kyiv

    Lying behind the Universytet metro station building, the landscaped gardens are best visited in spring when just about everything there is blooming.

  • Desyatynna Church Ruins

    Kyiv

    Prince Volodymyr ordered the Desyatynna Church built in 989 and devoted 10% of his income to it, hence the name (desyatyn means 'one-tenth'). The church…

  • Friendship of Nations Monument

    Kyiv

    The Friendship of Nations Monument is a giant metal parabola celebrating the 1654 'unification' of Russia and Ukraine. It's on an elevated plaza with…

  • St Michael's Monastery Museum

    Kyiv

    The fascinating history of the St Michael's Golden-Domed Monastery is explained in great detail (in Ukrainian and English placards) in a museum located in…

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