KYIV 5 DAYS

Today we take a walk through Podil (Lower Town) the oldest district of Kyiv and on the hillside pedestrian street Andriyivskyy Descent (Uzviz) with picturesque views over the Dnipro Valley, also see located in a very picturesque area, 18th century St. Andrew’s Church, House of the writer Mihail Bulgakov, House of Tsar Peter I. You visit the government quarter and admire its magnificent buildings such as the House with Chimaeras and Mariyinsky Palace. Afterwards, we take a short stroll through Khreshchatyk – admire the city ’s pedestrian boulevard with overcrowded monumental buildings in the confectioner style, and stop for a brief moment on Maidan (Independence Square).

Today we continue our acquaintance with Kyiv. Impressive 300 churches embellish the cityscape of Kyiv. Among other things, we visit the Saint Sophia’s Cathedral, famous around the world as a masterpiece of architecture, fresco painting and mosaic art; built in the 11th century it is the place where the princes of Kievan Rus’ have found their rest. We visit the St. Michael’s Golden-Domed Monastery, built around a century later, and see the Golden Gate – the entrance to the medieval city. The absolute highlight of Kyiv sacral life and multitude of culturally significant churches, monasteries and museums is Kyiv Pechersk Lavra, the UNESCO World Heritage Site, also known as Kyiv Monastery of the Caves. Nowadays, as it was almost a thousand years ago, Lavra remains the most important place of pilgrimage on the territory of Ukraine. In this place you find not only seclusion and asceticism, but also beautiful churches, decorated with paintings, monk’s cells, defence towers and other buildings that have arisen over the past centuries. Lavra Caves is a complex system of narrow underground passages with temples along the way and buried relics of sacred ascetics. There are also some museums and exhibitions on the grounds of the Lavra Monastery. We highly recommend you to visit the Museum of Historical Treasures of Ukraine. Among other things it houses a rich collection of unique artworks of the ancient Scythians, including the famous golden pectoral from the megalithic tomb. Not far from Lavra is located the memorial to the National Museum “Holodomor victims Memorial”, a sad symbol of Stalin’s extermination of the Ukrainian population during 1932-1933.

On this day you visit the largest open-air museum in Europe “Pyrohovo” constructed to resemble the Cossack village in 17th-18th c. We dive into everyday life of the Ukrainian countryside and the Cossacks’ traditions, see churches, factories, farmhouses and windmills. You enjoy ancient Ukrainian folk music and learn a lot about life of the Ukrainian village in past centuries. In the shady tent we meet to taste specialties of traditional Ukrainian cuisine during the lunch. At the end of the day, we take a one-hour Dnipro boat trip to admire the golden domes of the numerous Kyiv churches from the water.

In the morning you can buy souvenirs or send postcards from the Ukrainian capital to your friends. You take back home unforgettable impressions and the great feeling of having experienced something special. You have spent your time in Kyiv eventfully and learned lots about Ukrainian culture and traditions. We hope that we have managed to persuade you to come here once more in the future and of course plan your next trips with us!of the numerous Kyiv churches from the water.