City guide
A guide to Kyiv
A city more than a thousand years old is best explored on foot — from St Sophia to Podil, from the Lavra to the left-bank districts. Here are the places, people and chapters of history worth knowing.
Sections
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71 places Places to see Churches and palaces, museums, parks, curious houses and walks through the old town. -
56 people Famous Kyivans Princes and hetmans, writers, artists, engineers — the people who made the city. -
6 eras Timeline Over a thousand years of history, from the Christianisation of Rus to the defence of Kyiv in 2022. -
168 photos Photo memories Archival photographs of Kyiv, and the same places today. -
19 films Films about Kyiv From the 1961 comedy "Chasing Two Hares" to documentaries about the Maidan and the war.
Worth seeing
Places to see
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Andriivskyi Descent: A Walk Through Kyiv's Historic Street Walk Kyiv's Andriivskyi Descent from Podil to the Upper Town: Bulgakov's house, Richard's Castle, St…
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Golden Gate in Kyiv: History of the Ancient City Entrance Kyiv's Golden Gate, a mighty 11th-century defensive tower crowned by the Church of the Annunciation: its…
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House with Chimeras Vladyslav Horodetskyi's own house on a cliff above Franko Square, with elephants, frogs, rhinos and sea…
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National Opera of Ukraine Ukraine's leading opera stage, housed in Viktor Schröter's building of 1901 — a theatre that has survived a…
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Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra A monastery founded in 1051 in caves above the Dnipro: the Dormition Cathedral, the Trinity Gate Church, the…
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Richard the Lionheart's Castle A Gothic Revival "castle" of towers and battlements halfway up Andriivskyi Uzviz: a 1902–1904 apartment house…
On foot
Walking routes
- Old Kyiv: from the Golden Gate to Andriivskyi Descent ≈ 2.1 km · 2 h 30 min · 5 stops Golden Gate in Kyiv: History of the Ancient City EntranceSt Sophia CathedralSt Michael's Golden-Domed MonasterySt Andrew's ChurchAndriivskyi Descent: A Walk Through Kyiv's Historic Street
- Podil: from the funicular to Castle Hill ≈ 3.3 km · 2 h 45 min · 7 stops Kyiv FunicularKontraktova SquareSamson Fountain in Podil: Kyiv's Legendary Sacred SpringMuseum of the Hetmanate in Kyiv: The Mazepa House in PodilNational Chornobyl MuseumVozdvyzhenkaCastle Hill (Zamkova Hora) in Kyiv: History and Legends
- Pechersk and the Lavra: along the Dnipro hills to Vydubychi ≈ 4.5 km · 5 h 15 min · 7 stops Askold's GraveMonument to Hetman Ivan Mazepa (Eternal Kyiv)Holodomor Genocide MuseumMystetskyi ArsenalKyiv-Pechersk LavraMotherland MonumentVydubychi Monastery
- From Maidan to Mariinskyi Park ≈ 3.5 km · 3 h 15 min · 8 stops Maidan NezalezhnostiPedestrian and Cycle BridgeArch of Freedom of the Ukrainian PeopleWater Museum in Kyiv: Water Information CenterNational Art Museum of UkraineHouse with ChimerasMariinskyi Palace in Kyiv: History and ArchitectureMariinskyi Park in Kyiv: History and What to See
- From Yaroslaviv Val to Bessarabka: theatres, cathedrals and gardens ≈ 3.1 km · 3 h · 7 stops Baron's CastleNational Opera of UkraineSt Volodymyr's CathedralFomin Botanical GardenTaras Shevchenko Park in Kyiv: History of a Beloved ParkPinchukArtCentreBrodsky Choral Synagogue in Kyiv: History and Architecture
People
Famous Kyivans
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Timeline
Six eras of Kyiv
- 10th – mid-13th c. Kyivan Rus Oleh takes Kyiv · The baptism of Kyiv · The Church of the Tithes
- 1240 – 18th c. From Batu to the Hetmanate Batu's siege · The Lithuanian era · Magdeburg rights
- 19th c. – 1917 Imperial Kyiv The Podil fire · St Volodymyr University · The Chain Bridge
- 1917 – 1991 Soviet Kyiv The Central Rada · Independence and Unification · Capital once more
- 1991 – 2013 Independent Kyiv Independence · The referendum · Constitution and hryvnia
- 2014 – today The City That Stood The Revolution of Dignity · The Heavenly Hundred · Decommunisation of names