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Places to see in Kyiv Pecherskyi district
Walks around the capital, hidden corners, architectural gems, museums and parks — with history, legends, old photos and practical tips on getting there.
Kyiv-Pechersk LavraA monastery founded in 1051 in caves above the Dnipro: the Dormition Cathedral, the Trinity Gate Church, the Great Bell Tower and underground passages with saints' relics.
House with ChimerasVladyslav Horodetskyi's own house on a cliff above Franko Square, with elephants, frogs, rhinos and sea monsters on the façade, now a residence of the President of Ukraine.
St Nicholas Roman Catholic ChurchHorodecki's Gothic Revival church with twin 60-metre spires: a church, a warehouse, an archive, an organ hall — and a church again, awaiting rescue after the 2021 fire.
Kyiv Planetarium: History and What to SeeOne of Europe's largest planetariums, the Kyiv Planetarium has shown the stars to visitors since 1952. Discover its history, its giant dome and what to see.
Kyiv Fortress Museum: History of the Pechersk FortificationsThe Kyiv Fortress grew from a 17th-century stronghold in Pechersk into a vast system of forts and casemates. Explore its history and the National Kyiv Fortress Museum.
Water Museum in Kyiv: Water Information CenterKyiv's Water Museum fills a 19th-century waterworks with aquariums, a giant toilet and an indoor thunderstorm. Learn about its history and its seven exhibition zones.
Kyiv Museums: Toilet History MuseumOne of the first and largest museums devoted to the most important piece of plumbing in anyone's life, the toilet. It began by chance: in 1995 friends of Mykola Bohdanenko jokingly gave him a souvenir toilet when he opened his plumbing shop. Nobody expected that one toilet would spark such an interest, and by November 2010 his collection had entered the National Register of Records of Ukraine as…
Museum of Theater, Music and Cinema of Ukraine in KyivFounded in 1923, the Museum of Theater, Music and Cinema of Ukraine at the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra holds over 226,000 items, from 1816 playbills to folk instruments.
Sholem Aleichem Museum in Kyiv: Life of a Yiddish ClassicThe Sholem Aleichem Museum in Kyiv tells the story of the great Yiddish writer, his Kyiv years and Jewish culture, in the building where he once lived.
Kovalevsky Mansion in Kyiv: The Castle of LypkyThe Kovalevsky Mansion in Kyiv's Lypky is a castle-like 1914 landmark by Pavlo Aloshyn, with a railway-car room, Arabic motifs and a cat with the architect's mustache.
House with a Star, Khreshchatyk 25: History of Kyiv's Postwar TowerThe House with a Star at Khreshchatyk 25 was Kyiv's tallest building from 1954 to 1981. Discover its history, design, early sketches and the Druzhba cinema.
Mariinskyi Park in Kyiv: History and What to SeeMariinskyi Park, laid out in 1874, is one of Kyiv's favorite places to stroll, with Mariinskyi Palace, Dnipro views from the overlook and the Park Bridge nearby.
Mariinskyi Palace in Kyiv: History and ArchitectureMariinskyi Palace in Kyiv, a baroque masterpiece designed by Rastrelli in the 1750s: its history, fires, reconstructions, interiors and ceremonial role.
Pedestrian and Cycle BridgeThe 2019 glass footbridge over Volodymyrskyi Uzviz that links Volodymyrska Hill with Khreshchatyi Park and the Arch of Freedom, and survived a missile strike on 10 October 2022.
Arch of Freedom of the Ukrainian PeopleThe former People's Friendship Arch of 1982 above the Dnipro: its Soviet sculptures were removed in 2022–2024, leaving an empty arc that marks the break with Russia.
PinchukArtCentreA private contemporary art centre at Besarabka, opened in 2006: shows by international and Ukrainian artists, the Future Generation Art Prize, and free admission.
Motherland MonumentA 102-metre steel statue above the Dnipro, with the trident on her shield, and the National Museum of the History of Ukraine in the Second World War at her feet.
Holodomor Genocide MuseumUkraine's national memorial to the victims of the 1932–1933 Holodomor on the slopes by the Lavra: the 30-metre Candle of Memory, the girl with ears of wheat and the Alley of Black Boards.
Mystetskyi ArsenalA late-18th-century fortress arsenal built on the site of Mazepa's mother's convent, now Ukraine's flagship exhibition venue and home of the Book Arsenal festival.
National Art Museum of UkraineKyiv's first public museum, in Horodetskyi's Neoclassical building with lions by the steps, and the fullest collection of Ukrainian art, from 12th-century icons to the avant-garde.
Vydubychi MonasteryA monastery founded by Prince Vsevolod above the Dnipro in 1070, with the 11th-century St Michael's, the Baroque St George's Cathedral and the Botanical Garden's lilacs next door.
Askold's GraveA park on the Dnipro slopes where, the chronicle says, Prince Askold was buried: Andrii Melenskyi's Empire rotunda, a lost cemetery and the graves of today's fallen soldiers.
State Toy Museum in Kyiv: A Trip Back to ChildhoodThe State Toy Museum in Kyiv holds some 15,000 toys, from a 19th-century doll to a vintage steam engine model, tracing a century of Ukrainian toymaking.
Monument to Hetman Ivan Mazepa (Eternal Kyiv)Unveiled in 2009, Frank Meisler's Eternal Kyiv sculpture honors Hetman Ivan Mazepa with a rotating dove above the churches he built. Discover its story and symbols.
