Walking route
From Maidan to Mariinskyi Park
A walk through the centre above the Dnipro: from the country's main square across Volodymyrska Hill and the glass bridge to the Arch of Freedom, then through Khreshchatyi Park past the Water Museum, the National Art Museum and the House with Chimeras to Mariinskyi Palace and Park. The government quarter around Bankova and Hrushevskoho streets is sometimes closed off; the chimeras are then best seen from Ivan Franko Square.
- Distance
- ≈ 3.5 km
- Time
- ≈ 3 h 15 min
- Walking
- 45 min
- Stops
- 8
The line on the map joins the stops as the crow flies, not along the streets. The distance is estimated as the straight lines between stops × 1.25, and the time as walking at 4.5 km/h plus 2 h 30 min at the stops. Google Maps will show the exact walking path.
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Maidan Nezalezhnosti
Kyiv's central square and the scene of three revolutions, in 1990, 2004 and 2013–2014. Above it rises the 61-metre Independence Monument topped by Anatolii Kushch's bronze Berehynia, and since 2022 a field of flags has commemorated the fallen.
To the next stop: ≈ 780 m · 10 min on foot
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Pedestrian and Cycle Bridge
The 2019 glass footbridge and cycle bridge over Volodymyrskyi Descent, linking Volodymyrska Hill with Khreshchatyi Park. It withstood the missile strike of 10 October 2022.
To the next stop: ≈ 200 m · 3 min on foot
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Arch of Freedom of the Ukrainian People
A metal rainbow arch about 35 metres high, opened in 1982 as the Arch of Friendship of Peoples. On 14 May 2022 it was renamed the Arch of Freedom of the Ukrainian People, and the Soviet sculptures beneath it were removed. Behind it is a viewing platform over the Dnipro.
To the next stop: ≈ 290 m · 4 min on foot
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Water Museum in Kyiv: Water Information Center
A water information centre in the buildings of Kyiv's first water supply system of 1872–1876, whose towers were designed by Alexander Schiele. The main exhibition is underground, in a former clean-water reservoir of 1909.
To the next stop: ≈ 450 m · 6 min on foot
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National Art Museum of Ukraine
Kyiv's first public museum, in a Neoclassical building designed by Petr Boitsov and built by Vladyslav Horodetskyi, with lions flanking the steps. Inside is the most complete collection of Ukrainian art, from 12th-century icons to the avant-garde.
To the next stop: ≈ 630 m · 8 min on foot
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House with Chimeras
Vladyslav Horodetskyi's own house of 1901–1903, decorated by the Milanese sculptor Elio Sala with elephants, rhinos, frogs and sea monsters. It has three storeys on the Bankova side and six on the Ivan Franko Square side. It is now a residence of the President of Ukraine, so it can only be seen from outside.
To the next stop: ≈ 920 m · 12 min on foot
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Mariinskyi Palace in Kyiv: History and Architecture
A baroque palace designed by Bartolomeo Rastrelli and built under Ivan Michurin. After a fire it was rebuilt in 1868–1870; the year the work was finished is carved in a cartouche on the façade facing the park.
To the next stop: ≈ 250 m · 3 min on foot
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Mariinskyi Park in Kyiv: History and What to See
A park laid out in 1874 to a design by the gardener Oleksandr Nedzelskyi. Walk to the viewing platform on the bluff for a view of the Dnipro and the Left Bank.
On foot
More routes
- Old Kyiv: from the Golden Gate to Andriivskyi Descent≈ 2.1 km · 2 h 30 min · 5 stops
- Podil: from the funicular to Castle Hill≈ 3.3 km · 2 h 45 min · 7 stops
- Pechersk and the Lavra: along the Dnipro hills to Vydubychi≈ 4.5 km · 5 h 15 min · 7 stops
- From Yaroslaviv Val to Bessarabka: theatres, cathedrals and gardens≈ 3.1 km · 3 h · 7 stops