A plan for Kyiv

In 2020, it was home to 3 million people. It is in the north of central Ukraine on the Dnieper River (Ukrainian: Дніпро, Russian: Днепр).

Correct city name spelling

The official name of the city has long been Kyiv, a transliteration from the Ukrainian Київ. A common alternative English name of the city, Kiev, is a transliteration of the Russian Киев. While the two names were formerly used interchangeably in English, since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the choice of name has assumed political connotations; supporters of the Ukrainian government tend to use "Kyiv" as a sign of solidarity, while supporters of the Russian invasion tend to use "Kiev".

History

The Ukrainians are understandably very proud of their capital's role in establishing European civilization in Eastern Europe.

Kyiv, one of the oldest cities in Eastern Europe, traces its origins to at least the 5th century, though archaeological evidence shows settlements in the area existed much earlier. By the late 9th century, Kyiv emerged as the heart of a burgeoning Eastern Slavic state. From the 10th to the early 13th centuries, it enjoyed a golden age as the capital of Kievan Rus’—a powerful medieval state also known as Kyivan Ruthenia or Rus-Ukraine. This entity laid the religious and cultural groundwork for the modern East Slavic nations of Ukraine, Russia, and Belarus. Russia’s claim to Kievan Rus’ as its historical origin remains a contentious issue between Ukrainians and Russians to this day.

In 1240, Kyiv faced catastrophic destruction at the hands of the Mongols, led by Batu Khan of the Golden Horde. After a brutal siege, the city was razed, its fortifications demolished, and much of its population massacred. This devastation marked the end of Kyiv’s political and economic prominence. By the late 13th century, the weakened city came under the control of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. In 1569, it was incorporated into the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.

Explore neighbourhoods

1 Maidan Nezalezhnosti (Майдан Незалежності) (M2 "Maidan Nezalezhnosti"). Independence Square or Maidan is the place where opposition to pro-Russian governments gathered at different points between 2004 and 2013. This is a central meeting place in Kyiv. (updated Jan 2024)

2 On the weekend, go and people watch on Khreshchatyk (M1 "Khreschatyk"). Start at Ukrainskykh Heroiv Square and head underground. Walk through the Metrograd shopping center, always sticking to your left. Head above-ground at Tarasa Shevchenka Boulevard (бульвар Тараса Шевченка), from where the council shuts down Khreshchatyk on the weekends. The main drag of the city center is closed to traffic on some weekends and full of entertainers and people wandering around. A big, happy crowd and very conducive to people watching. Walking up the street to Maidan, you will be treated to the sight of numerous street performers and animal handlers, or you can simply enjoy seeing families out and about for a weekend stroll. (updated Jan 2024)

3 Andriyivsky Uzviz or Andrew's Descent (Андріївський узвіз) (Andrew's Descent winds down to Kontraktova Ploshcha in Podil. M2 "Kontraktova Ploscha"). At the top of this charming but rugged cobblestone street stands St. Andrew’s Church. It’s a steep climb, so be sure to wear comfortable shoes. Along the way, you’ll pass souvenir stalls, cozy restaurants, art galleries, and small museums. While it’s a popular spot with tourists, the street still retains its authentic charm. (updated Jan 2024)

4 Podil (M2 "Poshtova Ploscha"). Stroll around. Start at St Michael's Cathedral in the Upper Town. Catch the funicular behind it down to Poshtova Ploscha, and wander around the grid-like streets of Podil. The area was the merchant's quarter, and was completely rebuilt in the 19th century after fires destroyed the area. It was mainly untouched during WWII and is emerging as a hip restaurant district and is rapidly being gentrified. Walk along the Sahaidachnoho street. Finish your stroll by walking up Andriyivsky Uzviz, which will get you back to St Michael's Cathedral. (updated Jan 2024)

1 Attend Ukrainian Orthodox church. Even if you'd never do so at home: Orthodox services are strangely moving even to unbelievers. They are also mighty long and there are few if any seats in church, but it's perfectly acceptable to come and go as you please, as locals do. Women must cover their heads before entering the church. Pick any church you please, but St Volodomyr's (on Tarasa Shevchenka Blvd, listed above) is a good choice.

2 Go kayaking in-between the islands of Dnipro river or countless river bays. There are several places in Kyiv to rent SUP board or kayak for an hour or two. It’s great way to explore the birds and nature of Kyiv newbies with no previous experience needed. Operating April to September. Pick the days with the nice weather and low wind conditions. Make sure to apply plenty of sunscreen as there is no shade on the open water. ~300 ₴ ($7) per hour. (updated Mar 2025)

Pysankarstvo workshop. Sign up for a workshop lasting 1-2 hours to decorate your own pysanka. Ukrainians are known to create some of the most beautiful Easter eggs with this ancient decorative technic. (updated Mar 2025)

Petrykivka drawing workshop. Go for a workshop to learn this unique Ukrainian decoration style. (updated Mar 2025)

Sports

3 Palace of Sports. Indoor complex in the center of Kyiv. The hall hosts ice hockey, basketball and boxing competitions. Apart from sporting events, it's also the venue for Eurovision Song Contest and other concerts (updated Feb 2021)

Kyiv has many recreational running routes with different road surfaces. If you like plain terrain, opt for Mariinskyi Park in the city center. You can even extend your route and run across the Lovers’ Bridge to the Puppet Theatre. If you fancy moderate hills, go for Spivoche Pole, with lots of open air and field tracks for those who do not like blacktop surface. For moderate mountainous lovers, there is Hryshko Botanical Garden with views to Paton Bridge and the Dnipro River.

Kyiv Shooting Club offers firearms shooting, providing different kinds of weapons available even for non-licensed travelers.

Enjoy the Ukrainian cuisine. Grab a Ukrainian meal with borshch, varenyky, kholodets, holubtsi or mlyntsi. In general, it is very cheap to dine in Kyiv by Western European or US standards. So long as you stay away from the places that totally pander to tourists or to the Porsche Cayenne-driving "elite", the food is great and cheap.

Baked goods are cheap and great too. Even the ice-cream on the street is great. Try, for example, the one to the right from M1 "Khreschatyk" - blue kiosk with varying length of queues.

Drink some nastoyanka (alcoholic) or kvas / uzvar (non-alcoholic). When you see vendors selling some liquid from big yellow/blue tanks on the street, you can be sure that it is "Kvas," which is a brewed bread drink. Some people like it and others hate it. It tastes a bit like malt, and the alcohol content is so low (0.05-1.44%) that it is considered acceptable for consumption by children. Try "Odyn Malenkyi" (one small) drink.

Get a medovyk or napoleon cake for dessert.

You should not drink the tap water (for reasons both chemical and microbial). It is advisable to buy bottles in the supermarkets. You can always order "Bonaqua" (a brand of sparkling mineral water), but beer is just about as cheap.

Budget

1 Celentano (Челентано), 23A Velyka Vasylkivska Street (M2 "Ploscha Ukrainskykh Heroiv"), ☏ +380 44 2356687. Mon-Fri 09:00-22:00, Sat Sun 10:00-22:00. Italian food and wine, pizza, salads. Favorite for local youngsters. A couple more places near to metro stations Khreschatyk str., 10; (M1 "Khreschatyk"); Heroiv Stalinhrada ave., 24A,(metro: ?) ; Dovzhenka Oleksandra str., 1 (M1 "Shuliavska"); Yaroslaviv Val str., 37/1 (M3 "Zoloti Vorota"); Velyka Vasylkivska str., 111/113 (M2 "Palats Ukraina"); Vokzalna sq., 2 (M1 "Vokzalna"); Telihy Oleny str., 13/14 (M3 "Dorohozhychi"); Kotsiubynskoho Mykhaila str., 14 (M1 "Universytet"). Course from 440 грн. (updated Sep 2023)

2 Korchma Budmo (Корчма Будьмо), 22a Mykhailivska Street (M2 "Maidan Nezalezhnosti", 5 mins by walk), ☏ +380 44 279-61-93. Daily 09:00 to 23:00. National Ukrainian cuisine, simple, but tasty and cheap, pleasant atmosphere. All the major credit cards are accepted. (updated Jan 2024)

Shed any stereotypes you have about poor quality alcohol in Ukraine. Particularly since the Revolution of Dignity in 2014, there has been an explosion of excellent craft beer, wine, and liquor to rival any in Europe. Downtown Kyiv is full of excellent brew pubs, wine bars, and cocktail spots where you can enjoy excellent drinks for far cheaper than elsewhere in Europe.

Notable craft beer brands include Varvar, Tsypa, Mova, Pravda, and Underwood.

A standard, mass-market pint should be less than 2 EUR (unless the place is particularly exclusive). A craft-y, expensive beer can run as high as 4 EUR.

Coffee houses

If you are not keen about alcohol, try one of the abundant coffee houses. They are always neat places with similar menu featuring all imaginable versions of coffee, a good choice of tea, fancy milk shakes and smoothies, and a selection of cakes. Their main advantage is free Wi-Fi, while on the downside are the prices that are rather high on Kyiv standards. Coffee and piece of cake start from 20 грн each.

Kyiv is famous for its coffee culture. Capu-orange drink, a mix of espresso and orange juice, is a local Ukrainian specialty, served in every coffee shop.

When you urgently need a shot of espresso, you can also try coffee sold on the street. Basically, every second kiosk will offer some kava (Ukrainian word for coffee), but its quality is at best iffy. A safe choice would be special cars equipped with coffee machines. These cars can be found in most public places and next to entrances to the metro stations. They offer decent take-away coffee for 8-10 грн.

If you prefer places that do not look the same in each town and are not owned by big companies, you should try the café "Living-Room" in the vul. Spas'ka, 6, near M2 "Kontraktova Ploscha". The small but cozy place is organized by some enthusiasts and musicians. Two pianos and some other instruments can be used by the staff or guests! While most cafés would close at 22:00 this one is open as long as the staff wants to work. Besides excellent coffee they offer a wide range of very tasty teas, original cakes (e.g. beetroot-chocolate cake!), Beer and so on (no vodka). The kitchen will help you out for the small hunger.

Curfew

The curfew in Kyiv is every day since 01:00 until 05:00. During that time, only people with the special document (e.g., police and ambulance) are allowed to go outside on the streets, so plan your trip back to the hotel in time. Taxi prices can get very expensive around the time of the last Metro trains (~22:30 at the central stations).

Subway trains do not cross the Dnipro River during air raid sirens. Be careful about staying out later in the evening if you are staying on the left (eastern) bank of the river and are counting on the Metro to get home.

On foot

For shorter distances, there is no better way of getting around Kyiv than hitting the sidewalk, especially in the areas of the city center like Maidan Nezalezhnosti, Kontraktova Ploshcha, Arsenalna. The city center area consists of many hills, so be prepared and plan accordingly. The underground pedestrian crossings are ubiquitous and let you cross the busy streets without waiting for the traffic lights, many of them connect to the underground malls, being a specialty of Kyiv. Keep in mind they are often not equipped with elevators, just the stairs.

By municipal public transport

The base fare per trip is 8 грн with no difference for the length of the trip. Additional discounts apply for journeys paid in bulk. Each transfer means another trip (unless in the metro). E-Ticket guide can be found on the website.

There are 4 ways to pay for public transport trips:

The most tourist-friendly: Users of Google Pay, Apple Pay and contactless credit/debit cards can pay directly without the need for a separate ticket; just tap your card or phone on the gates reader. (look for orange-marked gates)

Single-journey paper tickets called QR tickets (not to be confused with the digital payment method listed below) can be purchased at the ticket office or ticket machines and scanned at the turnstile. These have replaced the old token system on the Metro.

Tap the prepaid Kyiv Digital (Київ Цифровий) multi-journey plastic card. The card can be purchased for 50 грн at all metro stations, and in T-Kiosks all around the city. You can top up the card at metro stations, via the Kyiv Digital app (iOS, Android), on EasyPay, and at EasyPay, PrivatBank, City24 terminals.

Kyiv is a city at war. Anyone wishing to visit the city must be ready to accept the stresses and risks that come with that. Air raids by Russian drones and missiles are frequent, especially during the night. However, the risk of being affected by a Russian missile or drone attack in Kyiv is very low. Most of the time they get shot down by Ukrainian air defence. The chance of dying because of Russian missile or drone attacks in Kyiv is actually lower than in a car incident.

Air raid alert

To be notified of air raids and the type of possible incoming threat, download the Повітряна Тривога (Air Raid Alert) app (Google Play, Apple) and set the location to wherever you are in the country. It has full English functionality and is voiced by Mark Hammill (who will sternly remind you to take shelter when an air raid is announced and assure you when the all-clear is given). The app also announces when drones or missiles are flying in your general area.

Air raid sirens when there is a threat of missiles or drones flying into the city. If you hear air raid sirens, follow the red arrows to your nearest civil defense shelter. If you can't find the shelter or the shelter is nonoperational, go to your nearest metro station. All Kyiv metro stations are being used as civil defense shelters. Intercity transportation has been significantly disrupted due to an outflow of evacuees.

Passport checks

It is wise for men in particular to keep their passports or other proof that they are foreigners with them at all times during the war. Conscription officers (known locally as ТЦК/TeTseKa) sometimes patrol the city (particularly the train station and subway stations) and stop men to inspect their draft cards and even take them to the military. You will not be conscripted as a foreigner, but being able to prove that you are not Ukrainian will ensure that your interaction with these officers ends quickly.