Bucket List: Top 15 Best Things to Do in Kiev, Ukraine

Kiev Bucket List: 15 Best Places to Visit in Kiev

Kyiv or Kiev is the capital and heavily populated city of Ukraine. The romanized Ukrainian name for the city is Kyiv. It is used for legislative and official acts. While Kiev is the English name for the city. Kyiv has a vital role in the industrial, scientific, educational, and cultural heart of Eastern Europe.

It is home to advanced technology industries, higher universities, and historical landmarks. The city has an ample system of public transport and infrastructure, including the Kyiv Metro.

World’s biggest plane, the Antonov An-225 Mriya, was also done in Kyiv. It has the largest wingspan of any airframe with a size of 88.4 meters and weighs 640,000kg.

Ukraine is a safe country for foreign tourists. Well, known spots in the country like the capital Kyiv and the coastal town Odesa are quiet and enjoyable. Places affected by the war with Russia are located in the southeast of the country, very far from the capital.

Let us discover the beauty of Kiev, Ukraine! Here are some of the things you can do when you visit Kiev, Ukraine:

1. Meditate in Kiev Pechersk Lavra

Panorama of Kiev-Pechersk Lavra in autumn evening photo via Depositphotos
Panorama of Kiev-Pechersk Lavra in autumn evening photo via Depositphotos

Kyiv Pechersk Lavra or Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, also called the Kyiv Monastery of the Caves. It is a historic Orthodox Christian monastery that gave its name to downtown, where it is located in Kyiv. The World Heritage Pechersk Lavra is an awesome complex of churches, bell towers, and subterranean caves. You may need an English guided tour to get the most out of Pechersk Lavra.

If you’re planning to go below, go-ahead early to avoid the crowds of tourists who will go there. You need a candle to have a light in your way. You can see their preserves and timeless relics that used to live in cells.

2. Be amazed in the Great Lavra Bell Tower

Great Lavra Bell Tower photo via Depositphotos
Great Lavra Bell Tower photo via Depositphotos

An astonishing monument here will catch your attention as it’s one of Kyiv’s tokens.

Great Lavra Bell Tower is a distinguished fixture on the city’s skyline, covering the other monuments at Pechersk Lavra. It has four tiers and is the tallest free-standing bell tower in the world. Each of its tiers is recognizable. It has thick walls to ensure proper support and has Doric columns. On the third tier is a platform from which visitors can admire the Ukrainian capital’s aerial view.

The belfry’s clock was engineered by A. Enodin, motivated by the Kremlin clock in Moscow. The bells chime every quarter of an hour, with an approximate 10-second interval. A small fee will be charged to go up and see the broad view of Kiev.

3. Be part of historic Saint Sophia’s Cathedral

Hagia Sophia in Kiev photo via Depositphotos
Hagia Sophia in Kiev photo via Depositphotos

The oldest church has architecture and decorations dating back to the 1000s. It’s been elected one of Ukraine’s Seven Wonders. The cathedral, famed for its 13 luxurious, was inaugurated in 1037 by Prince Yaroslav the Wise, whose casket is on display.

Take your time to turn around the interior because of the utter quantity of medieval depicts and mosaics. Coronations, foreign ambassadors, councils met, and many historic agreements, proclamations, and universals were made there.

4. Take the hands of the clock in Pirogovo – National Museum Of Folk Architecture And Life

National Museum of Folk Architecture of Ukraine via Depositphotos
National Museum of Folk Architecture of Ukraine via Depositphotos

It is an open-air museum on the southern outskirts of the city. You can see over 300 pieces of folk architecture brought here from all parts of Ukraine and carefully remade. The oldest church, situated in Pyrohiv, is Nad Nitrianska; it was built in 1742. Meet workers of the museum and visitors who are costumed in national costumes and those who are participating in ancient crafts like weaving, molding, and others.

In the autumn and summer holidays, folk crafts take place here. Blacksmiths, potters, weavers, and other masters show their arts to the public and create works of art in front of your eyes. It shows the rich culture of the country.

5. Visit The Motherland Monument

Motherland monument. Kyiv, Ukaine via Depositphotos
Motherland monument. Kyiv, Ukraine via Depositphotos

It is a giant statue. Measuring 62-meter stainless statue commemorating the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany in the Second World War to salute the murderous Battle of Stalingrad and, simultaneously, it is remarkable Russia’s moment of triumph over the Axis powers in World War II.

The monument is made with individual blocks of steel, held together with more than 30 kilometers of welding. The sword that the figure holds up is 16 meters in length and weighs nine tons alone.

The sculpture is empty. It has separate cells or chambers, like rooms in a building. It has a shield in the left arm wearing the insignia of the Soviet Union. For your safety, you must wear a harness to visit the upper deck.

6. Roam in Maidan Nezalezhnosti

Independence Square with monument to Berehynia in Kyiv photo via Depositphotos
Independence Square with the monument to Berehynia in Kyiv photo via Depositphotos

Clean and has a lot of amenities. In the nighttime, you can also witness how colorful the TSUM (Shopping center). To be updated on current affairs in Ukraine, make for the epicenter at Maidan Nezalezhnosti (Independence Square). Take a shot of the 2001 Independence Monument, Hotel Ukraine, and the Tchaikovsky National Music Academy’s regal portico.

This has been a hub for political action since 1990. There’s a commemorative to the “Heavenly Hundred,” people who died in the protests.

7. Shop in Khreshchatyk

View of the Maydan Nezalezhnosti photo via Depositphotos
View of the Maydan Nezalezhnosti photo via Depositphotos

There are shops all over the place. You can find anything there. It’s extremely full of people, but that’s also a part of its belle—a wide road with wide pavements to walk. Enjoy during weekends and public holidays when road traffic is disallowed, and the street fills with families and couples strolling along and checking out the many street performers.

There’s a wide choice of cafes, restaurants, and ice cream shops, with outdoor terraces where you can sit and watch everyone going about their day.

8. Tour in Andriyivskyy Descent

Autumn colors of Andriyivskyy Descent photos via Depositphotos
Autumn colors of Andriyivskyy Descent photos via Depositphotos

Kiev Day celebrations at the end of May in Andriyivskyy Descent. It is also a place dedicated to the history of the street, where you can see historical documents, manuscripts, autographs, vintage postcards, photographs, and a large number of old household items.

Cafés and cathedral-like by tourists who look for historic area for its. If you’re looking for a convenient place to stay, choose from 415 hotels and other accommodations you’ll find within a mile.

9. Podil

Kiev aerial cityscape, Ukraine photo via Depositphotos
Kiev aerial cityscape, Ukraine photo via Depositphotos

Podil or Podol or the Lower city is a historic near place in Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine. It is located on a tidal plain terrace over the Dnieper between the Kyiv Hills and the lower stream of Pochaina River. It is the birthplace of the city’s trade, commerce, and industry. It contains many architectural and historical turning points, and new archaeological sites are still being revealed.

Kiev’s riverfront merchant area and the former city center were demolished by fire at the start of the 19th century and rebuilt on a grid system.

You could catch the funicular down from St Michael’s Golden-Domed Monastery, which will drop you in a neighborhood that was saved from major damage in the Second World War, so it looks just as it did more than a century ago. Located the most prestigious university and lots of places to dine out.

10. Pray in St Volodymyr’s Cathedral

Interior of the St. Volodymyr's Cathedral photo via Depositphotos
Interior of the St. Volodymyr’s Cathedral photo via Depositphotos

St Volodymyr’s Cathedral is a functioning place of giving praise to God where you can observe Eastern Orthodox services. Happens twice a day on weekdays (08:00 and 17:00) and three times on Saturday and Sunday (07:00, 10:0,0, and 17:00). It is easy to find it for its yellow facade; St Volodymyr’s is the Kiev Patriarchate’s mother, the cathedral of the Ukrainian Eastern Orthodox Church.

11. Daydream in Mykola Syadristy Microminiatures Museum

It is a museum for the artist named Mykola Syadristy, the expert in all things “microminiature”. They are tin and require microscopes to see them. Complicated pieces are like a chessboard on the head of pi or the smallest book globally at no more than 0.6 square millimeters S.

It is also made plain in microscopic works like a seasoning seed turned into a bird’s nest or a flea wearing a pair of golden shoes.

12. Visit Mikhail Bulgakov Museum

The house museum of the writer Mikhail Bulgakov at Andriyivskyy Descent in Kiev photo via Depositphotos
The house-museum of the writer Mikhail Bulgakov at Andriyivskyy Descent in Kiev photo via Depositphotos

It is dedicated to Kyiv-born Russian writer Mikhail Bulgakov. It captivated and inspired the home of the Turbins in the novel the White Guard and the play The Days of the Turbins that came after. The author’s possession and replicas have been used; they have been painted white. You can see and reflect the writer’s life – as a secondary school pupil, student of medicine, family doctor, and writer—when Bulgakov wrote The White Guard, The Master,r and Margarita, and Theatre Love, Story.

The museum staff manage considerable studies and research, publish unreleased material, and hold book-club meetings.

13. Relax in Hryshko National Botanical Garden

Traditional Korean style pagoda in Hryshko National Botanical Garden photo via Depositphotos
Traditional Korean style pagoda in Hryshko National Botanical Garden photo via Depositphotos

This botanical garden is managed by the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. There are 13,000 varieties of trees, shrubs,s, and flowers. The gardens are lovely. Take a picnic blanket and watch the Dnieper bending past the spires of the St. Michael’s Vydubytsky Men’s Monastery far below.

There are hundreds of lilac bushes on the “Lilac Alley” that are in full bloom. Colorful as the peonies, magnolia and roses are also in flower. Take a look in the greenhouse for exotic species and reptiles in the terrarium.

14. Experience the State Aviation Museum

Helicopter in Kiev National Aviation Museum photo via Depositphotos
Helicopter in Kiev National Aviation Museum photo via Depositphotos

It opened in 2003 on the 100th anniversary of the first human-crewed flight. It is the second-largest museum of its kind in former Soviet countries and has a growing fleet of aircraft, which numbered over 70 at the last count. Situated inside the old terminal building for Zhulyany Airport, the State Aviation Museum is a few kilometers south of the city center.

Some of the helicopter’s size may catch you by surprise, like the Mi-24, which is both a gunship and a transport for eight passengers.

15. Watch in the National Opera House

National Opera House in Kiev photo via Depositphotos
National Opera House in Kiev photo via Depositphotos

The Kyiv Opera group was established in the summer of 1867. It is the third oldest in Ukraine, after Odesa Opera and Lviv Opera. They present at the National Opera House of Ukraine named after Taras Shevchenko in Kyiv.

Reminder:

Ukraine is a safe country for tourists. Popular in the country like the capital Kiev and the coastal town Odesaise quiet and enjoyable. Ukrainian hryvnia is the currency of Ukraine. It is Europe’s cheapest country to live in, the third cheapest in the world. It is the most affordable country in Europe and one of the top-10 cheapest countries in terms of living costs.

Enjoy and see for yourself the majestic scenery and culture of Kyvie, Ukraine.

Kiev Travel and Tour Packages

Searching for the best hotels, resorts, and affordable flights in the nearby Cities? Check out our list of affordable Kiev hotels and resorts via Agoda, Booking, or you may also see available Airbnb properties in the city.

Want more updates about new package tours and tourist spots in Kiev, Ukraine? Follow #TeamOutofTown, on Facebook, TwitterInstagram, Bloglovin, and Pinterest for more travel ideas.

Also read: 10 Best Places To Visit In Ukraine.

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