City Information                            - Reguljär flyg -                                  Queensway Travel
Airport  
Boryspil International Airport is located 30km from the city centre on the east side of the Dnipro River. Direct flight time from London is 3 hrs 30 mins. The airport is quite small, with only one international and 1 domestic terminal dealing with 4,000 passengers a day, although Terminal C is under construction. a single duty-free shopping complex on the upper floor, an Irish Pub – the airport has Irish partners – and several small cafés and restaurants. There’s a large information booth with multilingual staff on the main floor near the arrivals gate and the main exit. All travellers are subjected first to passport control, followed by baggage collection, then finally a sometimes rigorous customs inspection. Facilities are limited, so if you arrive with the main influx of European flights in mid-afternoon, the entire process can take up to an hour. Passport control will issue you with a bit of paper with names and dates on it, while customs will stamp your customs declaration. Keep both papers with your passport; otherwise immigration and customs officials could hold you up when you leave the country. Customs has a green line and a red line: the former is for those carrying less than $1,000 and few valuables and entitles you to free passage without inspection, while the latter is for those carrying over US $1,000.
Airport to City Centre
The airport has a system of taxi solicitors who stand quietly near the exit. The standard fare to the city centre is $50, although the return trip to the airport should cost much less – as little as $20. Very few drivers speak more than a few words of English, and negotiating is usually fruitless. Occasionally you can get someone down as low as $25, but if money is a concern, several bus companies run a regular service at the main exit, and large signs display timetables and fares. Tickets are available on the coach and travel time to the city centre is about 40 mins.
Orientation
Kiev, like many great cities, is built on a series of hills, on the right bank of the Dnipro. Any traveller from Boryspil will enter from the east, passing through the industrialised left bank, built mostly after WWII. The heart of the city is Maidan Nezalezhnosti or Independence Sq, dotted with numerous fountains and pools, over which looms the great Khrushchev-era Moscow Hotel. The square forms part of the city’s main street, Khreshchatyk. Wide promenades stretch from the pre-revolutionary covered food market, Besarabskiy Rynok, to the renamed Ploshcha Yevropy or European Sq and Khreshchatiy Park, overlooking the river from on high. White chestnut trees planted in the 1840s line much of the way, offering shade to strollers on hot summer days, and a beautiful confetti-like impression when they blossom in spring. Several of the main roads radiate from Khreshchatyk. At European Sq, Hrushevsky St leads up towards the parliament buildings, government offices and prestigious hotels, becoming Vul Sichnevoho Povstannia, flanked by Park Slavy, or Glory Park, and the massive Pecherska Lavra ‘monastery of the caves’. 
Taras Shevchenko Boulevard leads west from Besarabskiy Rynok, fronted by a pink granite life-size statue of Lenin – the last one in Kiev. At Victory Sq, where Bul Shevchenko becomes Prospekt Peremohy, you’ll come across the main circus or Tsyrk and the face-lifted Ukraina department store. This is the main road to the West. Just north of downtown along the riverside is the lower city called the Podil, where artisans, artists, traders and boat builders all once mingled. The unofficial gate to the Podil is the baroque Andriyivska Tserkva or St Andrew’s church built by Rastrelli in the 18c, at the top of Andriyivskiy Uzviz, a winding cobbled road flanked by historical architecture, galleries and cafés, leading down to the heart of the old town, Contract Sq. Kiev has a population of 2.6m, but the area it covers is quite small, since most people live in either Tsarist-era or Soviet-era apartment blocks, the monotony of which is only occasionally relieved by run-down private districts with single family homes.
Excursions                  - sista minuten resor -                             Queensway Travel
A popular activity among tourists, locals and ex-pats alike is a day trip on a river boat or hovercraft down the Dnipro to Kaniv and the museum of poet laureate Taras Shevchenko. Amid the splendid parks and glorious hilltop views of the Dnipro is a massive museum dedicated exclusively to the prolific poet and painter, who was born into a poor family, and spent much of his adult life in exile in Central Asia because of his nationalism. Special excursions run throughout the summer and details can be found either at the river port in the Podil or from a local travel agent.
Getting Around
Kiev is a great city for walking, but it also has an efficient and inexpensive public transport system, including three metro lines, electric trains, electric trolleys and streetcars, buses, as well as both professional and private taxis. The network covers the entire city and several nearby suburbs, and a route map can usually be found at the major street kiosks. The cost of a single ticket on the city-run transport network is Hr0.30, with tickets available either at small yellow booths located next to the stop or from conductors working on the bus or tram. Do buy and stamp your ticket because burly men in leather jackets – the bus police – often prowl the network inspecting tickets. The fine for free-loading is Hr8 plus a not 
insignificant amount of verbal abuse. The metro operates on tokens and magnetic cards. 
In recent years, privately-owned mini-van companies have been plying the congested public transport routes throughout the city. These are quick, occasionally comfortable, and cost only Hr0.50 per journey. For quick door-to-door service, except to the most snarled up downtown locations, taxis are the best bet. Not only do the official taxis pick up fares, but drivers in their own or their employers’ cars, ranging from lowly Ladas to snazzy BMWs, also operate the city’s unofficial taxi service. Roughly standardized fares exist. During the day, a journey from the city centre to the edge of town should cost no more than Hr8 or Hr9, but prices do go up for late-night excursions. Taxis hanging around stands are usually not a good bet: these boys would rather read the paper or play chess all day than work; they’re hoping to snag a well-heeled tourist and charge 2-4 times more than the going rate.
What to see
St Sofia: A truly remarkable church, with priceless mosaics and a very poignant atmosphere. It would be sad to visit Kiev and not see this wonderful building.
Andriyivskiy Uzviz: The best place to find classic Ukrainian souvenirs straight from the artist’s or craftsperson’s hands is about a 5-min walk north of St Sofia. This cobbled pedestrian roadway starts by the church and winds down past turn-of-the-century historical buildings, chic boutiques, the Bulgakov Museum, dozens of galleries, and outdoor restaurants and cafés. The sidewalk traders roll up their rugs around 1800 daily. 
Pecherska Lavra or Monastery of the Caves: The monastery and bell tower dominate the hillsides of the Dnipro from the left bank. Once part of a huge network that went as far north as Pskov in Russia, the grounds cover 28 hectares and include several churches, chapels, art galleries and gardens, as well as a walled walkway high above the riverbank. The centrepiece is the rebuilt Uspenskiy Cathedral, which was destroyed during the war and is now resplendent again with its golden domes. The monastery grounds are a lovely place to roam around, and the bell tower offers incredible views of Kiev and its surroundings. Among the many museum-quality offerings are a tour of the caves, a large chapel and adjacent refectory with impressive Pre-Raphaelite style, larger-than-life portraits of all the abbots, and a collection of folk dress from every 
region of Ukraine.
Michael’s Golden Roofed Monastery and Bell Tower: This historically significant, magnificent church was razed to the ground by Stalin during the peak of the ‘great famine’ and has now been rebuilt in all its glory to overshadow the oppressive Ministry of Foreign Affairs building. Vul Triokhsviatytelska at Mykhailivska Ploshcha. 
Golden Gates: Good views of the neighbourhood from the wooden ramparts, good restaurants nearby.
St Volodymyr Cathedral: A moody and gorgeous church completely painted inside mostly by the renowned Vrubel. 20 Bul T Shevchenka. 
Museum of the Great Patriotic War: This museum of Ukraine’s role in WWII is tucked under the hideous Iron Lady, and is 
considered one of the most powerful war museums anywhere.
Museum of Folk Architecture and Lifestyle: This requires a car – although there is public transport to the door. Either way, 
it’s worth a visit to this huge, hilly outdoor ‘museum’ showing folk architecture and lifestyles from all the regions of 
Ukraine and selling lots of handicrafts. Pyrohovo Town, south of Kiev. 
Mariyinskiy Palace: This gem of baroque architecture was built with the aim in mind of turning Kiev into the capital of Russia. Its halls and private quarters have been delightfully restored, although not all are open to the public. This is the venue for most state occasions. 5 Vul Hrushevskoho. 
Vydubetskiy Monastery: Below the new botanical gardens, this is a lovely place to wander around, especially when the lilacs are in bloom. Incredible views of the Dnipro River and golden-domed chapels.
Shopping                              - restresa -                Queensway Travel
Shopping in Kiev has improved recently, but the new vibrant, stylish, Western-orientated shops still contrast with dull, centralised, orderly, Soviet-style stores. Most of the chic shops for clothing, porcelain and leather goods are located in the area around Khreshchatyk, including outlets of the more famous international chains. Here you can also find an expensive series of shops in the Grand Gallery, and by Darnytsia metro station on the left bank is a wonderful and very large department store called Detiachiy Svit, or Children’s World. The two largest Soviet-era department stores, TsUM and Ukraina, are trying to keep up with the times and serve the average citizen by offering both domestic and foreign-made goods at 
reasonable prices. 
For souvenirs, there is nothing like Andriyivskiy uzviz, which has several art galleries and some excellent ceramics shops, too. It has the added benefit of being a beautiful outdoor market, although there are numerous souvenir shops and galleries on Velyka Vasylkivska, just off Khreshchatyk as well. They tend to offer a wide array of goods, from cheap wooden and painted trinkets to high-quality textiles, embroidered clothing, woodcarvings and the occasional painting. You can be assured that virtually any souvenir, no matter how cheap or small, has been hand-made in Ukraine; nothing from the mass-production centres of Asia. There are also fairly decent collections of formal postcards, not perhaps of cutting-edge photographic value, but definitely good portraits for not too much. Paintings, sculptures and pottery can still be found for reasonable prices throughout Kiev, although many of the better artists – and there are quite a few – have figured out their value beyond the borders of Ukraine. Nevertheless, remember that any price is open to negotiation. Kiev has dozens of food markets throughout the city where farmers from as far away as Central Asia come to sell their own, usually organically grown, produce. Prices tend to be lower at markets, except Bessarabskiy rynok, than in the shops.
Where to walk
Kiev is a wonderful city for walks, whether you tour the architectural side or choose to wander in the dozens of parks scattered along both sides of the river and elsewhere throughout the capital. Most of historic Kiev was built during the late Imperial period (1890s-1914) and in the early decades after the end of WWII, though a few sites – mostly churches – still exist from an earlier period. The heart of Kiev starts at Maidan Nezalezhnosti, with its granite fountains and benches. It was here that Khrushchev stopped the reconstruction of Khreshchatyk, which was devastated in WWII, and erected the heavy-handed Moscow Hotel across the street. 
The river heights that extend from the Monastery of the Caves to the Podil are laden with parks and green spaces, broken only occasionally by traffic junctions. Closest to the monastery, along Vul Sichnevoho Povstannia, is the Park Slavy, dedicated to the heroes of WWII. In the centre is a great granite obelisk with an eternal flame. Newly-weds often lay a wreath and have their photograph taken here. Beyond the obelisk is the alley of fallen heroes, lined with stone slabs denoting important Ukrainian officers of WWII and girded by meticulously cropped bushes. 
The street leading down from the square at the entrance to the park runs past the Askold i Dyr chapel, now a Ukrainian Greek-Catholic church, built in honour of the 9c Kievan princes murdered by the Vikings. Beyond the square and metro Arsenalna is Mariinskiy Park, criss-crossed by paths that lead to the various terraced levels of the grounds. The centrepiece is the Tsar’s palace, which is connected with Ukraine’s parliament, the Verkhovna Rada. Expansive views of the left bank and Dnipro River can be enjoyed from the observation platform. 
The series of parks ultimately lead to the Yevropeyska Ploshcha and to the hideous monument dedicated to the ‘re-unification’ of Ukraine and Russia which dates back to the early 1980s. Across the square and behind Ukraïnskiy Dim is St Volodymyr’s Park and the newly rebuilt St Michael’s Golden-Domed. Past a winding series of paths stands the massive dark statue of St Volodymyr the Great, who christened Ukraine in 988. Pause here to overlook the once-mighty Dnipro. 
Beside the monastery stands the old, grey Stalinist Communist Party headquarters, which also serves as the gateway to Vul Desiatyna – at the end of which is St Andrew’s Church. Sadly, its interior is a disappointment, so enjoy the Disney-like glitter of the rococo exterior, which rises like a golden flame in the evenings, all lit up against a dark sky. Hundreds of artisans and artists line both sides of the cobbled hill, summer and winter, rain or shine. Then, from the church, follow the winding cobbled street all the way to the heart of the old town.
Weather and Climate
Kiev has a temperate climate with vividly distinct seasons. Temperatures can reach beyond 30°C in Jul and Aug, but the average is high 20s. Winter temperatures can dip as low as -30°C for short spells in Jan or Feb, but the average is -6°C. Humidity is low. Winter does not tend to drag on, and by Apr the city is usually in full bloom.