I was born and raised in Kiev, Ukraine and have immigrated to Canada with my family when I was 14. I have now lived in North America longer than I have in Europe. And yet, growing up in this Eastern European capital just after the fall of the Soviet Union has shaped me in ways that cannot be undone by the direction and places of the rest of my life.

I came to Kiev frequently after the move. It is fun to visit as an adult and to see the city from a new perspective gained through living and traveling across the world. Last summer, I brought my Canadian partner to Kiev for the first time. We had a blast and I decided to put together a comprehensive guide on this lesser known destination that has so much to offer and can be enjoyed on a low budget.

Ready? Here’s everything you need to know on your first trip to Kyiv.

Essential Tips

Is it Kiev or Kyiv?

In short, it’s both. Kiev is a Russian version of the city’s name; Kyiv is Ukrainian. For many years, Ukraine was a part of the Russian Empire and then the USSR. During those times, Russian was the national language of the state and names of the city and its landmarks reflected that. I grew up in Kiev speaking Russian at home and Ukrainian in school. Depending where I was speaking about my city, I referred to it as Kiev or Kyiv.

Since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991 and the most recent conflict with Russia, Ukraine has been trying to eradicate any of its historic connections to Russia. Many Kievans speak Russian and refer to their city as Kiev. But you will notice that recently published guide books, Google maps, weather apps — all refer to the city as Kyiv. If you read Wikipedia articles about the history of the city prior to the fall of the Soviet Union, you will see that it is referred to as Kiev again. I will refer to the city as Kyiv for the rest of this post.

Have Local Currency in Cash

Paying cashless is okay in most restaurants, but some businesses rely on cash. For example, you won’t be able to refill your cell phone plan or add money to your transport pass without cash. All street vendors will require you to pay in cash as well.

Vendors at an outdoor produce market in Kyiv — Outdoor market vendors like these women will only accept cash as payment

Dress Code for Orthodox Churches

Dress respectfully when visiting the Orthodox churches. Don’t wear anything too revealing (e.g., shorts or tank tops) and women must cover their heads before entering. It’s a good idea to have a shawl handy in your bag. To visit the caves of Lavra, women are required to wear long skirts in addition to a head scarf. You can actually rent a long skirt on premises or simply engineer one yourself from a second scarf.

A young woman covers her head with a scarf before entering an orthodox church in Kyiv — Getting my head scarf on before I enter one of the churches in Kiev Pechersk Lavra

Know How to Read Cyrillic

There are very few directional signs around Kyiv that are in English. Understanding some Cyrillic writing or at least how Ukrainian gets transliterated to English on Google maps would be helpful to navigate the city. You can probably learn what you need with Duolingo.

I found a lot of inconsistency in how Google maps and other sources transliterate Ukrainian names in English. For example, to get to St. Sophia Cathedral, you will walk up Sofiivs’ka Street to get to Sofiyivska Square. All three spellings refer to a variation of a word “Sophia.” The transliterated word is best read as So-fi-yiv-ska in both cases; the apostrophe is meant to soften the “s” in one of the examples, but for ease of use, just ignore it all together. If you encounter “ii” or “iy” at the end of the word, just pronounce they the way you would the and of the word “ski.”

Getting To Kyiv

Ukrainian International Airlines

Ukrainian International Airlines (UIA) is the official air carrier for Ukraine. UIA has flights to Kyiv from many cities across the world, including direct flights from Toronto and New York several times a week. The airline has frequent flights to numerous European cities as well. We took a UIA flight from Gatwick in London to Boryspil (Kyiv’s main airport) and were pleased with the service. The check in was entirely paperless with a user-friendly app from the carrier.

Billboard with "Welcome to Kyiv" sign — A welcome sign on a billboard along the highway from Boryspil airport in Kyiv

Best time to visit Kyiv

Kyiv would be the most enjoyable April through October. I really wanted to visit in May, when chestnut trees — the city’s green symbol — and lilac are in full bloom.

I did not get to see the chestnuts bloom during our last visit to Kyiv. I did find this tiny monument to the city’s symbol along Khreshchatyk Street

We ended up traveling in June and it was a wonderful time to visit as well. There were sour cherry trees heavy with fruit in gardens in front of the buildings, rose bushes, and flower beds full of summer flowers. We went to the beach twice during our visit.

Summers can get quite hot — heat waves of 40 degrees Celsius (104°F) are common. Early autumn would be another great time to visit, especially when the numerous trees around the city begin to turn colour.

Sandy beach on the banks of the river Dnieper in Kyiv — If you visit in summer, check out a beach in Kyiv!

Flowerbeds in the summer at Kyiv Pechersk Lavra — Abundance of flowers in one of the squares around Kiev Pechersk Lavra in the summer months

Green hills of Kyiv in the summer — Wild flowers and grasses in the hills of Kyiv in the summer months

Where to Stay in Kyiv

My two favourite neighbourhoods for a first time visit to Kyiv are Pechersk (Pecherskiy District), especially the area called Lypky and Podil. Both are historical neighbourhoods with easy access to the city centre, a lot of green spaces, and a number of historical landmarks.

Khreshchatyk, Maidan Nezalezhnosti, and Bessarabka are central areas of the city with lots to do and experience during the day. However, I was not impressed with these areas at night when public drinking took place. Even worse, if you are up early in the morning, you will witness quite a bit of public drunkenness leftover from the night before. These areas are also quite touristy which takes away from the charm of living there.

I always recommend Airbnb. You will find many luxurious and inexpensive options in Kyiv.

Kyiv History Highlights

1500 Years Old City

Kyiv is one of the oldest Eastern European cities. There were primitive settlements in the area as early as the Late Paleolithic Period (40,000-15,000 years ago). During the Bronze Age (3200-600 BC), Kyiv was part of the area occupied by Tripillian culture. Archeological findings date the foundations of the city itself to late 5th-early 6th century AD. By some accounts, Kyiv is believed to be over 1,500 years old!

The Founders of Kyiv

The legend of the origin of the city identifies three Slavic brothers named Kyi, Shchek and Khoryv, and their sister Lybid as the founders of Kyiv. The city was named after the eldest brother: Kyiv is a possessive term and means “belonging to Kyi.” The founders are commemorated by numerous monuments around the city, most notably the Kyiv Founders Monument and one of the fountains on Maidan.

Kievan Rus’ to Russian Empire

Kyiv was the centre of Kievan Rus’, an East Slavic federation in Europe from 9th to 13th century. From late 13th to 16th century, Kiev was a part of the Kingdom of Poland, and then served as the primary Christian centre for pilgrims of the Russian Empire. In the late 19th century, Kyiv became the third largest industrial city of the Russian Empire.

WWI and WWII

Kyiv was occupied by Germans during the WWI and then again along with significant bombing in WWII. During the latter occupation, nearly 34,000 Jews from Kyiv were massacred and buried in a mass grave in one of the city’s ravines, Babyn Yar.

Recent Conflicts with Russia

From November 22, 2004 to January 23, 2005, Kyiv was the primary location of a series of protests referred to as the Orange Revolution. In November 2013-February 2014, Kyiv was the centre of Euromaidan — a civic unrest and a number of protests in response to Ukrainian government deciding not to sign an association agreement with European Union in favour of closer ties with Russia.

Getting Around Kyiv

Kyiv Metro

Kyiv has a surprisingly excellent metro system, parts of which were built throughout the 50s and first opened to the public in 1960. When I was growing up in Kyiv, most people did not own cars and the way to get everywhere was by public transit. I have personally commuted by metro daily to get to my school since I was 10. I can say with confidence that Kyiv metro system is more comprehensive and reliable than the subway in Toronto and possibly even the subway in New York City.

Since Kyiv was one of the industrial and cultural centres of the Soviet Union, it got a metro system comparable to that of Moscow and St. Petersburg (then, Leningrad). All of the stations are unique. Older stations are beautifully built in post-war Stalinist style and feature granite, marble, gold gilded chandeliers and other unique light fixtures, and folk Ukrainian design. Arsenalna is the deepest subway station in the world at 105.5 metres or 346 ft deep. It has the longest and the fastest escalators I have ever experienced!

Even if you were not planning to get around Kiev by metro, I would recommend riding it just for fun.

How to Ride Kyiv Metro

Get on at Arsenalna and ride the metro to Khreshchatyk on line M1 (red line). At Khreshchatyk, switch over to line M2 (blue line) and ride the metro to Poshtova Ploshcha, Kontraktova Ploshcha, Tarasa Shevchenka outside of the rush hour. Depending on what destinations you are going to explore in Kyiv, consider taking the metro at least one way to get there. If you are feeling adventurous and would like to take time to explore different stations in depth, I thought that this guide aimed at a Western traveler was a great place to start.

You can get in using a single use ticket with a QR code, using Kyiv Smart Card (a refillable plastic card that works for all public transit in Kyiv), or by using any card or device that has PayPass like your debit or credit card or Apply Pay. You can purchase the Kyiv Smart Card or the single use ticket at the cashier desk at the entrance to any of the metro stations.

Ridesharing

Uber is present in Kyiv and it’s probably one of the cheapest cities in the world for this provider. We took it many times during our last visit and it was effortless and very inexpensive.

I have not used it myself, but noticed a presence for another ridesharing local provider Uklon. They advertise themselves as foreigner-friendly and many of the Uber drivers I used, drove for Uklon as well.

Walking

The best way to explore Kyiv is on foot. The right bank of the city with its historic core is hilly and green with a lot of parks, squares, and broad sidewalks. The numerous hills feature many picturesque lookouts over the river Dnieper and golden domes of the churches.

Check out my walking tours around Kyiv below!

Kyiv Walking Tours

I have prepared five different walking tours around Kyiv. Each tour details live in their own own blog post along with a Google Map where all of the landmarks are marked. Click on the links below to view the details of each walking tour.

Volodymyrska Hill to Mariinksy Park

Podil and Andriivskyi Descent

Kiev Pechersk Lavra and the Motherland Monument

Independence Square, St. Sophia’s Cathedral and St. Michael’s Monastery

Bessarabsky Market, Taras Shevchenko Park, Golden Gate

Other Kyiv Landmarks

Trukhaniv Island

This green island in the delta of Dnipro and Desenka rivers is one of my favourite spots in the city. The island is located across from Podil and you have to cross the Pedestrian Bridge to get to Trukhaniv island. This used to be a hub for outdoor recreation post WWII. The place was less popular in my youth, but I used to come here regularly as a kid to take horseback riding lessons at the local stables.

Pedestrian Bridge Kyiv — Walk across the Pedestrian Bridge to get to Trukhaniv Island

You can visit the island in a couple of hours and the walk across the bridge alone is worth the visit. The bridge is a short walk away from Poshtova Ploshcha on a pedestrian path along the Naberezhne Highway. The island has a nice beach where sunbathing enthusiasts appear as early as March and many footpaths to explore in the woods.

Trukhaniv Island Beach Kyiv — The view of Podil from the beach on Trukhaniv Island

Fishermen on Pedestrian Bridge Kyiv — Fishermen along the Pedestrian Bridge in Kyiv

Hydropark

This is a larger outdoor recreation island park in Kyiv. You can ride a metro all the way to this area. There are many beaches and outdoor entertainment like sport courts, boat rentals, an archery facility, a tree top adventure park, etc. Hydrapark also features a large outdoor weight training muscle gym — it’s man-made and some if it comes from disassembled tank parts!

Hryshko National Botanical Garden

The garden is located atop hills in the Pechersk district and offers some of the best views over the city and the nearby golden domes of Lavra. If you are lucky enough to visit Kyiv when the lilacs are blooming, a visit to the botanical garden is a must!

National Museum of Folk Architecture and Life of Ukraine

This is an open air museum on the outskirts of Kyiv in what used to be a village Pyrohiv. The museum has an exhibit of over 300 pieces of folk architecture. The buildings were brought here from various parts of Ukraine and then carefully rebuilt. There are traditional village houses, windmills, bee hives, and a wooden church that dates back to 1742. Inside the structures are over 40,000 folk household items such as ceramics, kitchenware, textiles, carpets, paintings, musical instruments, etc.

Blue traditional Ukrainian house in Pyrohiv Kyiv house in — Traditional folk architecture of Ukraine

A field of red Ukrainian poppies in Pyrohiv, Kyiv — Ukrainian poppy fields

Old windmills in Pyrohiv Kyiv — Old windmills of Ukraine

Where to Eat in Kyiv

You can eat exquisitely at a very low cost in Kyiv. The city now has many restaurants serving cuisine from other parts of the world like Chinese and Italian. I can’t speak to how good sushi is in Kyv because our focus was on trying to eat Ukrainian as much as possible.

Here’s a good summary of Ukrainian foods to try. Note that it would be nearly impossible to enjoy traditional Ukrainian food at these spots as a vegan. If you are a vegetarian who eats fish, egg, and dairy, you will be able to sample a good variety of recipes. If you’re vegan, don’t despair! Veganism is on the rise in Kyiv and the city has a good number of vegan spots, but they do not serve traditional Ukrainiain items.

Puzata Hata

Puzata Hata is a Ukrainian fast-food chain with multiple locations around Kyiv. Term Puzata Hata refers to a traditional Ukrainian house with a fat belly. Their menu features Ukrainian items for every time of the day. It’s a great spot for a good meal on the go.

Tsarske Selo

Located in Pechersk, close to the Motherland Monument and Lavra, Tsarske Selo (translated as “the village of the tsar”) serves traditional Ukrainian food in a traditional setting. The inside of the restaurant looks like an old Ukrainian village, all of the servers are dressed in traditional dress of Ukraine, the dishes are served in traditional pottery. The menu is delicious and affordable. The setting will make you feel like you are eating inside a museum.

Kanapa

Kanapa offers a modern spin on Ukrainian cuisine. The menu and presentation will make you feel like you are eating in a Michelin star restaurant. The young chef behind the establishment did receive a mention by the Michelin guide. However, the experience is still affordable. As I write this post in April 2020, Kanapa’s chef’s seven course menu with wine pairing is 53 euros per person.The restaurant is located on Andriivskiy Descent, which makes it an easy location to visit. If you plan to come for dinner, you should make a reservation ahead of time. Dropping by for lunch could be done without a reservation, especially if you are visiting on a weekday.

Georgian Food

This category is a bit random, but you can find a lot of Georgian food in Kyiv. Georgian cheese bread, khachapuri, is widely available around street food stands and in cafes. You can buy delicious Georgian wines at any store that sells liquor. There are also many restaurants that specialize in Georgian cuisine around the city.

Street Food

Kyiv is getting a lot of hip street food stands. When we visited in the summer 2019, the old Kyiv River Port was transformed into an outdoor food court where you could sample a variety of meals from food trucks and order alcohol at a bar. The food trucks are great, but, for the real taste of Ukrainian street food, buy food from local produce stands and pastry kiosks outside of the metro stations.

Kvass

You should also be open to trying foods from locals. In the hot summer months, you will notice people pop up around Kyiv with bright plastic barrels and a sleeve of single use cups. They are selling kvass. Kvass is a fermented beverage made from Rye bread. It is non-alcoholic, lightly sweetened, and is deliciously refreshing when consumed cold in the summer months. You can also buy it in a store in a bottle.

Dairy

Dairy products in Kyiv are incredibly tasty, even the store-bought stuff you can get in any supermarket. Try the different cottage cheese treats. If you visit one of the outdoor markets like Zhitnii Rynok, you will find a dairy aisle where local villagers sell their own milk, cottage cheese, kefir, sour cream, and butter. They will gladly give you a taste of their product. We bought some homemade cottage cheese and a litre of raw milk, which the woman poured for us into an empty washed bottle from local pop.

Produce

You will get the best produce from market food stands as well. Sometimes you will see people pop up along the sidewalk in the centre of the city selling hand picked wild berries of fresh cut flowers. The purchase will cost you pennies with the conversion rate and you will receive a superior product.

Strawberries in sour cream in Kyiv — Seasonal strawberries under sour cream in Kyiv

Ukrainian Rye Bread

You can buy the dark Ukrainian Rye bread at any store. If you can find a fresh loaf, it will be delicious with local butter and salt.

Further Learning About Kyiv

Wikipedia has numerous articles on modern day Kyiv as well as various aspects of its history and development.

This blog post offers a good summary of additional neighbourhoods around Kyiv.

Amazon Prime has a documentary called in Search of Old Russia. The episode about Kiev is great. If you don’t have Amazon Prime, you can also find it for free on YouTube.

If you are curious about Ukraine’s most recent conflict with Russia, check out the documentary on Netflix called Winter on Fire.

I hope that you found this post helpful!

Comment below or send me a note if you have any questions about visiting Kyiv or would like me to publish additional posts about this part of the world.