Ukraine » Introduction of Kiev

The capital of Ukraine, this city of four million people is one of the greenest in Europe in summer and one of the whites in winter. Built on a sequence of forested hills rising royally above the Dnepr River, Kiev’s skyline is scattered with dozens of golden church domes that have come to symbolise the city. Kiev’s Old Town and its contemporary centre are both on the west side of the river. The city’s main square, maydan Nezalezhnosti, is to the south of St Sophia’s Cathedral.

A first-class way to get a feel for Kiev is to start at Evropeyska Ploshcha (at the north-east end of vulitsya Khreschatyk, east of maydan Nezalezhnosti) and head through parkland along Volodymyrsky towards the river. The large strip of parkland along the river is one of the city’s most characteristic kind, and a place where Ukrainians come to relax. It contains the landmark Monument to the Unification of Russia and Ukraine colossal figures beneath a huge steel rainbow, erected in 1983 to represent the unification of the two countries in 1653.

In World War II should miss the Great Patriotic War Museum (Sichnevoho Povstannia 44, 285 94 52, closed Mon). This large museum tells the story of the mortal struggle between the Soviet.