Kyiv: a first-timer's guide to Ukraine's capital

Why visit Kyiv

Kyiv was the capital of Kyivan Rus more than a thousand years ago, and its churches and monasteries are among the great sights of Eastern Europe. Today it is also where the story of modern Ukraine is told most powerfully: in the memorials on St Michael's Square, the burnt out Russian tanks once displayed in the centre, and the everyday resilience of people who go to work, to concerts and to cafés despite nightly drone attacks.

For many in the diaspora, Kyiv is where parents, siblings and friends live. For other visitors, it is usually reached after Lviv, by a comfortable night train.

Before you plan

The UK, US and several other governments advise against all or all but essential travel to Kyiv. The city is a regular target for missiles and drones, mostly at night, and debris from interceptions has hit homes and offices across every district. Check your government's advice, read what your insurance covers and download the official air alert app before you arrive.

Kyiv runs under martial law with a night curfew, typically from midnight to five in the morning, though hours can change. Restaurants and the metro wind down before it starts.

The main sights

**Kyiv Pechersk Lavra** is the cave monastery on the hills of Pechersk, with golden domes, a great bell tower and underground passages lit by candles where monks are buried. Dress modestly, and women may want a scarf for the caves.

**St Sophia's Cathedral**, from the eleventh century, has some of the oldest mosaics and frescoes in the Slavic world. Across the square, the blue and gold **St Michael's Golden-Domed Monastery** stands beside a wall of photographs of soldiers who have died since 2014.

The **Motherland Monument**, a huge steel figure whose shield now carries the Ukrainian trident, rises above the national museum of the Second World War. From there, a riverside walk leads to the botanical garden and Vydubychi Monastery.

Neighbourhoods

**Old Kyiv**, around the Golden Gate and Yaroslaviv Val, is the most pleasant base: quiet streets, good cafés and walkable sights. **Podil**, down the hill, is the old merchants' quarter with bars, the river port and Kontraktova Square. **Khreshchatyk** is the main avenue leading to Maidan Nezalezhnosti, the square at the centre of the 2004 and 2014 protests. **Pechersk** is greener and more formal, with government buildings and the Lavra.

Food and drink

Kyiv has an excellent restaurant scene. Try borscht with pampushky garlic buns, varenyky dumplings with potato or cherries, and chicken Kyiv in its home city. Bessarabsky Market at the top of Khreshchatyk is good for pickles, honey and cured meats. Puzata Hata canteens are a cheap, easy introduction to everyday food, while places like Kanapa on Andriivskyi Descent reinvent regional recipes. Specialty coffee bars are everywhere.

Getting around

The metro is fast, cheap and doubles as a shelter during alerts; the deepest station, Arsenalna, is one of the deepest in the world. Pay with a contactless card or phone at the gates. App taxis are reliable and inexpensive. The centre is hilly, so wear comfortable shoes.

Staying safe in Kyiv

Choose a hotel with a shelter or a basement, or one close to a metro station. When the alert sounds, go to shelter and stay away from windows. Do not photograph air defence, military sites, checkpoints or the aftermath of strikes. Carry your passport, as police and soldiers may check documents.

Day trips

**Pyrohiv**, the open air folk museum on the southern edge, makes an easy half day. The towns of **Bucha** and **Irpin**, scenes of Russian atrocities in 2022, can be visited respectfully with a local guide. Chornobyl tours have been suspended since the invasion.

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