Why Kiev needs to be on your travel list
Have you ever thought about going to the Ukraine for a holiday?
I’m going to wild guess that the answer if no… In fact, the most common response to my intention to travel to Kiev or “Kyiv” as they say, was “isn’t there a war going on there?”.
Fair point.
The Ukraine has not received the best press in recent times but Kiev has remained safe and far away from the unrest in the east of the country.
Still, despite knowing Kiev was safe my friend Eoghan and I traveled with limited expectations but by the end of our trip we could not have thought more differently. We loved every bit of our time in Kiev and have been waxing lyrical about it ever since.
It is tricky to summarise all the reasons why the Kiev was so wonderful into just one post but here are 5 of the main ones!
1) You can step back in time
In certain ways Kiev appears to have stood still, stuck in its Soviet past. For those of you who are interested in Russian / Soviet history Kiev is fascinating; grey tower blocks line the city’s suburbs while some of the main metro stations remain with hammer and sickle symbols etched into the walls.
This is in contrast to the conscious effort towards decommunisation that has been made in many parts of the city. In Maidan Nezalezhnosti or Independence Square you will find large billboard adverts covering the stalin-era hotels and neon signposts directing you to global fast food chain restaurants.
2) Plenty of opportunities to be a culture snob
From museums, to art galleries, to the ballet, Kiev has it all. Of course we aimed high and boy did we get lucky! On our second evening in the city we went to the opera and managed to snag the royal box all to ourselves.
Thankfully we dressed up as it turned out to be a rather decedent affair! Honestly I would go back for the building alone, and the sparkling wine of course. The opera itself was in Ukrainian but somehow Eoghan seemed to be following along, I just sat back and enjoyed the music.
3) Transport is easy and so cheap
Kiev is one of the cheapest cities I have ever visited. Compared to places where you think ought to be cheap a.k.a. Nairobi I am looking at you, Kiev won hands down. Our night at the opera cost half nothing (can’t remember the exact price but it was less than 20 euro a ticket), and same went for all our 3 course meals and wine.
In terms of transport we mostly used Uber. It never cost us more than 3 euro to get anywhere in the city and that could mean up to 20-25mins in a cab. For the experience we also went to Arsenal – the worlds deepest metro station. A jaunt on the train here costs just 0.10$.
4) Coffee Scene
We weren’t sure what the coffee scene would be like in Kiev. I hate to admit it but I was thinking it may be limited to grandiose hotel lobbies or dingy street side cafs. I couldn’t have been more wrong. There were so many nice places to go, all with delicious food and such cute decor.
I’ll do a whole posts on the hotspots we found but trust me – the Kiev coffee scene is booming.
5) The Mezhyhirya Residence
This sprawling estate is where formed president Viktor Yanukovych lived. When Yanukovych was outsed in 2014 he fled to Russia leaving behind his beautiful home, including a full collection of luxury cars. The residence was made open to the public and nicknamed the Museum of Corruption. If you are in Kiev it is well worth a visit and if you are from Kiev prepared to be outraged.
Photo cred: NY Times
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