Kiev City Breaks
Knowing what to see first is the hardest part of a trip to Kiev. Be bowled over by the cupolas of St Sophia’s Cathedral, the city’s oldest church. Inside it is just breathtaking with colourful mosaics and frescoes. Wander through Maidan Nezalezhnosti, the scene of the Orange Revolution and allow plenty of time for Pecherska Lavra. Home to a monastery, churches and museums, there is also an underground cave where monks lived, worshipped and were buried. Spend time browsing the shops on the cobbled slopes of Andriyivsky Uzviz, in summer sunbathe on the beaches that line the Dnipro River and dine at the riverside eateries.
Kiev City Breaks
per person
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heading out to the Museum of Folk Architecture at Pirogova. Spread over scenic rolling hills; explore the 17th - 20th-century wooden cottages, churches and farmsteads. During the summer months the museum is filled with Kyivites sunbathing and cooking shashlyk. In the wintertime take shelter from the cold and warm up over a bowl of steaming borsch served with pampushi (warm soft rolls soaked in crushed garlic and oil).
What's in a name..?
Kiev or Kyiv. You might notice we spell the capital city of Ukraine in two different ways. Well Kiev is the recognised transliteration of the name of the city in Russian, and also the old Ukrainian name which has been used for centuries (by the likes of national hero, Taras Shevchenko, no less) right back to the times of Kievan Rus. Kyiv meanwhile is the transliteration of the modern Ukrainian name of the city and the official name as far as all legal and political issues are concerned. Following the establishment of an independent Ukraine in 1991, there was a move by many Ukrainians to favour Kyiv as it symbolised a departure from all things Russian, and indeed Kyiv is now used by the UN and many other official bodies as the correct name.
