Top 7 Must See Attractions in Ukraine

Top 7 Must See Attractions in Ukraine

We never thought to put Ukraine in our summer list destination to visit urgently.  Why Ukraine? Yes that exact question. If you are coming to this blog  religiously ( or following us in instragram ) then you will notice that we would love to visit all of those Ex Soviet Countries. We did all the Ex Yugoslavia countries in the past pretty easy but Soviet is different case, it is so big and spreading all over the world. So here we are in Ukraine, one of the ex Soviet countries to fulfill our list.

Read here : 7 Reasons Why You Have To Visit Norway  via +nyonya sepatu 

At first we planned to combine Ukraine and Moldova and Belarus, one shot at a time, then mind changed as Ukraine is too big to be explore in such a short time, well it s possible though but for this case is only visiting capitals, which is obviously not our way of traveling.

For around 2 weeks we managed to visit several cities in Ukraine, landed in Kiev, and continued the trip to Rivne, Klevan, hibernated in Lviv, then flew to Odessa as our last stop before heading back home. 

As much as possible we stayed in a safe region of Ukraine, sometime we almost forget that in the eastern part of Ukraine now has a status as a war zone. 

Surprisingly Ukraine has many things to offer and so diverse, from golden domes of orthodox churches and Ukraine's cuisine extends much farther than what we ever imagine. 

I could tell you that Ukraine is surprisingly awesome!

So here it is, the top 7 must see attractions if you have a plan to visit Ukraine. 

1. Maidan Nezalezhnosti, Kiev

Located in the heart of the city, this main square in Kiev is hosting many events, from a cheerful parade and festivals to a blood demonstration.  In February 2014 almost total burning down of the square, about 100 killed and over a thousand wounded when police riot opened a fire on the unarmed protesters. 

What I experienced in the end of June 2017 is totally different, this square is so alive, probably the most alive square I ever encountered in the Eastern Europe, maybe because it s summer and people love to go out and having such a good time or maybe this is their true lifestyle.

Maidan Nezalezhnosti, Kiev

2. Arsenalna - The Deepest Metro Station in The World

Not an ordinary metro station, Arsenalna is the deepest metro station in the world, how cool is that, and it s located in Kiev. We didnt have a plan to take a metro in Arsenalna but visiting this extraordinary station is a must when you are in Kiev. 

Because of the  geological issue, this metro station built in 105.5 meters below the surface, or almost similar with the height of Statue of Libery in New York.

The most fun thing of this metro station is a never ending escalators to the bottom, the journey takes at least 5 minutes in a high speed escalators to reach the platforms.  You could really watching Titanic movie till the end when you are there ;-)

Arsenalna - The Deepest Metro Station in The World

3. Tunnel of Love, Klevan

Some Ukrainian even dont know where is this tunnel called "tunnel of love" located, well since I m an Instagram maniac and have seen many times about the photos of this marvelous Tunnel of Love, of course I cannot missed it when I m in Ukraine.

Located in a small city of Klevan, I need to reach Rivne as a bigger hub by bus from Kiev, it took for around 5 hours to reach Rivne bus station and from there another 30 minutes by taxi to reach tunnel of love. 

Tunnel of Love is a simply train rail covered by passes through arches of lush vegetation, particularly trees for around 5 kilometers. Initially used in the Cold War to transport military stuffs to a nearby secret base so for sure no one can see this secret trail from the aerial.

The best time to visit this tunnel of love when it s spring, summer or autumn, as the shape of the trees can give the best overview how the tunnel of love can be so beautiful, that you can see in my vlog below.

Why they called tunnel of love? Rumor has it when two people are sincere in their love and cross the tunnel while holding each other’s hands, their wishes will come true.

4. Classical Ballet Performances in The Opera

In every big cities in Ukraine, there is a grand opera in the middle of the square. Admiring its architecture is a must, as well to be inside the building, either to see ballet performance or a theater. 

One fine afternoon in a cozy city of Lviv that turned out to be my favorite city in Ukraine, we decided to see ballet " Swan Lake " performance in the opera, we bought the tickets earlier of the day in the box office in opera, no hustle at all.

Most ballets and operas performances will take place over the weekend, you can see the schedule on their website.

Classical Ballet Performances in The Opera Lviv, Ukraine

5. From Castle to Castle

Ukraine is nothing like France and its castle collections, but still in the western part of Ukraine or if your home base is in Lviv, you can visit 2 big castles in the neighborhood and we did this trip as a daily excursion. 

Olesko Castle is an outstanding architectural and historic monument from the 13th - 18th centuries

Olesko Castle

Pidhirtsi Castle, a unique architectural monument in the late Renaissance style

 

6. The Carpathians

Ukraine’s natural is innumerable, waterfalls, canyons, lakes, caves, mountains consider as Ukraine's legacy. Ukraine is also a home for the Carpathians. Carpathians are a mountain range system forming an arc roughly 1.500 km long across Central & Eastern Europe, and only 10% of the Carpathian Mountains are in the territory of Ukraine.  

Considered to be the Green Pearl of Ukraine, we decided not to missed Carpathians. We joined the excursion tour that brought us to see Shypit waterfall,  took a chair lift to the top of Gemba mountain (1500m) and Synevyr lake (The Sea eye).

The Carpathians Ukraine - Gemba mountain

7. The Black Sea in Odessa

We ended up our trip in Ukraine in this fourth most populous city of Ukraine. As like what the Bee Gees sang in their song, Odessa ( City of The Black Sea ), the major tourism in Odessa is a seaport and beaches. 

This is our second time to see the black sea ( first time was in Istanbul ) , so it s pretty much interesting to be here. 

Black Sea in Odessa Ukraine