Day 1. Arrival.
Our representatives will meet you at Kiev Borispol Airport (KBP) and transfer you to the 3-star hotel we have reserved for you. We will select a standard double or single room (depending on how many people are traveling) in one of the following hotels based on availability:
Day 2. "Kiev- the Capital of Ukraine" Tour.
Following breakfast, our guide will meet you at 11 am at your hotel to begin your first Kiev tour, Kiev – the Capital of Ukraine. Starting with Old Kyi's settlement, you will go along the most famous street in Kiev, St. Andrew’s Descent, known as Kiev Montmartre. St. Andrew’s Descent is one of the oldest streets in Kiev: in ancient days it was the shortest way from the Upper Town to the Podil, or the Down Town, where merchants and crafts people used to live. One of the major attractions of St. Andrew’s Descent is St. Andrew Church, a masterpiece of Baroque genius Bartholomew Rastrelli, who was entrusted to construct it by the Russian Empress Elizabeth. You’ll climb a set of cement stairs to Uzdykhalnytsya Hill and walk to Richard the Lion Hearted Castle. You’ll descend to Podil, the old trade district and the center of the medieval town. We will visit Contract Square, Contract House, Pirogoshcha Church, St. Flor’s Convent (15th century), Samson Fountain, and Kiev-Mohyla Academy (1632). It was the first school of higher education in Eastern Europe.
St. Michael’s Gold-Domed Cathedral, located in the Upper Town, marked its 900th anniversary in 2008. From St. Michael’s Square” you will head to Sofiyska Square, which was Kiev’s main square during Yaroslav the Wise’s reign in the 11th century. We will visit St. Sophia Cathedral (Kiev’s oldest church to survive), Golden Gate, and National Opera House of Ukraine, designed in the neo-Renaissance style. Our next stop- St. Vladimir’s Cathedral (1852-1882), which contains holy relics of St. Barbara (4th century), Shevchenko National University, Khreshchatyk (the main street of modern Kiev), Independence Square, Tsarskij Park; Mariyinsky Palace (1755), and Kiev Pechersk Lavra Monastery.
Day 3. "Kiev Pechersk Lavra" Tour.
Kiev Pechersk Lavra Monastery, the Holy of Holies for Orthodox believers, is the oldest monastery for Eastern Slavs, founded in 1051. The chapels still contain the relics of nearly 200 saints, attracting pilgrims from around the world. The Monastery is comprised of a belltower, several churches and museums, and the monastic caves dating back to the 11th century. Great Lavra Bell Tower stands as a key component to Kiev’s skyline. It was the highest freestanding bell tower (316 feet) at the time of its construction in the 1740s. The Lavra grounds are also home to several museums: Museum of Historical Treasures of Ukraine, Book and print history museum, Museum of Ukrainian folk art, State historical library. In 1990, the Lavra became a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Day 4. "Lipki Mansions" Tour.
Pechersk was named after Kiev Pechersk Lavra, and Lipki – after the gorgeous lime tree alley, which was laid for Klovskiy Palace along present-day Lipskaya Street in the 17th century. We are going to see: The House with Chimeras, Weeping Widow’s House, Chocolate House, Kovalevsky’s Mansion, the Mariinsky park, and the Bridge of Love. This Kiev tour will last approximately 3 hours.
Day 5. Free Day.
Today you will have a chance to explore the city on your own.
Day 6. "Feofania Wonders" Tour.
During your next Kiev tour- Feofania's Wonders, you will visit St. Panteleymon’s Cathedral, three healing springs, holy water font and Golgotha park. Feofania is a historical neighborhood on the southern outskirts of Kiev. St. Panteleimon's Cathedral was built by the famous Kiev architect E. F. Yermakov in 1912. In 1920s, the Cathedral was closed by the Soviet regime. It was then used as a shelter for homeless children for a number of years. During World War II, the Cathedral was severely damaged. After the war ended, science explosion experiments were conducted in the former Cathedral. Since the end of the 1940s the monastery area was under control of the Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. The first Soviet computer was designed in these monastery cells! There is also a wonderful archaeological and cultural site in the park, the hill called Golgotha. The views from the neighborhood park and the Hotiv village from the hill Golgotha are very beautiful. The results of the archeological excavations confirmed the fact that there had been a Scythian settlement in the 5th century b.c. The tour will last for a total of 3 hours.
Day 7. "National Museum of Folk Architecture and Lifestyle (Pirogovo)" Tour.
The 400-acre National Museum of Folk Architecture and Lifestyle of Ukraine is the biggest open-air museum in Eastern Europe. It is often called Pirogovo Museum after the nearby village Pirogovo. Here you will experience the breathtaking beauty of the Ukrainian countryside. You will be enchanted with folklore stories, Gogol’s fairy tales, Shevchenko’s verses and Kotlyarevsky’s poems. These are three Ukrainian writers who have significantly contributed to the world classical literature.
Pirogovo is an open-air architectural complex, which represents all historical and ethno-graphical zones of Ukraine. The Ukrainian national and cultural legacy of the 16th - 20th centuries has been carefully preserved in this unique complex. During your visit to the museum, you will see the most ancient Ukrainian peasant's hut of 1587 and the most ancient wooden church in Ukraine.
Day 8. Free Day.
Today you will have a chance to explore the city on your own.
Day 9. Departure.
Breakfast. Free time. Our representatives will transfer you to the airport for your flight back home.