A few months later, most Kyivans returned home. Facing determined resistance and crippled by their own incompetence, they soon abandoned their ambitious plans. A column of Russian military vehicles stretched for kilometers on its murderous advance into the city.Īlthough the Russians intended to capture Ukraine’s capital in three days, they never came close. Rockets rained on peaceful apartment blocks.

Pundits around the world predicted the city’s imminent fall. How different things looked in February, when Russia launched its illegal war against Ukraine. The city’s impressively deep subway-built at the height of the Cold War so it could serve as a bomb shelter-is once again doing what it does best: whisking people around for just eight hryvnia, or 20 cents, per ride. Remarkably, cinemas, restaurants and theaters remain open stylish young people drink their filter coffee with their dogs and laptops during rush hour, traffic jams once again clog the city’s arteries. That is, until recently, when over a few days in October, a wave of self-destructing Iranian-made drones launched by Russia started terrorizing the city’s skies and killing citizens. For the capital of a country under relentless attack, Kyiv now looks surprisingly normal. Not to worry, though, Kyivans are friendly-and happy to take their foreign friends to their favorite places.īecause the foreigners are back. But Kyiv’s best bars and clubs have no signboards: they’re hidden away in secret courtyards that only the locals know about.

Closer, an underground venue near the city’s Muslim cemetery, gets rave reviews. Those after something more modern might try 100 Rokiv, an innovative restaurant that serves traditional Ukrainian borscht alongside more daring inventions, like a dish of “edible bees” with acacia honey, black pepper and berry sauce.Īfter dinner comes dancing, with electronic music particularly big here in recent years. Founded as a cave monastery in the 11th century, the complex is older than the city of Moscow. One of these is the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra, a beautiful complex of church buildings on a hill. In Kyiv, cafés with minimalist, modern interiors share the streets with centuries-old churches and monasteries. On the other side, historic Podil is home to more parks, small squares and hidden murals and courtyards. 10 but still standing) toward the parliament building and Maryinskyy Park, popular for a stroll with dogs or children. Once downtown, a visitor might cross the new “glass bridge” (targeted by Russian bombardment on Oct. The nearby Trukhaniv Island offers more recreation, with bars, restaurants, beaches and concert venues - frequented by some of the country’s most cutting-edge performers-and showcases memorable views of the charming Podil neighborhood. The mighty Dnipro lapping at their feet connects over two dozen Ukrainian cities to the Black Sea, provides drinking water and hydroelectricity to many of their fellow citizens and forms an indelible part of the country’s heritage, glorified by national poet Taras Shevchenko as the symbol of Ukraine’s fate. On a hot day they might first get off at Hidropark, a metro station on an island, to relax at one of its beaches. Kyiv’s cheap and efficient subway makes it easy for left bank denizens to make their way across the river to the heart of their capital. Big shopping malls provide plenty of opportunities for entertainment, and no geopolitical crisis, contentious election or looming threat of Russian invasion have stood in the way of new investments: construction cranes are everywhere. But new, even larger residential towers have sprung up over the last decade. With its cheaper real estate, thanks in part to an undiminished stock of towering Soviet-era apartment buildings, the left bank is home to many of 2023 Honorary World’s Best City Kyiv’s families. The Dnipro, one of Europe’s largest rivers, divides Ukraine’s capital into two different worlds: the right bank-with its historical center, administrative buildings, cafés and restaurants-and the residential left bank.

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