• Understand
• Get around
• Do
• Learn
• Work
• Buy
• Drink
• Contact
• Stay safe
• Cope
• Get out

Central L'viv (Ploshy Rynok)

Lviv (also spelled L'viv, Львів in Cyrillic; Russian Львов or Lvov; Polish: Lwów; German: Lemberg) is in Western Ukraine and used to be the Capital of East Galicia. The biggest city of the region and major Ukrainian cultural center. The historic city center is on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

[edit] Understand

The city has a multicultural history. It was founded in 1256 and fell under Polish control in the 14th century. Poles, Jews, Ukrainians, Germans and others lived there together for centuries.

The Polish king John II Casimir founded the Lviv University in the 17th century and Lviv was by this time one of the most important cities in the Polish-Lituanian Commonwealth, along with Krakow, Warsaw, Gdansk and Vilnius.

In 1772 the city was taken by the Habsburgs and in Austrian times it was known under the name of Lemberg, the capital of Galicia. After the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in 1918, it was returned to Poland.

As result of World War II Stalin moved the Soviet frontier westward so 'Lvov' (the Russian name) became part of the USSR, both names were interchangeably used locally as well in Soviet maps. Since Ukrainian independence in 1991 the name was officialy changed to Lviv only, although Lvov is still frequently mentioned and used.

Lviv is located in the most Ukrainian region of Ukraine; as a Soviet province, most signs were put only in Ukrainian, and only a few also in Russian. Because of its Polish and Austro-Hungarian history, Lviv has a Central European flair in its architecture that make it one of the most beautiful cities in Eastern Europe.

Its tourist potential is yet undiscovered because infrastructure is rather undeveloped and most people don't speak any foreign languages except Polish, Russian and German. This is changing among young people, some of whom will speak at least a little bit of English. Nevertheless, visiting Lviv is very rewarding for the pioneer traveller, as life is extremely cheap here and the place has a truly authentic feeling, unlike places like Krakow or Prague, which are swamped with tourists.

[edit] Get in

[edit] By plane

Lviv has an international airport just 7km from the beautiful downtown. Lviv is served via direct international routes including flights from Vienna (Austrian Airlines), Frankfurt (Ukraine International Airlines) and Warsaw (LOT Polish Airlines).

It is relatively inexpensive to fly from Kyiv to Lviv, with multiple daily flights operated by Ukrainian International Airlines and Aerosvit. These carriers also operate flights to and from other major Ukrainian cities, although it is still more common to travel by train domestically. Return airfares from Kyiv range from as low as $50 (including taxes and fess), if booked more than a month in advance, to approximately $100. Tickets for air travel can be purchased online or via travel agents. Taxi from the airport to town (or visa-versa) should cost around 30UAH, depending on the time of day.

See: Lviv Airport Website. The airport is very basic, without an ATM or currency exchange.

Arrival Advisory: Travel Insurance

You do not need to buy insurance at the airport. There is a little booth in arrivals with someone who may try to sell you insurance or demand to see yours if you say you have it. You do not need to purchase insurance from this person, nor show them any documentation. Ignore them.

[edit] By train

• The easiest way to get to L'viv from Western Europe is through Krakow in Poland. From there, you have several options.

• Take a train to Przemyśl near the Polish-Ukrainian border. It costs about 45 PLN and takes between 3 and 4 hours. From Przemysl you take an autobus to the border ('granitsa' in Polish), walk through the checkpoint and take another autobus to L'viv. This can be a bit of an adventure as the queues can be substantial at times, however most (who are smuggling cigarettes and alcohol in to Poland) are more than happy for tourists to go to the front of the queue. This way takes about 8 plus hours for about 30 USD.

• There is also a direct train from Krakow to L'viv once a day, plus one with a change. This costs 125 PLN as of the 13/3/2008. An overnight service also exists from Krakow (6 hours 20 minutes) with a change at Przemysl. DO NOT pay a cash 'reservation charge' to the Ukrainian conductor on the second train. Ensure you have your reservations for the second train in your possession and fully identifiable. These trains cost about 50 USD. See diebahn.com for more details.

• There are trains coming from throughout Ukraine, including multiple daily trains (including overnight trains) from Kyiv. The timings are all slightly inconvenient - the night train from Kiev gets in at 4:20am, the one back to Kiev gets there at 7am. Timetables can be found at poezda.net.

• Trains from Hungary and Slovakia come through Lviv, usually on their way to Kyiv. Train-fare from both countries is approx $80 per person for a bed in a sleeping car. On the MAV website the round-trip price from Budapest is quoted at €64.40, [[1]] but, when contacting the international rail office by phone in Budapest, the one-way fare was quoted at 12,600 Ft ($75/€50), however, when purchased at Keleti train station the price was reduced to roughly 8,700 Ft ($51/€34). (This information is from 14-1-2008; there is a daily overnight at 18:15, it is the train onward to Moscow.) Make sure to bring enough food and water for at least 12 hours (15 hours from Budapest).

[edit] Travel Note: SMUGGLING

Smuggling is a fact of life between Eastern Poland and Western Ukraine. The harsh economic situation in these two respective regions forces many in to the trade which covers the age spectrum. You may witness individuals unscrewing panels and pulling out plastic wrapped cigarette cartons, and may even be asked to politely move to enable access to a hidden cavity. The key here is to exercise your common sense. These people are only doing their 'job' and thus should be treated with respect. There is no need for alarm!

[edit] By car

From Poland: take the E40, this will end at the city center. Keep in mind that all formalities at the border take from one hour upwards. There will be a long waitingline for trucks, which you can pass if you travel by car. Don't expect the border police to treat you respectfully, or speak any language other than Ukrainian or Russian. In fact, expect the very opposite regarding both.

Ukrainian roads are bad, and Ukrainian drivers have a rough driving style. When you drive into Lviv, make sure you have a good map because getting lost in this town is very easy.

Pay close attention to speed limits (which are often badly marked, with signs far off the road, covered with branches etc.)

Be aware that corruption is widespread among Ukrainian police. When you are stopped for speeding or other violations, officers might aggressively try and extract ridiculous sums of money from you (€100 and up), offering "reductions" if you pay on the spot (the proposed alternative being some unpleasant and more expensive way, all made up). The highest actual legal fine in the Ukraine, however, is the equivalent of about $3. So if you're asked anything beyond that, demand a written ticket for you to pay later instead. Don't let them intimidate you. It's very useful to have an embassy phone number handy for these cases. If you mention that, they'll let you off the hook quicker than you know it. At any rate, write down the officers' badge numbers, rank, plate number of the police car, and notify the nearest embassy/consulate in detail, to help fight these corrupt practices.

[edit] By bus

There are daily buses from Polish cities: Warsaw, Przemyśl, Lublin, Wrocław. It is possible also to get there by bus from other European cities.

From Przemyśl there are 2 types of buses that regularly travel to L'viv. The first is the PKS (Polish Coach Buses) and the second is private buses.

The private buses are found just ouside of the train station on the opposite side from the main station. They head to the border when they are full, which takes about 20 minutes and travel to the border is about 15 minutes. The price is 2 PLN (June 2007). The bus drops you off at the foot way to the border. On the Ukraine side private buses can be taken to L'viv; these take from 2 to 3 hours, and can be found up the main road on the right. They price is around 20 UAH (June 2007); the buses are often packed and can be uncomfortable at times. It is an adventure. Prepare to be in a bus full of smugglers.

At the time of research, there was a daily night bus from Krakow bus station to Lviv, around 70 zlotys, departing at 21.50 from Krakow and supposed to arrive at 6 in Lviv (depending on delays at the border)

[edit] Get around

Lviv has an extensive tram and mini-bus network.

• Mini-buses (1 UAH or 1.25 UAH) are known as marshrutki and follow a set route, but without a fixed timetable or stops. To indicate a desire to board, extend one arm as the marshrutka approaches; simply ask the driver to stop when you would like to get off.
• Trams cost .60 UAH (students .30 UAH), and tickets are purchased on the tram from the conductor who roams throughout the tram to collect money and distribute tickets. It's interesting to note that mostly all of the drivers of the trams are women.
• Taxis are available throughout the city, and the city center is swarming with them at night. They are rarely equipped with a meter, so you must agree on a price with the driver ahead of time.

[edit] See

[2]

[edit] Churches

• Latin Cathedral
• St.George Cathedral
• Armenian Cathedral of 1363
• Dormition Cathedral (Orthodox)
• The Dominican Cathedral
• The Bernardine Monastery
• Jesuit Church
• Boim's Chapel - an architectural marvel all made of black stone

[edit] Landmarks

• Lychakivskiy Cemetery. There are about four hundred thousand people buried here, including Ukrainian heroes such as Ivan Franko; the park is enormous, and very pleasant to wander around on a network of variously-maintained paths. At the back of the cemetary are a moving series of recently-built war memorials, in the same style as Western World War One cemetaries, to the dead of the 1918-1921 Ukrainian civil wars.
• Union of Lublin mound (the High Castle); from there you can see another sandy mound, which you can also climb, and which has a cross devoted to the dead of the war in Afghanistan. From that mound you can walk around the whole central hill-park of the town.
• Market Square (Ploshy Rynok). You can climb the tower of the town hall: go in via the main entrance, wander about until you see a sign 'вхид на вежу', then follow those signs up 103 steps to a ticket-office and up 305 more steps to the top of the tower. There's a great view of the Old Town, and this is clearly one of the romantic spots of the city: I saw a marriage-proposal there.
• The Shevchenko Monument, donated by members of the Argentine Ukrainian diaspora, and absolutely unmistakable in the centre of town; a sculpture of the writer, and a wave-shaped monument with Ukrainian folk-art motifs rising to his side. Sometimes seems to be used by locals as a climbing-wall, but I would advise foreigners against this.
• Lviv theater
• Lviv University (named after Ivan Franko)
• Lviv National Polytechnic University
• Railway Station

[edit] Museums

• Pharmacy Museum "Under the Black Eagle"
• Museum of Religion an interesting museum documenting both Jewish and Christian history of L'viv at one of L'viv's biggest and most beautiful churches.
• The L'viv Art Gallery divided into several departments the central of which is on display at Potoskiy Palace showing mainly Renaissance and Baroque European art (for Ukrainian art see National Musem). Nearby is the Palace of Arts where changing contemporary art exhibitions take place. Other interesting branches of the Lviv Gallery are the Museum of Ancient Books, Museum of Relics and Pinsel Museum (dedicated to the local Baroque wood carver).
• The Lviv Historical Museum divided into many departmants most of which are in the old town displaying archeology, history from medievil times up to the Ukrainian struggle for nationalism, as well as jewlery and armoury.
• The Museum of Ethnography and Crafts
• The Lviv National Museum The main building displays Ukrainian Art from the Middle Ages up to the 19th Century. Note that the L'viv Art Gallery mainly shows foreign art in its art collections so if you are more interested in Ukrainian art you should defenitly visit this museum.
• Open Air Museum of Folk Architecture, on the central hill about a half-hour walk from the Lychakivskiy Cemetery. This is a collection of wooden buildings from all over Western Ukraine, dismantled and reassembled here; the multi-tiered churches are the most spectacular buildings, and are all still working churches.
• Natural History Museum
• The History of Printing Mseum
• Museum of Metrology
• Panchyshyn Museum of the History of Medicine
• Museum of Embroidered Icons
• Brewery Museum

[edit] Do

L'viv Opera House (Svobody Ave)

• Visit the Bania, a Russian style sauna for men and women (non-communal). There are a few located in L'viv and well worth the trip. The experience can be mildly confronting for the prudish Westerner, as all activities are conducted in the nude but don't worry, it is a highly civilized environment.

• S. Krushelnytska Opera House, Svobody Ave. In the very heart of L'viv the historic opera house offers regular performances of various operas and ballets. Tickets can be purchased at the theatre cashier ("Kaca") ranging in price from 50UAH to 80UAH; a schedule of events is located at the entrance of the theatre and is available online. Even if opera and ballet is not your cup of tea, a night at the theatre is worthwhile, at the very least, to enjoy this spectacular venue.

[edit] Learn

[edit] Work

[edit] Buy

The Ukrainian currency is known as the hryvnia (you may also hear the pronunciation "grivnia"). It was introduced in 1996. The exchange rate hovers around 5 UAH to 1 USD.

Both ATMs (known as "bankomats") and currency exchanges ("obmin valyuti") are ubiquitous throughout Lviv, particularly in the city center. Most, but not all, ATMs will accept Visa and Mastercard. Currency exchanges will often only accept foreign currency in pristine condition. Travellers' checks are not very useful in Lviv; however, there are still a few hotels and banks that will cash them for you.

Do not expect to be able to use a credit card anywhere except upscale stores, hotels and perhaps some restaurants. Hostels will certainly not take credit cards.

You should be aware that attempting to pay for something inexpensive with a large denomination (50 UAH and above) will often at the very least annoy the shopkeeper; salespeople may even refuse to sell to you if you do not have any smaller denominations. Grocery stores and other high-volume shops are an exception to this rule.

[edit] Eat

[edit] Budget

Life in L'viv is very very cheap, it's not difficult to find a place where you can have a full meal for 2 euros. The challenge is rather trying to order if you don't speak Ukrainian.

• Olga Cafe, behind Trembita music store on Kopernika is hard to find but harder to beat. Superb Borshch.

• Puzata Hata, On Sichovykh Striltsiv. Offers a cheap and hearty Ukrainian smorgasboard. This cafeteria style eatery offers an wonderful selection of traditional Ukrainian food mixed with some other cultural food found around the area.

• Talalchik, on Sichovykh Striltsiv. Does a good, spicy chicken wrap for $3.

• Acropolis Tavern, just off Rynok Square. A Greek casual diner that has authentic dishes such as Gyros and Souvlaki for $3. The staff speak English and may well start dancing, in traditional style, given any amount of encouragement.

[edit] Mid-range

• Kavkaz (or Kaukaz) serves up exquisite Georgian cuisine with a charming atmosphere on Zelena street. The harcho soup and fig salad will make you forget any and all past romantic disappointments.

• Cafe 1, just off Rynok Square, in a sort of alley way, adjacent to a large, old cathedral. A very cosy cafe / casual dining restaurant that offers a varied range of modern cuisine. It has a warm atmosphere with non-smoking, and smoking, areas plus friendly and thoughtful staff.

• Tsukerna, on pr. Staroevraiski. Does very good Viennese-style cake and coffee.

[edit] Splurge

• The Wiener Kaffeehaus, on the main square on the right-hand side if you are facing the Opera House. This place has menus in English, English-speaking staff and a very nice atmosphere. A main course is around 3 to 4 euros, a three-course meal 6 or 7. The Wiener Schnitzel is great, so are all the soups, the breakfasts, the potato pancakes and the Apfelstrudel.

• Amadeus has a broad European and Ukrainian menu in a 5 star environment with 4 star food and 2.5 star prices.

• Veronica, on Prospect Svobody is both a French style cafe (upstairs) and very stylish restaurant downstairs.

• Kavkas, on Zielena. Real Georgian feasts for a reasonable price.

[edit] Drink

The club scene in L'viv is thriving; with many options ranging from the cavernous Club Metro to the intimate and upmarket Zanzibar. There are usually entry charges but drink prices more than make up for this. In most clubs you are able to buy bottles of vodka (10 Euro) and simply chill at a table all evening.

• Club Metro Massive, young
• Millennium Club Modern, stylish
• Zanzibar Cool, funky
• Lalka Free live Jazz most nights
• Leroy Upmarket, mature crowd
• Fashion Club Bizarre neuvo riche.

Great pubs and bars abound in L'viv but they can be hard to find, do your research as many are tired dens of misery.

• Kult Cool underground bar
• Kriyivka ('Bunker' in Ukrainian) Military themed bar, 24 hours
• Blue Bottle Intimate, medieval
• Pub Filharmonia above Kult, very cool underground feel.
• Cactus Food and booze
• FRANZ JOSEF The twighlight zone. 24 hour outdoor freak show. See the local intelligentsia acting rather unintelligent.
• Dublin Irish Pub Irish pub with good food, English menu. Staff no English though!
• Korzo Irish Pub So not Irish you have to say it's Irish!

[edit] Sleep

[edit] Budget

The hostel scene is quite new in L'viv so be sure to check reviews of hostels using well known booking agents.

Hostels

Home Stay

Budget Hotel

[edit] Mid-range

• Prestige Apartments Lviv, Offers centrally located, newly renovated apartments for individuals, couples and families. Photos available on request. Email: 10987654321go@gmail.com or call +380673418049 for more information. $70-$100 USD per night.

• L'viv Apartments, There are large number of apartments that can be rented by the night [3]. $45-$120.

• Hotel Volter, Lipinskogo 60a, +380 32 294 88 88 (fax 294 88 88) [4]. $70-$250.

• Hotel Dnister (Дністер), Mateyka st. 6, +380 32 297 43 17 (fax 297 10 21) [5]. $80-$260.

• Hotel NTON, Shevchenka 154b, +380 32 233 71 72 (fax 233 123) [6]. $60-$230.

• Hotel Eney (Еней), Shimzeriv st. 2, +380 322 768 799 (email eney@mail.lviv.ua) [7]. 69-187 EUR.

• Hotel George (Жорж), pl. Mickiewicz 1, +380 322 725 952 (fax 297 11 44) [8]. $38-$121 (rooms with private bathroom beginning at $73.50).

• Wien Hotel (Відень Готель), pl. Svobody 12, +380 32 244 43 14 (email wienhotel@mail.lviv.ua) [9]. $70-$140 (breakfast included).

[edit] Splurge

• Grand Hotel (Гранд Готель), pl. Svobody 13, +380 322 724 042 (fax 769 060, email grand@ghgroup.com.ua) [10]. $126-$360 (breakfast included). Absolutely central - right in front of the Teras Shevchenko statue.

• Opera Hotel (Готель Опера), pl. Svobody 45, +380 32 225 90 00 (fax 225 90 00, email reception@hotel-opera.lviv.ua) [11]. $96-$336 (breakfast included).

[edit] Contact

The dialing code for Lviv is +380 32(2). The telephone system was recently modified; thus, to dial 6-digit numbers, use the city prefix 322, but for 7-digit numbers, use only 32.

All calls to and from cell phones are treated as long distance calls. Thus, you must dial an 8 followed by the city/mobile prefix, followed by the phone number. Some frequent mobile prefixes are 050, 067, 066, 096, and 097. The main mobile operators are Kyivstar, Beeline, and UMC. You can buy a SIM card or a balance replenishment card at many stores throughout Lviv.

Internet cafes are plentiful. Centrally located is Chorny Media on Krova Lipa.

[edit] Stay safe

Ukrainian cities are not as dangerous as they may seem, though a bit more precaution is required. Common tricks include impersonating a police officer. In doubt ask an officer or tell him you're not following him. The first thing they try is to get you out of the tourists places in to areas where they can 'acquire' a fine. Openly robbing you or pick-pocketing happens less as the risks are bigger.

[edit] Cope

It is essential to learn some Ukrainian before visiting, or at the very least, learn the Cyrillic alphabet. Everyone can also read, speak and write in Russian and aren't so prickly about it, although they'd apreciate that you learn a few basic phrases in Ukrainian as well. Learn the Cyrillic alphabet (both the Russian and Ukrainian versions) way in advance until you can write words with perfection, as many do not know the Latin alphabet. German and, especially, Polish (as Lvov used to part of Poland) is spoken well among people with mature memories of the interwar era.

People selling you tickets at the train station will most likely not speak anything other than Ukrainian or Russian and may have no patience nor sympathy for you. (Neither will the people waiting behind you in line). If you speak Polish then surviving in Lviv shouldn't be a problem, as many people understand some Polish. Some sales people will not know the Latin alphabet, so make sure to carry a small note with your name written in Cyrillic! Queues in Ukraine tend to be a chaotic mess, especially at stations. Assert your place with an elbow and mean stare, because everyone else will, including the fifteen babushki pushing you to the side. Make sure you get in the line for foreigners when you want to buy train tickets. No, the cashier will NOT speak English, but if you know the details of the train you want, just write them down! But if you go to a different line they'll just tell you to go to the foreigner's line, and then you will have wasted a lot of time waiting for nothing.

[edit] Get out

There are many possible day trips from Lviv. Some options include nearby monasteries Krekhiv and Univ; the beautiful Carpathian mountains and their accompanying ski resorts are also not far.

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