🗺 Tourism Information
Kiev is the Capital of the Ukraine, however its barely known to outsiders, because of very limited publicity and a lack of English Speaking population means its much more difficult to get around. However you should not be put of by this and travelling to Kiev will definitely surprise you fondly. The locals at first can be seen as extremely dry and unfriendly at first, hard to smile and customer service doesn't really shine here. But once you have broken the ice, they can be actually quite hospitable in their owns homes. Before long they'll be showing you round the sights and inviting you to their home for a steaming borscht, the country's iconic beetroot soup.
Kiev, was founded in the eighth century, displays a mix of architecture with former soviet influences once capital of Kievan Rus, the precursor of the modern Russian state.
A wealth of baroque and Renaissance architecture can be seen in Kiev, together also in other cities like Lviv. Up to a few years ago, Ukraine has been in the news for the wrong reasons due to Russian separatism on the border. Despite this, most of the country is completely safe for visitors now.
Independence Square is the social-economic centre of Kiev! Kiev's climate is continental, with hot summers and cold winters. July to August is the hottest period, with temperatures ranging from about 15°C to 28°C, whereas December to February is the coldest period, with temperatures averaging between -5°C and 10°C at the highest. In winter, the city's rivers tend to freeze over, creating a winter wonderland and allowing for ice-skating and ice fishing. Snow cover is common from December to March.
Kiev boosts an impressive public transport system from the very moment you arrive to the city, which can take you all over the city conveniently by metro, trams, trolleybuses, busses and rail. When arriving to the city's by air, the city has two major airports:
Boryspil International Airport (KBP), is the main international gateway to Kiev by national airlines and the country's flag carrier Ukraine International Airlines. From the airport you can get the express train to the Main Railway Station. The time of the one way train ride is around 38 minutes, being perfect if you want to traffic jams from the left bank of Dnieper river in the morning and from the right bank, in the evening on the way back to KBP airport. Trains depart every 30-60 minutes with more services at peak times. Fares are 80 UAH (€3) one way. There is also a frequent Skybus service, bus 322, which goes to the Main Railway Station for 100 UAH or Kharkivska metro station in the east of the city for 60 UAH. Busses are more frequent passing every 15 minutes daytime and 30 min at night, taking around 40-55 min to complete the trip,depending on traffic.
Igor Sikorsky Kyiv International Airport (Zhuliany) (IEV) is the city airport of Kiev and is located only 9 Km away from the city centre. You can transfer by trolleybus or minibus depending on where you want to go. Prices are very cheap to access the centre, at 8 UAH. Trolleybus number 9 for 1.50 UAH brings you to Tereschenkivska street nearby Ploscha Lva Tolstoho metro station (blue line). Trolleybus 22 goes to Dorohozhychi metro station (green line). Another option is take minibus Marshrutka number 213 for 2.50 UAH, it shuttles passengers to Dorohozhychi (green line) and Petrivka (blue line) metro stations.
Once in the city, Kiev public's system is cheap and easy to ride. Each single ride cost 8 UAH (€0.25). In Kiev it's still possible to buy single tickets once onboard the busses or the trams but for the metro you need to pay in advance and get a green token (8 UAH) or use the Kyiv Smart Card, the prepaid card which can be recharged to the amount of required number of trips. To get the card it costs 50 UAH (around €1.6). Alternatively you can also pay with contactless cards on the Metro only.
❗Attention: Kiev's transport is effective and runs smoothly, however it can be very hot inside carriages, busses and trams when the temperatures rise. The carriages don't have working air conditioning and at peak times metros and other transport get very crowded. It's advised to take bottle of water. Also note that traffic levels in Kiev are very high at peak times and is slow to move around in the city centre. Avoid taxis and busses at peak times.
Below you can find the transport map for Kiev available to download:
Kiev Metro is classic looking but effective and fast 
Each ride on the transport is €0.25! (8 UAH) 
Kiev Busses are yellow or blue coloured.