City Rating: Kiev
Population: 2’900’000
Date of visit: September 2017
Attractions & sights: 3/5
Nightlife: 4/5
Safety: 4/5
Infrastructure: 3/5
Low budget factor: 5/5
Total: 👍👍👍👍/5
The city in a nutshell:
Old, soulful and sweet. Kiev has become one of my favourite cities in the world. The Ukrainian capital is the 7th largest city by population in Europe (larger than Rome, Paris and Barcelona!), but is still a hidden gem! It’s not overrun by tourists (yet), it’s ridiculously cheap and a lot of fun!
Where to stay:
Somewhere near Majdan Square or in Podil quarter. Majdan is a perfect location to explore the city and many restaurants and bars are within walking distance. Staying a bit outside might save you a bit money, but Kiev is huge and distances are big, and you will spend a lot of time in taxis. Podil quarter might be a good choice if your first priority is the nightlife.
The Good:
Sightseeing, good food, nightlife – Kiev has it all! Compared with its big brother Moscow, the city on the river Dnjepr is much more westernized, but not as modern. The city has old charm and is full of beautiful buildings and cathedrals as well as some really ugly communist buildings. English is widely spoken (definitely more than in Russia) and the people are also very kind towards foreigners.
There are enough things to see and do in 3-4 days. The best sights are St. Sophia Cathedral, Rodina Mat and the Monastery of the Caves. The latter two are just next to each other and both can be reached by foot (~35-40 minutes) or taxi (5 minutes) from Majdan Square.
The best thing about Kiev are the prices. You pay 2-3 Dollars for a taxi ride, a meal in a nice restaurant will cost between 10-25 Dollars, a drink in a bar is 4-5 Dollars and hotel & apartment prices are pretty low too. Welcome to the cheapest capital city of Europe.
Nightlife is amazing, there are a lot of good bars and nightclubs all over the city. There are several nightlife districts spread over the city. Recommendations: Closer (nightclub) and Bar on 8, the rooftop bar of the Hyatt hotel.
The Bad & The Ugly:
Winters in Kiev are colder than in Western Europe. Kiev might look like a fairy tale city in winter, but weather-wise it is definitely not the best season to go there.
Although Kiev is a very safe city, crossing the street is a real threat. Ukrainians drive like maniacs and it seems that there is no speed limit in the city.
Find other City Ratings here.
