The Sunday Times

  First it embraced democracy, then Eurovision. Now Kiev deserves your vote, says Richard Green

  One minute it was staging a revolution. A peaceful, democratic one, but a revolution all the same. Next minute, it’s staging the Eurovision Song Contest. What do these events have in common? No, it’s nothing to do with the Brotherhood of Man. Both are helping to propel Kiev into the big league of European city-break destinations.

  It deserves to be there. Ukraine’s golden-domed capital is a beautiful collection of formal parks and chestnut-lined boulevards, built on green hills and bordered by the broad River Dnieper. It’s got the Lavra Caves Monastery, Byzantine mosaics, rococo churches and spectacular Soviet-era architecture.

  The city emerged from the Soviet yoke more glacially than most, but it has come a long way in a few short months. Enlivened by its spell in the limelight, Kiev is ripe for adventurous city-breakers. It’s little more than three hours from London, and the new president has symbolically swept away what was one of the steepest visa fees in Europe (£65) — as a trial until September, anyway.

  The alphabet and the spoken language are barriers, it’s true — but these are early days for tourism, and a bit of linguistic disconnection is all part of the thrill

  What to see: like all the best weekending cities, Kiev is best tackled on foot.

  Start under the historic high ceilings of the Bessarabsky market, where vivid fruit and veg are pyramid-piled like those in a child’s colouring book. It’s also a good spot for buying caviar. Then exit into Kiev’s grandest thoroughfare, Khreschatyk, eight lanes wide and flanked by Stalinist architecture that rises sheer like carved canyon walls. It is closed to traffic at weekends, when families and funsters take over — the lively atmosphere makes it possible to imagine what the street-party part of the November revolution must have been like.

  A curve rightwards brings you to another communist-inspired space, Independence Square, now full of free-marketeers selling everything from balloons to bank accounts, with a trendy shopping mall below. The street’s finale is Europe Square, across from which is the delicate National Philharmonic hall.

  Next, bear left to pass below the impressive 250ft bell tower of St Sophia’s Cathedral, with its green-and-gold cupolas. Despite the rococo flourishes of the exterior, inside it feels decidedly intimate and Byzantine. The 11th-century mosaics are captivating, as are the ghostly frescoes.

  Back in the vast square, pass the iconic Cossack statue and enter the recently reconstructed St Mikhayil’s Monastery of the Golden Domes. Pass by the British embassy and through the arty-crafty souvenir market, before visiting the ornate altar inside the perfectly proportioned St Andrei’s Church.

  Follow the winding cobbled lane called Andrew’s Descent — a photogenic mishmash of 19th-century styles. Down here are galleries and eateries, as well as an evocative little museum in the former home of the writer Mikhail Bulgakov and the charismatic Museum of One Street, which neatly conveys the city’s history through the stories of the tradesmen who lived here. The flat area at the bottom of the lane is Podil: once the working-class workshop of Kiev, now bustling with community and riverside bars and restaurants.

  From here, circle south along Volodymyrska to the steel rainbow of the Friendship of the Peoples monument — erected in 1983 to commemorate Ukrainian and Russian togetherness. Its muscular symbolism is now wryly belittled by the kiddies’ funfair rides that lap at its serious steel. There are great views from here over the Dnieper and across the vast steppes beyond.

  Take the smaller steps to the tranquil City Gardens, passing the sunken Dynamo stadium and delicate wrought-iron lovers’- leap bridge. Here is the blue-and-white rococo symmetry of the Mariinsky Palace — formerly used by visiting Russian royalty and (last night) by Phil Collins.

  Now it’s parkland all the way to the Lavra Caves Monastery. You can’t miss this impressive dome-fest, but remember that the main draw for pilgrims and tourists alike is its pair of cave complexes. Tourists often never find them, because they’re a little further on, reached by walking under the white archway a few hundred yards to the right of the main entrance.

  Entry to the caves is free, but you’ll need to buy a 2p beeswax candle. It feels like a Famous Five adventure as you descend the narrow corridors into the gloom. The atmosphere is claustrophobic and expectant, and one of extraordinary reverence, with pilgrims in headscarves kissing the glass-lidded coffins. The outlines of the monks’ bodies are spookily preserved under vestments by the cave’s uniquely mummifying environment. It’s a fascinating window into the Orthodox tradition.

  Just a little further on is the Great Patriotic War Museum, crowned by the towering, titanium-clad figure of Mother Russia: a sort of livid Liberty, who glowers eastwards with her hammer-and-sickle shield and 12-ton sword. As one local guidebook has it: “The huge statue has impudently intruded onto Kiev’s historic panorama, but there is nothing to be done now.”

  After dark: it seems odd at first sight, but in the evening, Kievan locals of all ages buy bottles of beer and sit in parks — the Academic Botanical Gardens are especially popular. Also try the many cafe-style bars on Khreschatyk.

  If the weather’s poor, head for the buzzing basement pub at Eric’s Bierstube (Chervonoarmiyska 20, through an unmarked archway off the main street). A good club is Chaikovsky (Bessarabska Square 2) — open until 6am and packed out with a fashion-conscious local crowd.

  Getting around: the underground system is clean, safe and runs until midnight, with a flat fare per journey of ¹/₂p. There’s a handy funicular that runs from Podil to the top of Andrew’s Descent; again just ¹/₂p.

  Taxis are easy to hail, with rides within the city costing less than £2. A taxi from the airport to town costs £13; or use the Autolux bus (www.autolux.com.ua) for £2.

  When to go: summers are hot, winters cold and snowy, and spring and autumn brief and pleasant. Any time from mid-April to September is fine.

  Getting there: Ukraine International Airlines (01293 596609, www.flyuia.com) flies from Gatwick, and British Airways (0870 850 9850, www.ba.com) from Heathrow, each from £235. KLM (0870 507 4074, www.klm.com) has fares from Edinburgh, Norwich, Manchester and 11 other UK regional airports, via Amsterdam, from £176; and from Dublin from €355. Or try Opodo (0871 277 0091, www.opodo.co.uk) or Expedia (0870 050 0808, www.expedia.co.uk).

  Tour operators: Regent Holidays (0117 921 1711, www.regent-holidays.co.uk) can organise trips throughout Ukraine, and has three nights’ B&B at the Tourist Hotel from £299pp, including flights from Gatwick with Ukraine International. Or try Ukraine Travel (0161 652 5050, www.ukraine.co.uk) or Interchange (020 8681 3612, www.interchange.uk.com).

  Richard Green travelled as a guest of Regent Holidays

  Kiev for every budget

  ON THE CHEAP

  Down by the riverside parks, the state-run Hotel Kiev (00 380-44 253 0155, www.hotelkiev.com.ua) has fine rooms and outstanding views from its upper floors. Doubles from £41.

  Binge on spicy meat-filled pastries and buns for a few pence at the Bessarabsky market. For a restaurant, head to Budmo (Mykhailivska 22A; 44 229 6193), a contemporary take on the traditional Ukrainian pub. Fill up on local favourites, such as borscht (£1) and chicken kiev (£1.50).

  Hydropark is a 470-acre summer refuge, with beaches, sports facilities and forest walks by day, and open-air parties by night.

  MIDDLE OF THE ROAD

  The Dnipro Hotel (00 380-44 254 6777, www.dniprohotel.kiev.ua) is off Europe Square and has smart rooms and bathrooms. It gets four-star billing, and although it’s not as slick as all that, it offers good value, with doubles from £80.

  Kozak Mamai (Prorizna 4; 44 228 4273) has a kitsch hunting-lodge interior, with staff dressed as Cossacks, and live music. The Ukrainian food is good, though, and the atmosphere fun: mains from £5.

  See the city from the ideal perspective, on a river cruise. Two hours for £46pp, booked through New Logic (44 206 3322, www.newlogic.com.ua).

  NO EXPENSE SPARED

  The Premier Palace (00 380-44 244 1200, www.premier-palace.com) is Kiev’s only five-star hotel. Fresh-faced from a thorough renovation, it sits at one end of Khreschatyk. The service is crisp, there’s an excellent pool and fine dining. Doubles from £202.

  On the eighth floor of a modern block is the classy Concorde (Pushkinskya 42/4; 44 229 5512) — a contemporary restaurant with a large terrace and great views over the city, specialising in artfully presented French-Ukrainian fusion.

  Take an exclusive tour of the Mariinsky Palace, normally closed to all but visiting heads of state and ambassadors; £135pp, through New Logic (as above).