The 10 unusual things to do and see in Kiev

Visit Kiev in Ukraine: what to do and what ideas of visits off the beaten paths? Here's our top 10 unusual things to do in Kiev!

How visit Kiev without going to tourist landmarks and without following to the letter the routes of tourist guides? Like all destinations, the Ukrainian capital has its lot of unusual things to do, to travel otherwise. Exits the Orthodox basilicas, museums and gardens that are just stalked to fill his memory card with banal photos.

Kiev, between Eastern Europe and Central Asia, had 2.9 million inhabitants in 2018. Traversed by the Dniepr River, Kiev became a city at the awning of the 9th century and has a moving, tirailed history between the empires of Europe and Russia. In 1920, after the Bolshevik revolution of 1917, Ukraine became the Soviet Socialist Republic of Ukraine, one of the most painful episodes of its history during the Nazi Occupation, during which Kiev appeared, between 1941 and 1943, as a hero city, one of the most ferocious bastions of Soviet resistance against Nazism. Opened to the market economy after the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, Kiev became a major European capital, and a major economic, financial and cultural centre in the country.

How to visit Kiev in an unusual way? Here's our spotlight on this fashionable destination!

1. A cruise on the Dniepr

What to do in Kiev, if not to sail on its rivers? To see the city in an unusual way, cruise on the river Dniepr be it! Of course, it is not an activity that comes out of the ordinary, but it is an opportunity to have beautiful views on the shores of the city by navigating from the north to the south or the opposite.

You liked it Budapest from the Danube, Paris from the Seine or Istanbul From the Bosphorus Strait? Enjoy the day and night views of the Ukrainian capital from the Dniepr. The Dniepr offers ideal cruise stopovers. A guided tour will discover the role played by the river through the history of the city since ancient times.

2. A gourmet circuit in Kiev restaurants

Ah, because you were planning to visit Kiev without tasting Ukrainian specialities ? It would have been a shame, Ukrainian gastronomy is renowned and Kiev houses excellent restaurants where to eat for cheap.

Book your reservation gastronomic visit to Kiev and discover the famous Borsch – a traditional beet-based soup -, Varenyky – ravioli filled with meat, purée or cheese -, Oseledets – herrings marinated with onions -, Galoubtsi – rolls of meat stuffed cabbage - vodkas and local beers.

3. Skiing in the city centre of Kiev

Skiing by visiting Kiev? And yes, the snow covers the ground for an average of 98 days, from mid-November to late March and the height of this white powder is an average of 20 centimetres in February, with accumulates of up to 4 meters over the whole winter.

To have fun for young and old, two ski lifts have been installed in the city centre, and the municipality has provided rental equipment to ski in the city! Even if the descents are short, it is still out of the ordinary to ski in the center of a European capital!

4. The funicular of Kiev

Built in 1904 and opened the following year, the funicular is a means of transport from Kiev, linking the lower city – Podol district – to the high city, the historic centre. You can access it by paying a classic metro ticket or by buying tokens individually, and climbing a hill over 220 meters only, in Volodymyrska Hirka Park.

The route lasts only 3 minutes, but it allows you to enjoy a good view of the Dniepr and the city.

5. Visit Kiev night and bike

You know what to do in Kiev? At night, the city sparks a thousand lights. Enjoy soft summer evenings or hot spring days for discover the Ukrainian night capital On foot or by bike!

We can book a bike online with the platform BimBimBikes For example. Be aware of traffic, however: cycling to visit Kief is unusual, but not riskless!

6. Place Bessarabska

Are you looking for other unusual activities to do in Kiev? What if instead of running all the museums in the city, we were immersed in contact with the Kenyan population, in humant the effluves of local productions – fruits and vegetables, charcuterie and meats -, tasting Ukrainian specialties in a popular atmosphere, and all in the city centre?

The Bessarabsky market is a covered market that stands on the homonymous square, in continuation of the main artery of Kiev (Khreshchatyk). This long avenue crosses the old town's quarter and allows you to reach Maidan Square. There you will meet a groubling population, shops, bars and restaurants, and reliquats of the Stalinist architecture.

7. Arsenalnaya Metro Station

Arsenalnaya is the name of a famous Kiev metro station. Why? visit the resort Arsenalnaya to discover Kiev? Because it’s the deepest metro station in the world: it’s about 15.5 metres deep. It takes 5 minutes to get down to the bottom of the metro! Founded in 1960 in the Cold War, it was at the time to build an atomic shelter to protect the population from a possible nuclear bombing on Kiev.

Nearby are the Arsenalnaya Museum, Laure des Grottes Cathedral, the Victoire Park, the statue of Mother Patria and the Vishnoyi Slavi Park, the Slavic Park and the memorial of the Holodomor .

8. Private pools lounge

Kiev has a cold temperate climate, but we can still get caught in private outdoor pools. Although very crowded, they offer the advantage of not being expensive. Among these swimming pools are two must-sees: the City Beach Club Ocean Plaza and Olmeca, located on Dolobetskiy Hydropark Island in the middle of the Dniepr River.

If you want to stay in the open air on a summer day, don’t hesitate!

9. The shooting stands

You like guns? We don’t like it too much, but since you insist... You can also visit Kiev by taking a shooting course, learning to target in the thousand of a target with American or Soviet firearms (the famous Kalachnikov “AK-47”). It will also be an opportunity to discover the weapons – anti-tanks, machine guns, rifles, etc. – which served the Russian Empire army and the Red Army, from the late 19th century to the Second World War or during the Cold War until the fall of the USSR in 1991.

Of course, you will aim and shoot under the supervision of an aguerri instructor, who will shoulder you to handle weapons safely. If for us this activity is glaucosal, it can nevertheless attract you, but note that you will not be able to shoot with the AK-47 anyway! In Ukraine, we shoot at the shot.

In Kiev, there are several shooting centres and travel agencies even offer their online ticket booking options and services!

10. Go out to Kiev: the bars where to party

It is often said that you should keep the best for the end: visiting Kiev is also going to contact a young and student crowd, in the many bars and discotheques of the city. Places to go out are concentrated in the historic centre and, moreover, Kreschatyk Street is closed to traffic on weekends and holidays.

Kiev nightlife is renowned in Europe to be very lively, see endiablée. We're getting into a can, getting drunk, getting hit, dancing all night, and still having fun with her friends. Anyway, the list of places to party is long!