Lviv
Ukraine City Guides: Lviv
City Guide I Tourist Office I Arrival I Accommodation I Entertainment I Internet Cafes
Lviv Львів
- Ukraine's most elegant and tourist-friendly city
- A UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1998
- Gateway to the west - less than an hour from the Polish border
- Magnificent array of cobbled streets, squares, cathedrals and churches
- Cosmopolitan and multilingual with hundreds of coffee houses
- Survived World War II without mass destruction
- Home of the Lviv Theatre of Opera & Ballet
- Part of Poland from 1918-1939 (Lwów)
Lviv is Ukraine's most elegant city and tourist-friendly city with a bounty of European cultural artifacts. Lviv has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1998. Lviv is very accessible from the West, being less than an hour from the border with Poland, a country of which it was part between the First and Second World Wars (known as Lwów ) and which gave present day Lviv its Roman Catholic flavor.
Although thoroughly modern in spirit, Lviv nevertheless exerts something of a brooding medieval charm. The plot only thickens when you learn that the man who inspired the word "masochism," the writer Leopold von Sacher-Masoch, was a native!
Lviv's wide squares and open boulevards are reminiscent of Vienna or Paris, while certain sections of its Gothic influences might remind first-time visitors of Prague or Budapest. The city is cosmopolitan and its citizens largely multilingual. Hundreds of coffee houses that give Lviv a true sophistication. Enjoy exploring its endless cobbled streets, squares, cathedrals and churches.
Lviv was founded by a Prince Danylo in honor of his son, Leo, and comes from the Slavic work for "lion." The city survived World World II largely intact, so there is still plenty of history to be experienced first hand. The 16th and 17th centuries witnessed a real development boom in Lviv, and locals are especially proud of the stunning architectural constructions that took their inspiration from the Italian Renaissance, and which continue to attract students and admirers of architecture from across Europe and beyond.
UNESCO designated the entire city of Lviv as a World Heritage Site in 1998 because of its wealth of Italian-inspired architecture, but local residents are remarkably cosmopolitan and multilingual, too. The University of Lviv dates back to 1661 and the city has an intellectual feel throughout.
Owing to its convenient location less than an hour from the Polish border, Lviv has become a gateway to countries to the west, and an increasing range of budget flights from eastern Poland means that this will become a well-trodden entry point during the Euro 2012 tournament and there after.
Things to Do In Lviv
Rynok Square is the focal point of Lviv and dates from the 14th century. A city fire of 1527 burned all the original Gothic buildings to the ground, but throughout Lviv's history the square has remained the home of its wealthiest residents and traders. Statues of the Greek mythological figures Adonis, Diana, Neptune and Amphitrite command the four corners. Italian Yard is the beautiful former residence of a Greek wine merchant, who finally gave his blessing from his deathbed to his daughter marrying a handsome young pauper. It is one of the old town's most beautiful buildings.
Google Map to Lviv Italian Yard
However, Lviv's awe-inspiring religious buildings are its main architectural and historical attraction. It's hard to choose the most magnificent of the city's many cathedrals and churches to visit, but the Armenian Cathedral built in the 14th century by the still resident Armenian community is the oldest. Bernadine Church and Monastery south-east of the city center on Vynnychenka is Greek Catholic; St. George's Cathedral further east and a little north on Korolenka is also Greek Catholic, but with an Orthodox history, and its site dates from the 13 th century; and the centrally located Latin Cathedral in Katedralna Square is Roman Catholic.
Google Map to Lviv Armenian Cathedral
Google Map to Lviv Bernardine Church and Monastery
Google Map to Lviv St. George's Cathedral
Google Map to Lviv Latin Cathedral
Another structure that fully embodies Lviv's refinement is its Opera House ( Lviv National Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre) , completed in 1900. It is a spectacle inside and out; that said, next year's influx of Euro 2012 fans might be more appreciative of the Brewing Museum - guided tours in English finish with a complimentary half-liter of Lviv's finest ale.
Google Map to Lviv National Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre
Google Map to Lviv Brewing Museum
Prince Danylo, the founder of Lviv, built his castle, Lviv High Castle, on the highest point the city - just over 400 meters above sea level, which used to be the city center. The site is north-west of the present city center and is marked by a television tower. Unfortunately the castle is no more, but the park there (reached after a bracing climb) offers good views of the city. Google Map to Lviv High Castle
Nightlife & Entertainment In Lviv
Dining in Lviv is typically more refined than elsewhere, in keeping with its high self-perception, with most restaurants providing English menus, which again can be rather lacking across the rest of the country - even in Kiev. Kupol, which is operated by three sisters, has a Polish influence and wonderful views of the city. Coffee drinking has also become a pastime in Lviv - lending itself to another comparison with Vienna - and at any time of the day small cups of strong black coffee will be being ingested by its residents across the city's hundreds of coffee houses.
Google Map to Kupol
Local Sports
FC Karpaty Lviv play in the Ukrainian Premier League, while FC Lviv play one division lower. Karpaty count Andriy Husin and Oleg Luzhny among their notable former players and competed in the just completed season's Europa League. Lviv also has a world famous chess school. The Euro 2012 venue stadium is the 33,500 capacity Lviv New Stadium situated in the Sykhiv area of the city.
Tourist Offices
Lemberg Tour, Rynok 2, offer tourist information from the basement of the History Museum.
Getting To Lviv
Air
Lviv airport boasts twice daily flights to Kiev, while international flights connect the city with Warsaw as well as Munich, Dortmund and Vienna.
Rail
The largest train station in western Ukraine offers a whopping 15 services to Kiev each day (seven overnight). The journey takes 12 hours. Football supporters for Euro 2012 will also benefit from overnight routes to Donetsk and Kharkiv.
Bus
Bus travel in western Ukraine has the added advantage of soaking up the wonderful scenery but, as always, overnight trips are most definitely better by train. That said, the bus trip to Kiev is slightly shorter than its rail counterpart (approximately 10 hours).
Getting Around Lviv
The delights of Lviv can be pored over adequately by foot, which is handy because the metro system can be a little baffling at times. The trams are better (these tend to run up and down the city's major boulevards), while taxis tend to be more honest than they are in the other large Ukrainian cities. Use these to see the parks and sights further outside the city centre.
Accommodation in Lviv
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Eating
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Drinking
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Internet Cafes
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Weather in Lviv
Lviv is on Ukraine's warmer western side so the weather in winter may be slightly less cold than say Kharkiv in the far east. The average temperatures are −4 ° C in January and 25 ° C in June.
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