Tours

“Art is like a nature. If you do not let it comes in the door, it will enter through the window.”
— Samuel Butler

Kyiv is not only a city of ancient churches and cathedrals; it is also a vibrant hub of modern art. Over the last few years, the city has emerged as a center for European street art, adorned with massive murals and highly unusual urban sculptures. From the quirky installations on Landscape Alley to beloved figures like the Hedgehog in the Fog and the White "Forked" Cat, this private auto tour reveals a completely different, contemporary side of the capital.

The "Kyiv Street-Art" excursion is for you if you want to:

• know where Alice in Wonderland lives in Kyiv?
• see the most beautiful and meaningful murals of our city?
• meet the famous Hedgehog, the White "Forked" Cat, and the Ballerina?
• find out who Constantine Skretutsky is and how he transformed the streets?
• hear fascinating stories about the contemporary artists who have worked in Kyiv?

“History is a witness of the past, a light of truth, a living memory, a life teacher, a messenger of antiquity.”
— Cicero

Do you want to see the architecture of all regions of Ukraine and its evolution throughout the centuries with your own eyes? Then a visit to the Pirogovo Open-Air Museum is strongly recommended. Wandering through this vast outdoor complex, you will immerse yourself not only in the unique wooden architecture but also in the rich native flora that beautifully frames these traditional settlements. Everything is unusual here: an ancient hut under a thatched roof, a traditional barn, and even a simple wattle fence.

The excursion to the "Museum of Folk Architecture and Life Pirogovo" is for you if you want to know:

• how old is the oldest hut in the museum?
• who was the richest man in the traditional village?
• how peasants lived in Ukraine in the 17th-20th centuries?
• how can you find out that there is a girl of marriageable age in a house?
• what was the most revered saint of the peasants?
• where was a "donkey" desk located at school?

“The monk is a man who has left all things for the One,
and who finds the One in all things.”
— Thomas Merton

Since its foundation as a cave monastery in 1051, Kyiv Pechersk Lavra has been a preeminent centre of Eastern Orthodox Christianity in Eastern Europe. Together with St. Sophia Cathedral, it is inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. For a thousand years its golden domes have overlooked the slopes of the Dnipro — a beacon of faith, history and art that continues to draw pilgrims and travellers from across the world.

This tour is for you if you want to know:

• which is the oldest monastery in Rus?
• where is the “Leaning Tower of Pisa” of Kyiv?
• how many holy relics rest in the catacombs?
• where is Stalin’s teacher buried?
• who were the first monks of Kievan Rus?

“Pessimism is a luxury that a Jew can never allow himself.”
— Golda Meir

The century-long history of Kyiv is inseparable from the history of its Jewish community, whose roots date back to pre-Christian Rus. Prominent manufacturers and merchants, engineers and lawyers, writers and artists all left their mark here. Future political leaders of Israel — Golda Meir and Ephraim Katzir — were born in Kyiv. The great writer Sholem Aleichem lived and worked here. This tour reveals the Jewish soul of the city.

The excursion “Jewish Kyiv” is for you if you want to know:

• when was the Central Kyiv Synagogue built?
• why did the shootings at Babyn Yar begin?
• who was the chief Maecenas of Kyiv?
• where was Golda Meir born?
• why is Podil called “Little Odessa”?
• why were Jews forbidden to trade at the Jewish market?
• how many Jewish pogroms took place in Kyiv?

“All peoples have a secret sympathy for their evil spirits.”
— Samuel Butler

Have you ever been on Old Kyiv Hill on a Sunday morning? At that hour, a kind of madness reigns in the air — the chime of church bells interrupted by pagan chants. How could such different faiths coexist in the “Orthodox Jerusalem”? We have the answer. On this tour your professional guide will take you through the mystical side of Kyiv — its haunted houses, pagan hills, dark legends and the spirits that never quite left.

This tour is for you if you want to know:

• how many Bald Hills are there in Kyiv?
• where does the pagan god Perun still stand?
• where is the Devil’s Hill in the city?
• where is Kyiv’s most famous “haunted house”?
• why was the monument to Volodymyr the Baptist never consecrated?
• why does the coat of arms of Kyiv bear the image of Archangel Michael?
• where is Kyiv’s Golgotha?
• how is the Central Post Office connected to a poltergeist?

“Walking through the courtyards — it is the city seen from within.”
— Viktor Nekrasov

Everyone knows the tourist landmarks — Kyiv Pechersk Lavra, St. Sophia Cathedral, Independence Square. But today we invite you to step off the main streets and stroll through the hidden courtyards of Kyiv. Here you will find three old ravens in a huge cage, four giraffes and eleven pandas — without a cage, a cat-centipede, and a Ukrainian Madonna made of mosaic. None of these are in a zoo. A professional guide will show you the city that most visitors never see.

This tour is for you if you want to know:

• where is the courtyard with the ravens?
• which Kyiv park is compared to Gaudí’s Park Güell in Spain?
• where does the cat-centipede live in Kyiv?
• where is the “Kyiv Madonna”?
• do pandas really live in our city?
• on which balconies do flowers bloom all year round?

“But without Podil, Kyiv is not possible, as Saint Volodymyr without the cross.”
— words from a song

If you’ve never visited Podil — you’ve never truly been to Kyiv. Nestled beneath the Kyiv hills on the bank of the Dnipro River, Podil is the city’s oldest and most atmospheric historic district. In the era of Kievan Rus it was the beating heart of commerce — the trading quarter, the main port, the harbour and the customs house were all here, in the place once called The Lowest City. Today it blends ancient churches, majestic monuments, old merchant buildings and charming narrow streets into one unforgettable walk.

This tour is for you if you want to know:

• why is Podil called Podil, and what does the name mean?
• where and when were the biggest trade fairs in Kyiv held?
• where was Mikhail Bulgakov born?
• why did Napoleon set fire to Podil?
• where is the Florivsky women’s monastery?
• did Peter the Great really live in Podil?
• where was the first shopping centre in Kyiv built?

“Andriyivsky Descent is one of the real ‘Kyiv’ streets.”
— Viktor Nekrasov, writer

Every city has its landmark street. In Paris it is Montmartre, in London it is Carnaby Street — and in Kyiv it is Andriyivsky Descent. A street with a soul, a character, and a legend. Here Mikhail Bulgakov grew up and wrote his early works, here architect Rastrelli left his mark in stone, and here you will find Landscape Alley — Ukraine’s first art park, often compared to Gaudí’s Park Güell in Barcelona.

This tour is for you if you want to know:

• the history and legends of this legendary street
• where did Mikhail Bulgakov live, and how did Kyiv inspire his writing?
• why does the “Richard the Lionheart” castle have such a nickname?
• was Andriyivsky Descent once Kyiv’s “Red Light District”?
• where is the most “crying” mountain in Kyiv?
• what fairy-tale characters live on Landscape Alley?

“History is a witness of the past, the light of truth, the living memory, the teacher of life, the messenger of antiquity.”
— Cicero

The oldest cathedral in Kyiv, the largest collection of 11th-century mosaics and frescoes, the main church of Kievan Rus — it’s all about St. Sophia Cathedral, the living memory of our city. Founded in 1037 by Yaroslav the Wise, the cathedral survived the Mongol-Tatar invasion, the destruction of Kyiv by Crimean Khan Mengli I Giray, the revolution of 1917, and the Second World War. Today it stands as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the most remarkable monuments of medieval Europe.

This tour is for you if you want to know:

• when and how was St. Sophia Cathedral built?
• where are Yaroslav the Wise and his wife Iryna buried?
• what is the “Inviolable Wall” and what makes it miraculous?
• what did Mikhail Vrubel paint inside the cathedral?
• how did the cathedral survive centuries of wars, fires, and Soviet rule?

“To forget the victims is to kill them a second time.”
— Elie Wiesel, Holocaust survivor and Nobel Peace Prize laureate

Babi Yar is a ravine in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv and one of the most tragic sites of the Second World War. The most documented Nazi massacre here took place on September 29–30, 1941, when 33,771 Jewish men, women, and children were shot in just two days. In total, between 100,000 and 150,000 people were killed at Babi Yar — Jews, Roma, Ukrainian patriots, and prisoners of war. This private 3-hour car tour will take you to the memorial complex with a professional guide who brings the history to life.

This tour is for you if you want to know:

• what was the official pretext used by the Nazis to carry out the massacres at Babi Yar?
• how did this ravine get its name, and what does it mean?
• how many people were killed here, and over what period of time?
• which famous writers, artists, and public figures perished at Babi Yar?
• how did the world come to learn about what happened here, and why was it kept silent for decades?