Don't come to Kiev expecting an abundance of historic panoramas and preserved medieval squares. World War II bombings and communist planners ensured that this city will never be hailed as 'the new Prague'. Stern Constructivist architecture abounds, and the attitude to tourists is largely indifferent, but out of this comes a rare freedom to explore and be explored which has vanished from many ex-Soviet cities.
Despite the harsh hand of history, romantics will still find plenty to inspire them in the Ukrainian capital's monuments. The 11th-century Pecherska Lavra monastery is a treat, from its multiple golden domes right down to the candlelit subterranean caves which house the mummified bodies of medieval monks. Also in the complex is the Museum of Microminiature, a temple to the tiny, where you'll find a flea wearing golden horseshoes and a chess set balanced on the head of a pin.
Cobbles, cafés and chestnut trees comprise the pleasant setting for Kiev's craft market, on Andryivsky Uzviz street, which winds steeply from the Podil port district to the Baroque masterpiece at the summit, St Andrew's church. But it is the 13-domed (and UNESCO-stamped) St Sophia Cathedral that provides the best views of the city from its vertiginous bell tower.
Another market which demands a visit is in Bessarabska Square, under whose tarpaulins you'll find cured hams and ruddy vegetables, as well as jars of black caviar at bargain prices.
The reconstruction of St Michael's Cathedral - a delicious confection of blue, white and gold - which was destroyed by the communists in the 1930s, is one of several admirable projects intended to turn back time and immortalise in stone the resurgent Ukrainian identity.
For those visitors looking for a different type of cultural experience, a similar spirit can be found in the Kiev's bars, nightclubs, bowling and billiard joints, and casinos.
Print >