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It was October ... a great time to travel! They say that autumn is a time of blues and depression, but if you do not get bored at home, but spend an interesting time, then no blues will even come close! Self P trip to Lvivgave us a great opportunity to see the beauty of the legendary city, learn its history and brighten up the autumn atmosphere.
Lion city
The most beautiful city located in the west of Ukraine. The incredible atmosphere of Lviv attracts tourists from all over the world. It is considered one of the largest and most unique cities in our country. Lviv irreproachably deserves the title of the cultural capital of Ukraine. The city owes its majestic name to King Daniel of Galician, who named it after his son Leo. It is no coincidence that a sculpture of the king of animals is often found on the facades of houses and cultural heritage, because Lviv is also called the Lion City.
Travel to Lviv by train
Our trip to Lviv fell on weekdays and we managed to buy train tickets without any problems. From Kiev to Lviv, approximately 600 km. Compartment tickets in both directions cost UAH 300. per person. The road took about 8 hours. It's good that there is a night train and at 7 in the morning we were already there. Lviv is beautiful in its own way in the morning.
Finding housing will not be difficult. Apartments and excursions are often offered at train stations. We found it upon arrival, but you can also book online in advance. An apartment in the center of Lviv was waiting for us in two hours, and we could easily walk the quiet morning streets of the city. There are almost no people, and the captivating aroma of Lviv coffee is in the air. It is not for nothing that Lviv is also called the "coffee capital"; on the streets you can see cozy coffee houses where an aromatic drink is brewed. In the morning this is what you need!
Market Square Lviv
Cheered up, we headed towards the main Market Square. It is considered the heart of the city. If you rent an apartment in the center of Lviv, then everything is close enough and can be reached on foot. Moreover, in order to feel the city and its special atmosphere, you need to penetrate into it, so to speak, from the inside. What we did! Our apartment was located right next to Market Square on Staroevreiskaya street. Good conditions for 300 UAH per day with three people. Usually check-in at 12 noon, but we were checked in at 9 am, this is another plus of trips on a weekday.
Since we agreed with the guide for 11, we had two hours at our disposal and we could go shopping and buy, chew something. And since we came to rest, we wanted a little liquid to dilate blood vessels, but surprisingly, all alcoholic drinks in Lviv are sold from 10 o'clock in the morning. And while Tanya and I were mastering a new kitchen in our rented apartment, Vitya was on duty at the store.)
Having relaxed a little and tuned in to the right wave, we went to the Cathedral of St. George. Where the guide was waiting for us. We were very lucky with her, it was not in vain that Vitya spent the whole evening looking at the ads. I was amazed with what love and pride she told about Lvov. It's nice that for a person this is not only work, but also a piece of her soul that she shared with us.
The tour of the Old Town was very exciting. It harmoniously combines antiquity and modernity. It is here that the main sights of Lviv are located. In addition, the Lion City is very rich in spiritual values. A large number of amazing temples of different confessions are located on its territory. The article Sights of Lviv gives a more detailed description with a photo, as well as a map of the sights of Lviv.
The architecture of the city is quite diverse and combines many different styles. The influence of Poland and the Austro-Hungarian Empire in the old days contributed to its versatility. Wealthy magnates invited outstanding artisans from different parts of Europe, who rebuilt the city of such extraordinary beauty.
Despite the fact that October, the weather was amazing, the sun played with cheerful rays. The atmosphere in Lviv is incomparable! We didn't even feel like we ran through the three hours of our excursion. How many were seen and heard, that thoughts, involuntarily got confused in my head!
Lviv cafes are the highlight of the city. We left this exciting route for the evening. Having worked up an appetite for a day's walk, we were looking forward to meeting them!Lviv Restaurants very colorful, in most of the establishments awaited us extraordinary adventures!
Thematic cafes are a specialty of Lviv. Interesting design, the acting of the waiters, everything looks very impressive on the whole. They handcuffed us, demanded some kind of "Gaslo", in the third one they brought us a menu without prices at all! In general, they scoffed as they wanted!
Lviv City Hall
It was hard to get up the next day. The “shooting songs” that we tried to sing along with the day before did not subside in my head. The second day of acquaintance with Lviv was no less exciting. One of the highest points of the city is located on Market Square - the building of the city administration, or in other words Lviv City Hall.
Local leaders are friendly and hospitable to tourists and allow for a small fee, only 5 UAH. climb to the roof of the building and enjoy the beautiful view. Although it was not easy for us to get up after yesterday's gatherings, it was worth it. And despite the fact that it was raining lightly, it was incredible to look at Lviv from a height. We recognized the places and streets where we walked yesterday, they could be seen at a glance. It is a breathtaking sight to look at Lviv from above.
An iconic place in Lviv is considered Lychakiv cemetery ... It is located not far from the Market Square. Walk about 20 minutes. We did not miss the opportunity to visit there. This place amazed us! It was surprisingly calm at heart - not typical for such places. Outstanding people rightfully rest there - poets, politicians, writers, as well as those who died during the Great Patriotic War. The sculptures that adorn each grave in the cemetery are a work of art.
At the moment there is no metro in the city, they are only planning to build it. It is a little unaccustomed that you have to pay for the fare when you get off the minibus. We have already encountered this in Odessa.
A kerosene lamp was invented for the first time in Lviv. During my childhood, there was often no electricity in the villages, and my grandmother would light such a lamp. She was very helpful at the time. In Lviv, we even met a cafe dedicated to this subject, it was called "Gasov's lamp restaurant". There we tasted Lviv beer. On request, it can be ordered with different flavor mixes. And you get a type of birmix, for example, with cherry or lemon flavor.
Summary. So our breathtaking one flew by independent trip to Lviv to the amazingly beautiful city of Ukraine ... I hope I was able to convey the atmosphere of beautiful Lviv. and the one who is still only thinking: - Where to go for a weekend in Ukraine! Go to Lviv and you will not regret it for a moment! Our trip to Lviv left unforgettable impressions in my memory! Lviv was the first city where we made a joint trip with our beloved, so it is special for us.
Not so long ago, we carried out a travel route in Western Ukraine, it included Ternopil - Zbarazh - - - Chortkov - Skala-Podolskaya- Kamyanets Podolsky - Khotyn - Medzhybizh.
- Don't take a lot of things with you (if you are traveling for a couple of days). It will be convenient to take a backpack or a small travel bag, so that after checking out, you can walk with it without straining and enjoy the city
- Comfortable shoes are a guarantee of good mood until the end of the excursion day
- Check-in and check-out at 12 + - half an hour for cleaning if someone lived before you
- Alcohol is sold in stores from 10 am
- For girls. If you are going to go to monasteries or churches, and there are a lot of them, it is advisable to take a headscarf with you.
How to find budget housing in Lviv
Cheap accommodation or hotels in Lviv can be found through the hotellook booking system, we use it ourselves, checked. The convenience of the service is that it compares the prices of dozens of booking systems - you just have to choose the best offer for yourself and buy.
Renting an apartment in Lviv
Very convenient and fast options - renting apartments and apartments in Ukraine through the services hotels24.ua and dobovo.com
How to buy cheap flights to Lviv
You can buy a flight to Lviv directly on the website of the airlines, but it is most profitable to use the offers of flights in the direction of Aviasales, the unit that we use ourselves. The service selects the most advantageous offers, in terms of prices and destinations - you just have to choose the best one for the price, departure time or your favorite airline.
Proven resources that help us save when
independent travel planning
We have compiled a list of useful and proven resources that we ourselves use when traveling. They help us save time, money and hassle.
Aviasales- budget air tickets around the world.
Buruki- also search for air tickets around the world.
hotellook- Search budget accommodation, hotels and apartments around the world and across all popular booking sites, including Agoda, Booking.com and other popular booking engines.
hotels24.ua- a familiar and convenient search and booking of accommodation in Ukraine.
dobovo.com
If you dream of having a good rest in Lviv, it is better to plan a tourist route to the sights in advance, as well as look for accommodation for daily rent. Every year more and more people come to this city, and this is not surprising, because it amazingly combines the features of a modern European city and the atmosphere of a cozy antiquity. Where to go here and where to stay?
Rest in Lviv for everyone
First of all, of course, it is worth finding a room (room) for temporary residence. This can be, for example, one of the many Lviv hotels, examples of which are presented below.
- · "Opera" - from UAH 1040;
- · "Saint Feder" - from 884 UAH;
- · "Paradise Apple" - from 599 UAH;
- · "Eney" - from 502 UAH;
- "Plasma" - from 402 UAH.
If you want to explore more sights, then you probably won't need a luxurious suite for relaxation, the cost of which can go up to UAH 2000-2500 per day. It will have not only a spacious room with a wide bed, but also different "chips" such as spa treatments, saunas, huge pools and so on, but think: is it so important to you? You can make sure that prices are very different - it all depends on the quality of the service. In addition to hotels, vacation in Lviv can be organized with the help of rented apartments. Their average price will be 200-250 UAH. Mini-hotels are in about the same price range - another great type of accommodation for tourists. Finally, you can check into one of the hostels.
- Hostel on Russkaya - 100 UAH;
- "Comfort Plus" - 90 UAH;
- Shelter - 80 UAH;
- Compass Inn - from 60 UAH;
- "Kurmanovich" - from 50 UAH.
Lviv is also ready to offer its guests various apartments for daily rent, prices for which are in the range of 175-375 UAH. For maximum savings, it is best to choose a hostel: large companies can settle in it, while everyone will have to pay about 75 UAH.
What are the prices for rest in Lviv today?
If you are going to the glorious Ukrainian city as a tourist, then you are probably wondering what are the prices for rest in Lviv. Fortunately, despite the beauty and grandeur of Lviv, you can have a great time here, paying a relatively small amount. And if you set yourself a goal, then there is nothing easier than visiting interesting excursions, staying in good rooms and dine in cozy restaurants for little money.
Rest in Lviv: what a tourist shouldn't miss
Those people who have traveled to Lviv several times on the go can advise at least five places worth visiting. Rather, it will be a list of pubs and restaurants, since they are very unusual here. We will try to structure the information in such a way that you can plan your trip to Lviv and have time to visit the most interesting places.
Churches and cathedrals
Cathedrals occupy a special place in Lviv architecture. Since for the most part in Western Ukraine the Catholic faith predominates, then the shrines here are appropriate. This was influenced by the peoples' settlements who lived here and helped build the city. So, temples and cathedrals that cannot be left unnoticed:
- Church of Saints Olga and Elizabeth (Kropyvnytsky Square, 1)
- Latin Cathedral (Archcathedral Basilica of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary) (Cathedral Square, 1)
- Dominican Cathedral (Church of the Holy Eucharist) (Museum Square, 1)
- Armenian Cathedral (st.Armenian 7/13)
- Cathedral of Saint Jura (Saint Jura Square, 5)
- Jesuit Church (Church of St. Peter and St. Paul) (Teatralna str., 11)
- Temple of the Archangel Michael (Vynnychenko St., 20)
- Kornyakt Tower (st.Russkaya, 7)
- Church of St. Nicholas Peace of Lycia the Wonderworker (Zolochivshchyna) (28 Bohdan Khmelnitsky St.).
A cup of coffee in Lviv
After enjoying the marvelous architecture of the shrines, you will want to drink a cup of aromatic coffee. For Lviv, this drink is a kind of visiting card. You can go to any cafe and everywhere you will be served delicious coffee. But if you want to try it in the very best places, and even have a snack with Lviv cheesecake or chocolate desserts, then go here:
- Lviv kopalnja coffee (Lviv kopalnja kavi) (Rynok square, 10)
- Pid Klepsidroy (Dzia) (street Armenian, 35)
- Videnska kav'yarnya (Austrian coffee house) (Avenue Svobody, 12)
- Golden ducat (Ivan Fedorov st., 20)
- Fresco (street Krakowska, 10)
- Tsukernya (st.Staroyevreyskaya, 3)
- Medellin (Koliivshchyna square, 1)
- Mapa (st.Galitskaya, 4)
- Cinnamon (Vygovskogo str., 100).
Walking in beautiful places
- Park Vysoky Zamok is a huge ennobled territory where there is Zamkovaya Hill, from where a view of the city opens (Zamkovaya st.).
- Lviv City Hall is a place where you can take beautiful photos, as well as look at the center of Lviv from a height of 65 meters. It is located in the building of the city administration at the address: Market Square, 1.
- Lychakiv cemetery is not just a cemetery, but a whole museum. Tombs, chapels, tombstones - all this is a beautiful architecture. Ivan Franko and other famous personalities are buried here. A place worth visiting for sure. Address: st. Mechnikov, 33.
- The Opera House is beautiful and majestic, which in its appearance can be compared with the Odessa and Vienna opera houses. If you don't want to attend the show, then just go on a guided tour. Address: ave. Freedom, 28.
- Market Square - well, here you will find yourself in any case, walking around Lviv. Old houses, fountains, shops and a festive atmosphere.
Where to eat in Lviv
Have worked up your appetite, and now it's time to refresh yourself. There are a lot of thematic establishments in Lviv, where, in addition to satisfying hunger, you will get impressions:
- Kryivka (Market Square, 14)
- Mazokh (Serbskaya str., 7)
- House of Legends (st.Staroyevreyskaya, 48)
- Zhidovskaya knaypa "Under the golden rose" (Staroevreyskaya st., 37)
- Masonic Lodge (Naydorozhcha restaurant Galichini) (Market Square, 14, 2nd floor)
- The first grill restaurant for meat and justice (Valovaya st., 20)
- Restaurant-Museum "Post on Drukarskiy" (Drukarskaya st., 3)
- Gasova lamp (street Armenian, 20).
Here is a list, thanks to which you can make your route.
We hope that your stay will be pleasant and memorable with positive moments.
Lviv is a beautiful city, the architecture and atmosphere of which have absorbed many European features.
But, despite the popularity, the cost of accommodation and excursions is more than affordable here.
Arriving here, you can have a wonderful rest!
How to see Lviv on your own when you have a limited budget, but at the same time fully enjoy its atmosphere and not miss the most important thing. We will share our personal experience of the trip and tell you which excursion in Lviv is best to take, which route to take, where you can stay in Lviv, where to save money and what to look for. So, an independent trip - a tour to Lviv for three days.
The first day
Lviv is open to the whole world. Hospitality is at the municipal level, and therefore you can get a tour ... for 0 hryvnia.
Your task is to get to the heart of Lviv -. Tram number 1 goes there directly from the railway station.
note: unlike many other Ukrainian cities, there are no conductors in Lviv trams. The ticket must be bought from the driver and must be stamped. Otherwise, you risk getting to the inspector and paying a fine.
In the center of the Market Square is the famous one. The communal tourist information center is also located here. You orientate for free where to go, tell about festivals and events, give excellent guidebooks and a very successful map of Lviv. There is free Wi-Fi in the square.
Photo source: touristclub.kiev.ua.
You can also download a virtual tour on the official tourist website of the city - here's a free guide for you. We sit down on a bench or in one of the cute cafes. We take aromatic coffee and Lviv pastries: enjoy and decide on the places we want to visit.
Advice: from experience we recommend or. "Plyatski" - this is delicious pies-syrniki and strudels. In the digging mine, coffee is extracted from the ground. We'll have to put on a helmet - how can it be without it! You not only buy a cup of Lviv coffee (or a bag of ground coffee with you), but also get a guided tour.
Our route
Photo source: grodnensis.by.
Park High Castle
Every tourist should visit this place. We turn from the Powder Tower to Vynnychenko Street, then to Krivonos Street, Knyazhuya - they will lead us to the highest point of Lviv, covered with legends -. We climb the mountain through the picturesque old park.
Only fragments of the walls remain from the medieval castle. But there is a stunning observation deck, from where you can see both old and new quarters of Lviv. And you can take great souvenir photos.
Photo source: ukraineallaboutu.com.
Advice: you can see the whole old Lviv at once, while cycling along its streets. This is a very popular transport in Lviv. You can rent it: there are points on the Market Square. And since 2015, the Lviv mayor's office begins to develop municipal bicycle parking: you can take a bike at one point in the city and leave it at another.
Second day
Let's devote it to more distant corners of Lviv. We sit on the tram (№2, 7) or in the minibus. From tram number 2 we get off at the Lychakivska Street stop. On the right side is the Church of Peter and Paul. From it, along Mechnikov Street, go to. And tram number 7 will bring you straight there.
Lychakiv cemetery
This is a historical and cultural reserve, where graves from the 17th century have been preserved. There are wonderful monuments - masterpieces of sculpture and 23 chapels-tombs where wealthy Lviv citizens were buried. Recently, even a know-how has appeared: night excursions to the Lychakiv cemetery.
Photo source: wikimedia.org.
Price: entrance - 10 UAH, excursion - 50 UAH.
Shevchenko's guy
Photo source: lvivforyou.com.
Behind it is the house of the famous Lviv curmudgeon - the merchant Sprecher. He saved on food, spared money for a tram, but he built a house higher than it was supposed to in Lviv. You will see a house with two towers and many more beautiful buildings on Svoboda Avenue.
On Doroshenko street (parallel to Copernicus) we take a tram and return to the old city, on.
Advice: We say goodbye to hospitable Lviv in the famous (Rynok Square, 14), without it the picture will be incomplete. You will not notice the entrance, but next to you are already familiar "Plyatski" ... Knock on what looks like a boarded up window and say "Glory to Ukraine!" At the entrance you will be poured mead. Be sure to order Zenik beer, it is only available in the emotional cafes of Lviv. And enjoy the flavor of the UPA refuge! And at the exit - another excursion ...
Why, of all the cities of the near abroad, it is Lviv that has become so much in demand among the Belarusians?
There are several reasons for this:
- there is a very developed tourist infrastructure that is constantly being updated;
- it's cheap there (it's more expensive to rest in Belarus);
- it is a very beautiful old European city, atmospheric, with many attractions.
Market Square
To visit Lviv, you can contact a travel agency: probably each one now has offers of short tours there. It is quite convenient for the first visit: they will take you there, put you in, organize a couple of excursions and give advice on how to spend your free time. You will pay for this from 140 rubles (one night in Lviv).
But what if you don't want to go to the standard program? Take matters into your own hands and go on your own. And you can spend your time and money the way you want it. There is nothing complicated about it. How to get to Lviv, how much it costs and what to visit - read below.
When to go
Lviv is beautiful at any time of the year. But the best times to visit it are when there are festive street fairs in the center. And this is about a month for Christmas and New Year and the same amount during Easter and May holidays. The fairs are full of food and drinks, souvenirs, handicrafts, honey, local products like sausages and cheeses. The Christmas market is especially captivating, with gingerbread houses in garlands and corresponding music. However, New Year's Lviv generally looks like it came off an old postcard.
On New Years holidays
Evening Lviv in New Year
On the other hand, during these periods in Lviv there are a huge number of tourists, it can be difficult to get through in the center, queues in restaurants in the evening, prices are higher. Therefore, if you want to get to know the city better, it makes sense to come at a different time. For example, in golden autumn - she is very beautiful in Lviv.
It is best to spend three to four days in the city.
There are a lot of diversified housing in Lviv and for every wallet. If you want to live in the very center, in a good location and at a good price, book in advance. If you are traveling on holidays, then look for housing in at least a month, and preferably two. On holidays, prices soar two or three times, and all the same, all housing is dismantled long before the desired date. Sometimes you have to write two or three dozen emails to apartment owners to find a suitable option.
Staroevreyskaya street
Prices in hostels, incl. in the center, start at $ 5 or even $ 3 per bed (bunk beds, dormitory room for 4-20 people). At the same time, already for 15 dollars you can rent a good one-room apartment for two in the center, and for 25 dollars - an excellent one. Good downtown two-room apartments for four start at $ 20. On holidays, especially on New Years, a decent 1-room apartment in the very center will cost from $ 40. per day, 2-room apartment - from $ 70.
You need to rent apartments via the Internet. There are intermediary websites that carry out your prepayment and guarantee the service. But they also take a decent commission from the owner, which he includes in the price, so the rental price on such sites is higher. But you are protected from fraud and will definitely be settled in the chosen apartment. The most convenient ones are the Ukrainian website dobovo.com (when booking, an advance payment for the first day is taken) and the world airbnb.com (when booking, you pay for the entire stay at once - it is possible that when you check in, you will be told a different price, there will be no "Real" money). Good sites that are not intermediaries are doba.ua and miete.com.ua. But when the owner asks you for a prepayment to a card or account, you cannot be sure that he is an honest person. In a word, it's up to you to choose.
Things to do
There are many interesting museums in Lviv: art, history, museum-pharmacy (in the building of a pharmacy that has been operating since 1735), a museum of weapons in a former gunpowder warehouse with meter-long walls, a beer museum at the Lviv brewery (where tastings are held), a museum of rural life under open air in the Shevchenko Hai park, the most impressive is the museum of victims of the occupation regimes in the building of the former prison, and others. And also cathedrals, palaces, parks, theaters ... Many people will be interested in the Lychakiv cemetery: it is more than two hundred years old, there are many unique tombs and gravestone sculptures and the corresponding atmosphere.
Cathedral Square
You should also go to the High Castle Mountain. There is almost nothing left of the old castle, but there is an excellent viewing platform on the mountain itself. And the last (and most difficult) thing is to climb the Lviv City Hall. It stands in the very heart of the city, on Rynok Square. Its 65-meter tower offers stunning views of the center and the surrounding area. And this is difficult because there is no elevator - you have to overcome 408 wooden steps on a narrow spiral staircase. But it's worth it.
View of the High Castle and the Cathedral of St. George
In addition to attractions, you can visit Lviv shopping and entertainment centers. A kilometer from the center there is a Forum, on the outskirts - King Cross Leopolis. In the first - shops and a cinema using IMAX technology (super-volumetric 3D picture and a screen the size of a 5-storey building), in the second - the same, only there are much more shops and brands, and there is also a huge grocery hypermarket "Auchan" and the construction "Epicenter" ".
What to buy
Tea, coffee, spices and other groceries, chocolate in the "Chocolate Workshop", Ukrainian cognac and wine, branded Lviv liqueurs and liqueurs. Clothes and footwear in company stores. Handicrafts in souvenir shops. Cosmetics in the chain stores "Watsons", "Eva", "Prostore" (there it is much cheaper than in Belarus). Imported medicines (prices can be checked on the Internet. For example, Teraflex 120 capsules in Lviv costs 40 rubles instead of 56 rubles in our country). Finishing materials, appliances, household goods.
In general, we can say that almost all products and goods in Ukraine are cheaper than in Belarus. But do not forget that there are strict restrictions on the import of goods across the border into the Republic of Belarus.
Lviv is a gastronomic paradise for little money. Actually, for this, many go there. It makes no sense even to list good restaurants - there are dozens, if not hundreds of them. And I do not want to advise: this is the case when it is better to try everything yourself. Look at the reviews on the Internet, tripadvisor.com will help you make your choice.
We should also mention the restaurant chain, which has probably become one of the main reasons for the influx of tourists to Lviv in the last decade. At the moment, there are 18 restaurants in the “Holding of emotions“ Fest ”", each with its own unique concept: a coffee mine, a forest hideout of the OUN-UPA, a beer theater ... Many of them themselves are attractions and almost museums, and there they also serve delicious food. and often inexpensive. If you are told about some special restaurant in Lviv, most likely it is from this chain.
At the Christmas market
In addition, when street fairs are held in Lviv, a lot of incredibly delicious food and drinks are sold there.
Lviv is famous for its coffee, which is prepared there in every possible way and is always good. And also chocolate and strong liqueurs. And, of course, Galician cuisine, all variations of which are offered by local restaurants.
You can have breakfast in Lviv for 4-8 rubles. per person, lunch up to 10 rubles. There are many establishments in the center offering inexpensive complexes. A dinner of two or three excellent dishes will cost 15-30 rubles per person, most often this will be enough for drinks. Alcohol is harmful to health, but for completeness, we note that ordinary draft beer in good restaurants in Lviv costs 2.30 rubles. per glass, craft - 3-3.50 rubles.
Life hack. In the aforementioned restaurant chain, there is a general loyalty card "Locale", which allows you to accumulate about 10% of the amount spent in a restaurant on a bonus account, from which you can pay for future purchases in the network. To get a card, ask your waiter. One "but" - bonuses are counted only one day after payment.
At the Christmas market
It is necessary to take into account
Exchange offices are in the city center at every step, the exchange rate is almost the same in all. Bank cards are accepted in most places of trade and catering. All restaurants in Lviv are non-smoking. Alcohol in Lviv is sold in stores only from 10.00 to 22.00.
Transport. Public transport in Lviv is somewhat chaotic (except for trams) and slow, but taxis are cheap. For example, it costs 7 rubles to drive 9 km from the center to a large shopping center on the outskirts. In addition, Uber works. So if you are thinking of going somewhere outside the center, take a taxi. But taking cars "from the side" here, as elsewhere, is not worth it.
Connection. Wherever there is a cafe, there is Wi-fi. But if you are traveling for 3 days or more, plan to travel around the city, you will need a mobile connection. At any kiosk you can buy a local SIM card with enough traffic and minutes, no passport is needed. Any operator - you can ask the seller for advice. At the end of the trip, you can even throw out such a SIM card - there is no monthly fee on the tariff.
Lviv tram in front of the Arsenal
How to get there?
Airplane Minsk-Lviv
Flights are daily. From Minsk at 13.10, from Lviv at 15.20. Fly a little over an hour. In Lviv, you can get from the airport to the center by public transport. It costs 285 rubles. in both directions (the cheapest ticket, non-refundable). Another minibus to Minsk 7 rubles. and to the airport 4 rubles.
Pros. The fastest and most comfortable way is to shop at the duty-free shop.
Market Square and Town Hall (right)
Minuses. Expensive.
Total in two directions. 307 r
With a transfer in Kiev
The option is more likely for young people who are not afraid of difficulties.
Pros. Cheap, interesting, you can walk around Kiev.
Minuses. Long, tiring, it is better not to take large suitcases.
There is a direct bus Minsk-Kiev via Bobruisk (daily, dep. 21.05, approx. 5.20), it costs 28 rubles. But if the soul craves adventure, you can go with transfers in Zhlobin, Gomel and even in Chernigov. This will save you no more than 5 rubles one way. But on the other hand, you can come to Kiev later and not spend the night on the bus.
The best way. There is a fast train to Gomel (dep. 8.36, approx. 10.23) with seated carriages. It costs 8 rubles. Then a bus to Kiev at 11.30 (approx. 17.30, costs 14 rubles).
It makes no sense to take a ticket to Lviv on a morning or afternoon train - it is better to take a night train and arrive at your destination the next day. So you will have enough time to get around the whole center of Kiev. The main thing is to first arrive at the railway station, buy or issue a ticket to Lviv at the ticket office, which you bought online, and leave your bags in the storage room. And you can safely walk until late.
Several trains leave from Kiev to Lviv between 9 and 11 pm. But the best in terms of time and price is Lisichansk-Uzhgorod (dep. 22.51, approx. 8.05). A compartment in it costs about 13 rubles.
There are enough trains back. The main thing is to catch the bus to Gomel, which departs from Kiev at 11.30 and costs 19 rubles.
Streets of Lviv
Total in two directions. About 75 rubles.
Useful web addresses:
Railway tickets in Belarus: www.poezd.rw.by
Railway tickets in Ukraine: www.booking.uz.gov.ua
Bus tickets in Belarus: www.ticketbus.by
By car
Option for car enthusiasts on cars with good suspension. It is recommended to travel with a company of four people: this way it will also be the most economical of all. In terms of time, the road takes 10-12 hours along with the border crossing.
Pros. Cheap, freedom of action, everything is under your control.
Minuses. There are very bad road sections; you can stay at the border for a long time; tiresome. Difficulties with parking in Lviv.
Koliivshchyna square and an old car equipped with a mini-coffee shop
Ukrainian roads are known for their deplorable condition. There are also excellent tracks, new and perfectly smooth, and most of them end up on routes to Lviv. But these are international highways. And the rest of the roads are usually either just bad or terrible. So you can go on vacation to Ukraine in your car, but, firstly, you need to carefully study Internet forums and traveler reviews and choose the best route (the lesser of evils). And secondly, it is better to do this on a reliable car with a strong energy-intensive suspension and a rather large ground clearance.
So, let's begin.
The decision about the trip was ripe for me for a long time, but I clearly decided to go, I decided literally the day before the trip. Surprisingly, I ordered round-trip tickets on the UZ website without any problems. Moreover, now progress has stepped to such heights that railway tickets can not only be paid for on the Internet, but also printed without going to the box office. At first I was surprised by the unusual email with ready-made tickets and unknowingly poked my head into the box office, but there was a traditional hell with incomprehensible queues and stuffiness, so I made inquiries and printed the tickets on my own stupidly on A4 and we went without problems to Lviv there-and- back. (This possibility is relevant only for domestic Ukrainian trains).
1) The cost of our tickets for compartment cars averaged $ 10 per ticket for a distance of more than 350 km. It's practically for nothing, I think. Moreover, there and back, except for us, there was no one in the compartment (we were driving like in SV) and we generally felt comfortable despite the venerable age of the cars and the drunken company of raguli in the next compartment on the way there. This is the beauty of traveling on a weekday. The Dnipropetrovsk-Truskavets train is very patriotic. 
2) We arrived at the Lviv station at about 6 o'clock in the morning and met the dawn on the train. Fog-covered morning fields are beautiful. And the Lviv station is no less beautiful. He immediately tunes in to the architectural masterpieces of the city center. Near the station, we took the first tram number 1, which arrived at 6 am. (Important! On weekends, it runs from 7 am, which is inconvenient for tourists but allows Lviv residents to sleep). 
3) Trams in Lviv are old and without conductors. In this regard, Vinnytsia with our Swiss is a cut above. If Lviv also had the same trams as in Vinnitsa, it would be a fairy tale, and we would dream of the same rails as in the center of Lviv. Once on the tram, tickets must be bought from the driver (the cost is 2 UAH against our 1.50 UAH) and composted (Back to USSR). 
4) After about 20 minutes we got off at the Ploscha Rynok stop, which is the very center of the tourist old Lviv. In the morning it is cool and quiet, but everything is closed, so we climbed the Castle Hill, around which a park was laid at the end of the 19th century, and an observation deck was made at the top. 
5) Even when we were in Lviv for the first time, we easily found our way there and at about 7 in the morning we were above all 800,000 residents of the city. 
6) From there, gorgeous landscapes open up to Lviv and its surroundings. The mountain got its name in honor of the royal castle, which, unfortunately, was dismantled for building materials in the 18th century and only a small piece of the fortress wall remained from it, behind which, excuse me, it does not smell like chamomiles. Organize there next to some kind of toilet or something, otherwise there really is nowhere to go except for the ruins of the wall. 
7) But the park itself is very shady and with many old trees. Walking there in the morning is very pleasant and invigorating. Found there a monument to Maxim Krivonos, which is like two drops of water similar to the Vinnytsia monument to Ivan Bohun. Oh, this Soviet typical architecture ... 
8) By 8 in the morning we had already managed to go down the mountain, take a picture with Leopold Von Sacher-Masoch near the cafe of the same name 
9) and again find yourself on Ploshcha Rynok, where several establishments have already opened, in particular "Kopalnya Kavi", which is located in the former Palace of the Lubomirsky family. 
10) Kopalnya is a wonderful example of how to create not just a coffee shop, but an institution where tourists flock in droves. They came up with a cool legend that coffee was mined here, like coal, and they organized a chic labyrinth in the basement with an entourage of a coffee mine for everyone with free entrance. 
11) I highly recommend visiting. Of course, the coffee there is not cheap, but very high quality, and in gratitude to the imagination of the creators of the establishment, my wife and I drank a cup of aromatic drink. 
12) After Kopalny, we went for a walk along the streets of Old Lviv, walked to the impressive Church of St. Andrew 
13) and the Bernardine monastery, in the cozy courtyard of which we rode on a swing, 
14) and then looked at the flower clock under the walls of the monastery. 
15) We agreed and the guide Roman for 70 UAH per person walked with us around the center for 2 hours and told interesting details from the history of the city. We visited the roof of the House of Legends 
16) on Staroyevreiskaya street, 
17) stood at the ruins of the synagogue, 
18) bypassed Arsenal, 
19) visited the courtyard of the Assumption Church 
20) and inside the Dominican Cathedral. 
21) Then we walked around the Market Square and heard stories about individual houses and the city hall. 
A very interesting excursion ended at about 13:00. In general, in the center, a lot of people unobtrusively offered us the services of tour guides and I liked this approach to tourists. I have not seen anything like this in our country.
We had lunch at the "Naidorozhchy Restaurant of Galicia" where the native Lviv resident Vova took us vovando
and where we had a wonderful lunch for about 40 hryvnia per person. In general, Lviv prices are the same or slightly higher than in Vinnitsa, but the level of establishments and the quality of service are much higher. Vova turned out to be a pleasant companion and we eventually met in the evening, but more on that later.
22) After lunch, Lesya and I decided to walk to the Opera House where we were a lot of city noise and an abundance of cars. Lviv drivers are certainly better educated than Odessa drivers, but in Vinnitsa they are much more willing to give way at unregulated crossings. The fountain near the opera house was not impressive due to the chaotic movement around children and their parents in rental electric cars and a huge noise load. Please remove this booth from there. I would like to listen to the noise of the fountain, not the noise of electric motors. 
The trip to the Opera House so unsettled us that after that we rushed to a quiet cafe and drank cold kvass there in the shade for about an hour and came to our senses.
23) Cheered up, we decided to climb the Town Hall Tower thanks to numerous recommendations. The City Hall houses the city administration, which does not prevent crowds of tourists from entering. The ascent to the observation deck of the Tower costs only 10 UAH, but requires good physical shape, since the steps inside are very narrow and steep. But after climbing from the observation deck, a gorgeous panorama of the entire Old Lviv opens. 
24) Be sure to go there! At this point I will make a small remark to the city authorities of Vinnitsa. Organize the same observation deck at our Tower! 
25) At the top of Old Lviv, we got a charge of positive emotions, especially when the bell of the main clock of the city struck right above our ear :) 
By the way, during the ascent to the tower there is an opportunity to see the clock mechanism. But during the descent it is even more pleasant to do it))
26) After the descent, we dined on delicious ice cream in a cafe right on the square at a very affordable price. Then Vova called and made me happy that after 21:00 he would be free and we could have dinner together. Until that time, we still had a few hours and, on the advice of friends, we issued a tourist card and received a card of the central part from the holding! FEST called JUST LVIV IT! I highly recommend it to beginners. You can get it at 10 Market Square in the souvenir shop next to Kopalnya. In the picture on the bottom right, where the crowd of tourists. 
27) Thanks to this card, we visited such wonderful establishments as "Lvivska Mysternya for Chocolate" and "Gasova Lyampa". It's hard to surprise me, but they succeeded. The atmosphere inside is impossible to convey with photographs and stories. Just come and be inside. These scents and interiors are just fabulous. Then we walked along the Armenian street filled with cafes and took a picture together on the steps of the Dominican Cathedral. By chance, this particular photo became the 15000th on my fotik. 
28) Our legs already demanded a rest and until 21:30 we just sat near the Town Hall, where Vova came running after us, with burning eyes right after the photo courses. He turned out to be a big fan of photography and I want to wish him new creative achievements in terms of photography. Then Vova and I went to the restaurant "Persha Lvivska Grill Restaurant M" Yasa Ta Pravdlivosti ", since going to some pizzeria in Lviv is quite banal. black clothes are the executioner and in general everything is very cool. Vova insisted that we drink 100 grams of the branded "Mead" to warm up, after which the conversation became more intense and we already talked like old friends)) Then they brought us delicious potatoes and a board of various fried homemade sausages for 92 hryvnia, which the three of us barely mastered. 
In addition, I washed down the whole thing with beer "White Lion" and wanted to spend the night right there on a cozy rack, but, unfortunately, we bought return tickets and at about midnight Vova took us to the Opera building and warmly said goodbye to our new Lviv friend, my wife and I walked along the night Lviv towards the railway station.
At about one o'clock in the morning we were already on the platform where we were just given the domestic Ukrainian train Lvov-Simferopol, which, unfortunately, runs almost empty thanks to the "northern brothers". A year ago, in the middle of summer, buying a ticket for this train the day before the trip was something of a fantasy, and yesterday we were traveling together in a compartment to Vinnitsa. At 8 am we woke up in Zhmerinka and half asleep reached Vinnitsa. This is how our one-day excursion to Lviv ended.
Summing up, I will say that I want to come to Lviv again and again and stay there for at least a couple of days. It is great to relieve stress and spend time with friends. We will be back;)
PS: I ask you to try the lions "yang for the Russian. For me it’s even more important to write the reportage in Russia, but I’ll read more people.