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The capital of West Ukraine was once the easter
outpost of the Habsburg Empire, and fi fty
years of Soviet rule failed to eradicate the
splendour of this architectural pearl, with
the entire city centre featuring on the UNESCO
list of World Heritage Sites. Visitors will
be stunned by the endless intricacies of the
facades that line Lviv’s charmingly old
world cobbled streets, while the many coffee
shops and restaurants of Ukraine’s “Coffee
Capital” are the prefect place to lose
yourself for a few hours amid an ambience
of pure Bohemian charm. |
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This stunning collection of churches, cathedrals
and monastic lodges is the spiritual birthplace
of the Russian Orthodox faith, and sits nestled
in the treelined hills that sweep down to
the ancient Dnipro river in the centre of
the capital city, Kyiv. Dating back to the
mid-eleventh century, the Lavra is a UNESCO
World Heritage Site that is famed for its
deeply spiritual and calm-inducing ambience.
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The southern coastline of the Crimean peninsula
is dotted with the palaces of Tsarist era
grandees, and this gem, with its Arabian sea
facing façade (above, right) and Scottish
Baroque front, is an architectural ensemble
that neatly encapsulates Crimea’s unique
place in history as a crossroads for European
and Middle Eastern cultures. Other Crimean
treasures include the Livadiia Palace, where
Stalin, Churchill and Roosevelt met in 1945
for the famous Yalta conference during World
War II.
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