There are many agencies in Lviv organizing sightseeing bus tours with professional guides – for example, openlviv.com, top-tour.lviv.ua, lviv-tourist.info and many other. Tourists can pick excursions in Ukrainian, Russian, English, Polish, French, German, Italian and other languages. There are many types of sightseeing bus tours throughout Lviv and surroundings, and we offer you to check out what you may see on the most popular routes.
Standard Lviv Sightseeing Tour
Picture: Rynok Square
During a standard 3-hour Lviv sightseeing bus tour, you will see the historical part of the city included into the UNESCO world`s heritage. The bus will take you along the central streets of Lviv, allowing to observe such interesting objects as University of Lviv (ex-Galicia Seim and the one of the oldest Universities of Ukraine established in 1661), Stepan Bandera monument, Lviv Polytechnic founded in 1816, gorgeous House of Scientists, Stryisky park and many other. The excursion includes three stops at the most interesting landmarks. The first one is St. George Cathedral (1764) – an impressive building in the baroque style. The second stop is Lychakivske cemetery – one of the oldest necropolises of the Eastern Europe. Actually, it is a large open-air museum of tomb sculpture. On the territory of the cemetery, you will see graves of the eminent personalities of Ukrainian and Polish culture and politics, clergymen and scientists. The third and the last stop is Vysoky Zamok (the High Castle) – the highest mountain of Lviv that is often called the cradle of the city. Here you will have a chance to enjoy an amazing panorama of Lviv from the bird`s eye view. Standard Lviv sightseeing bus excursions usually start and finish at Galytska square.
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Lviv – the Pearl of Ukraine
Picture: Church of Sts. Olga and Elizabeth
This tour is a good choice for those who are visiting Lviv not for the first time and have already experienced a classic sightseeing excursion. The excursion starts with visiting Noble Casino house (nowadays called House of Scientists) built in 1898. The tourists will have a chance to take a look at the chic façade as well as to go inside and to see luxury interior with glass ceiling, oak stairs and stylish halls. The second stop of the tour will take place at the Church of Sts. Olga and Elizabeth (1911) – the beautiful Neo-Gothic building, the highest building in the city and one of the symbols of Lviv. The excursion also includes seeing ex-Jesuit garden, red villa of the painter Yan Styka (1890), old buildings of Lviv Polytechnic constructed in the end of the XIX century, Gorodotska street (the old way from Lviv to the West) with buildings that keep to historicism and modernism architectural styles, St. Anna`s Cathedral (built in the XVII century), Disabled War Veterans House (1863) that looks like an old castle and many other. “Lvivarnya” Lviv Beer Museum is one of the most important sights during this tour. It is an interactive museum representing the history of brewing with a pleasant bonus of trying several sorts of good Lviv beer in the end of excursion.
Miraculous Train Lviv Sightseeing Tour
Miraculous train (“Chudo-poyizd”) is a perfect sightseeing option for both kids and grown-ups. The comfortable chairs and large panoramic windows in a small colorful train give an opportunity to dive into Lviv`s history for an hour, observing the most important landmarks. During an excursion on a small train, you will see Lviv Statehouse, Powder tower, charming Stary Rynok square, St. Nickolas`s Church (the oldest in Lviv built in the XIII century), Opera House, House of Scientists, University of Lviv, the main Post Office, Potocki Palace, Mykolyash`s drugstore, Adam Mytskevych monument, George hotel, the king Danylo Galitskiy monument and Latin Cathedral. The train works daily from 10 AM till 8 PM. Tours start every 30 minutes on Rynok square. Those who do not speak Ukrainian language are offered audio-guide in English, German, French, Italian, Polish and Russian languages.
“Golden Horseshoe” – the Tour to Lviv Oblast` Castles
Picture: Pidhirtsi castle
If you have already discovered the wonders of Lviv, it is time to explore its surroundings. During 1-day sightseeing tour, traditionally called “Golden Horseshoe”, you will see three main castles of Lviv oblast`. The first one is Olesky castle (75 km from Lviv), where the famous Polish king Jan III Sobieski was born. This old fortress is one of the oldest in Ukraine – its age is almost 700 years. Olesky castle, located on a 40-meter high hill, impresses with its architectural solutions in the Renaissance style. Here you will walk through the beautiful inner yard and see interior design of the castle with valuable paintings, sculptures and furniture. After this, sightseeing bus will go another 14 km to reach the second landmark – Pidhirtsi castle. This defensive structure was built in the XVII century for the hetman Stanislav Konetspolsky. Near the castle, you will see baroque church of the XVIII century, old hotel and beautiful Italian garden. Unfortunately, tourists are not allowed to go inside the castle due to the restoration works. However, there is a chance to see the castle`s dungeons and to walk along the terrace. The next stop is Zolochevsky castle located 18 km away from Pidhirtsi. Similarly to two previous castles, Zolochevsky castle stands on the top of the hill. Before it became a museum, it was a fortress, a noble residence and even a prison. The castle was built on the order of the father of king Jan III Sobieski — Jakub Sobieski. In the inner yard of the castle, you will see the Big and Chinese palaces with interesting expositions of paintings, weapons, furniture and other items of European and Eastern art.
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“Silver Horseshoe” – Less-known Lviv Oblast` Castles
Picture: Svyrzh castle
After learning everything about the castles of the famous “Golden Horseshoe” trio, you can get to know less known but not less interesting castles and monasteries of so-called “Silver Horseshoe”. This sightseeing bus tour in Lviv oblast` includes three main objects. Starosilsky castle in Stare Selo village, built in the end of the XVI century, keeps to Renaissance style. It is considered as the largest one in Lviv oblast` – its territory is 2 hectares, and the height of fortification walls reaches 16 meters. The next castle in Svyrzh village was also built in the XVI century. In 1672, it survived attack of the Turkish army. This location was used as a film set for well-known movie about musketeers. Here you will also see Catholic cathedral and an old underground passage. The third point of the tour – Univ Lavra – is an ancient defensive monastery, firstly mentioned in the historical chronicles in 1395. Twice a year the monastery hosts populous pilgrimages. After seeing monastery territory, the tourists are welcome to go up Monashya mountain and to visit the source with crystal clear water.
As you can see, Lviv sightseeing bus excursions are a great way to learn more about historical heritage of this fascinating city and its surroundings. Enjoy your ride!
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