Given that Lviv is the most popular city in Ukraine for tourists, there are numerous agencies that offer thematic sightseeing tours in Ukrainian, English, Russian, German, French and other languages over here. To name but a few, inlviv.info, lviv.travel and lviv.adventure.com are one of the most popular options.
Private guides are no less popular in Western Ukraine. For instance, the Kumpel Tour tourist agency, co-founded by Ihor Lylo, has dozens of tours up its sleeve to satisfy everyone's wishes: romantic tours in Lviv, beer and gastronomic tours to explore the local cuisine, holiday tours to feel the festive atmosphere, and even bicycle tours.
Another famous Lviv guide is Ilko Lemko, who is also known for being a musician with own band, writer and publicist. Ilko has lived in the downtown Lviv his whole life and nowadays he works as an author of tourist routes and a guide at 'Chudo Tour' agency. Many people are willing to squeeze into his tours, so make sure to prepare in advance. Ilko has several routes to show the city's majesty: The Legends of Old Lviv, Lviv – the Multinational City, Lviv – the City of Love and Lviv During the Times of Grandma Austria.
City Guide Walking Tours
One of the easiest ways to explore Lviv in a walking tour is following a city guide available in one of the Tourist Information Centers. The major tourist center is located in downtown Lviv — on Rynok Square, on the left side of the main entrance to the City Hall. The guide is free and available in English.
Inside you will find information about the city’s sightseeing spots, their historical background and a map that connects them into a route. Many tourists find “Lviv in 1-5 days” section especially useful, as it thematically divides the tourist spots. Finally, parks, museums, galleries, top fine dining spots and shopping centers with souvenirs are included in the guide as well.
To give an idea, on the first day the guide offers to take a walking tour in the Middle Ages part of Lviv: start with the monument of Danylo Halytsky, proceed to the Baroque-style Bernardine Church, visit Johann Georg Pinsel Sculpture Museum, Arsenal Weaponry Museum, Uspenska Church, the tower Porokhova Vezha, Royal Arsenal, marvel at the Dominican Church, explore the Pharmacy Museum and the heart of Lviv — Rynok Square. Downtown has various picturesque spots hidden from the public eye like the Italian courtyard, Pharmacy Museum courtyard or Something Interesting art gallery. Don’t be afraid to peek inside and look closely.
Churches of Lviv
Like any Ukrainian city, Lviv is full of sacred places starting from the oldest ones built way back in the Middle Ages to rather modern or restored temples. The number of churches in Lviv is so big that tourist agencies often make separate walking tours to cover them all. The most famous sites include the Boim Chapel (built in 1609, a UNESCO World Heritage Site), Jesuit Church (1610, one of the biggest churches in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth), Armenian Cathedral (1363, a UNESCO World Heritage Site) and Dominican Church (1234).
If you want to visit more unhackneyed spots, try the Renaissance Bernardine Church, one of the oldest in the city 13th-century Church of St. Nicholas and the largest temple of Ukrainian Greek Catholics — baroque-rococo St. George's Cathedral.
Lviv from a Bird’s-eye View
Those who are not afraid to climb some steps will be rewarded with one of the most magnificent things Lviv can offer — a bird’s eye panorama of the city. Local guides know the spots well and many agencies offer walking tours to reach Lviv’s rooftops with the best view. If you decide to discover the city on your own, make sure to choose time slots with the least number of tourist groups, as rooftops and panorama decks tend to be quite crowded.
Luckily, it’s not difficult to find the best views — the Old City panorama can be spotted from the tower of the Lviv Town Hall on Rynok Square or the highest point of the city — High Castle Mountain. Besides, many restaurants like House of Legends, Valentino or bars like Vezha offer the 360 view and a delicious meal.
Lviv Dungeons
The underground world of Lviv spreads for more than 100 kilometers and calls for exploration via tours. Many churches and monasteries have old underground labyrinths, formerly used as burial places or treasuries in the war times of the medieval past. One of the most popular dungeons is located in the Church of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul. Throughout the years of its existence, the dungeon labyrinth was used as a prison, shelter, infirmary and food warehouse. Archeologists still explore this mystical spot and discover intriguing artifacts — for instance, a 600 kg whole stone sarcophagus, where the 18th century Bishop of Lviv Mykolai Vyzhytskyi is buried.
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Another popular and astonishing dungeon is located in a Dominican Church. The 13th-century building that lies in the heart of the Old Town of Lviv hides the secrets of Prince Lev Danylovych, also known as Leo I of Galicia. The Dominican monastery was built for Prince’s wife Constance, who had dearly missed her native Hungary and wished to pray in the church familiar to her. Thus, the dungeons became a sacred place. Later they became a hiding place for Princess Elizaveta Ostrogska who was married against her will. The young girl has been hiding in the Dominican Church with her mother, but soon both of them were forced to surrender to the King’s will. Besides, the oldest pillory in Lviv is located here as well.
The more gleeful underground spot is located in the Pharmacy Museum. Officially called Under the Black Eagle, the pharmacy was a favorite place among the city's bohemia to enjoy a cup of tea or coffee and discuss the latest events. Visitors are welcome to visit the building’s dungeon, which used to house an alchemy lab. Here guests can learn how the lab was equipped back in the 16th-17th centuries as well as examine various materials for alchemical experiments.
Artsy Lviv
Those who’ve seen it all from the Lviv’s past might be interested in exploring its contemporary art scene. While most travel agencies in Lviv offer walking tours that are focused on the old museums, contemporary art galleries are just as intriguing and welcoming. For instance, Dzyga Gallery is a truly iconic spot that isn’t merely an art gallery, but a spot of bohemian parties and get-togethers. Located in a quiet corner in the center of Lviv, Dzyga is a result of more than 20 years of work of Dzyga art group founded by the local artists and enthusiasts. The gallery hosts exhibitions of contemporary Ukrainian artists and explores new art forms in live gigs, movie showings, art lectures, and literature readings.
Marianna Baran and Markiian Filevych believe that IconArt Gallery brings together modern art and Christian spirituality, interpreting this long and rich tradition of icon art within today's cultural context. Visitors of this Lviv gallery have a chance to discover the historic art form in a way that resonates with the people and issues of contemporary society.
The newest addition to the Lviv art scene is the Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky Center of the Ukrainian Catholic University (UCU). This is one of the most ambitious and successful architectural projects in Ukraine. The Center is, in fact, a grand library with over 160 thousand books ranging from ancient pieces to most recent editions in various fields. Apart from the impressive amount of printed works, Sheptytsky Center hosts multiple lectures and workshops, exhibitions of digital and traditional art of young Ukrainian generation of artists. Most of the art expos are free. Besides, Destinations has a guide of Lviv murals carefully hidden in different locations of the city.
Gastronomical Lviv
Finally, gastronomical tours in Lviv are no less popular than in Italy and France. As a multicultural city, Lviv has much to offer: traditional Ukrainian cuisine, Galician dishes cooked by the centuries-old recipes, Jewish, Polish cuisine and the city specials. Most gastronomic excursions usually involve visiting Baczewski Restaurant, located in the downtown Lviv. The menu is full of dishes cooked with Ukrainian, Polish, Jewish and Hungarian culinary traditions. Homemade liquors and cordials are often ordered here to commemorate the trade of Baczewski family, who launched the first mass production of vodka in the world. The most popular visiting occasion is a special Galician breakfast buffet served daily from 8 A.M. to 11 P.M. — pay the fixed price of UAH 100 and see how much you can stuff in.
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Another iconic location is restaurant-Kneipp ‘Kryivka’. Dedicated to the Ukrainian Rebel Army UPA that fought for Ukrainian independence during the WWII, the restaurant is a real re-enactment of the army’s good old days: the interior is filled with war artifacts and the food is served in metal plates. The menu here is quite simple: traditional borshch, varenyky, deruny, topped with Ukrainian cordials nalyvkas are the most popular picks. Kryivka is located in the basement of the medieval house on Rynok Square without any sign on the door apart from the peephole. However, it can be easily spotted by the long queues on weekends and holidays. The restaurant is opened 24/7.
Lviv is famous for coffee and chocolate, so dropping by Lviv Handmade Chocolate and Lviv Coffee Mine will give a nice touch to the culinary delights tour.
Photo sources: Ruslan Lytvyn, Tainar, Sun_Shine / Shutterstock.com. All images belong to their rightful authors.
