Neighbourhood guide
Podil: the merchants’ town by the river
The lower town: Kontraktova Square, the foot of the Andriivskyi Descent, the river and the Fairmont.
Photo Credit
Image courtesy of © Moahim · CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia CommonsPodil is the old merchants’ and craftsmen’s town on the flat land by the Dnipro, centred on Kontraktova Square and the Kyiv-Mohyla Academy. It is the city’s liveliest quarter in the early evening, with the Fairmont on the embankment.
Sights
Kontraktova Square, the Andriivskyi Descent, Poshtova Square and the funicular, and the footbridge to Trukhaniv Island.
Eating and drinking
Musafir on Kostiantynivska Street, Marigold and the Vintage Cocktail Bar at the Fairmont, and the cafés around Kontraktova.
Photo Credit
Image courtesy of © Maksym Kozlenko · CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia CommonsStaying
Fairmont Grand Hotel Kyiv.
Come down the Andriivskyi Descent and finish by the river.
Our advice: be back at your hotel well before the curfew.
Why it's on our list
- Sights
- Eating and drinking
- Staying
What’s nearby
Distances from Podil: the merchants’ town by the river are approximate, measured in a straight line (as the crow flies). Times are approximate too: walking at about 80 metres a minute, cycling at about 12 km/h and driving at typical city-traffic speeds. Traffic and routes vary.
Nearest metro stations
- Kontraktova PloshchaMetro400 m5 min walk
- Tarasa ShevchenkaMetro1.0 km12 min walk
Key sights
- St Michael’s1.6 kmWalk 19 minCycle 8 minCar or taxi 13 min
- St Sophia’s Cathedral1.8 kmWalk 23 minCycle 9 minCar or taxi 13 min
- The Golden Gate2.3 kmWalk 28 minCycle 11 minCar or taxi 15 min
- National Opera2.5 kmWalk 31 minCycle 13 minCar or taxi 16 min
- Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra4.9 kmCycle 24 minCar or taxi 23 min
The station and the squares
- Maidan Nezalezhnosti2.2 kmWalk 27 minCycle 11 minCar or taxi 14 min
- Kyiv-Pasazhyrskyi station3.8 kmCycle 19 minCar or taxi 19 min
Location
The map comes from Google Maps, which sets its own cookies once it loads.
More in depth
The back storyKyiv at the table: borshch, the Crimean Tatar kitchen and the grand dining roomsNew Ukrainian cooking at 100 Rokiv Tomu Vpered, Crimean Tatar dishes at Musafir, Comme Il Faut in the InterContinental and Marigold at the Fairmont: how Kyiv eats, and where to book.
The back storyUkrainian FoodBorshch and pampushky, varenyky, holubtsi, chicken Kyiv and syrnyky, and the Crimean Tatar table: what to eat in Kyiv.
The back storyWhere Kyiv sleeps: the river, the old town and the boulevardsThe Fairmont on the Dnipro embankment, the InterContinental beside St Michael’s, the Hyatt Regency by St Sophia, the Opera Hotel and the Hilton on the boulevards: where to stay in Kyiv today, and what to ask before you book.