Getaway for a weekend? Top 100 locations in Ukraine

There have also been conversations going around in Ukraine about putting together tourist destinations routes. We have been exploring Ukraine for the past four years and are currently working on an app with a variety of routes and locations in-country. Would you like to stay up-to-date with the stories from all over Ukraine? Subscribe to our YouTube and Telegram.

This list includes hand-picked locations that are easy to find on a map and to go visit anytime!

Polissia

1. Basalt Columns. Basalt quarries are the main source of income for local residents.

2. Wild-honey farming (more details in our story: Wild-honey farmers of Polissia: People of the forest). Wild-honey farmers from Selezivka represent an old traditional craft of gathering wild-honey.

3. Svalovychi (more details in our story Polissia singing). There are barely 20 residents left in the village. The women used to go to church to a neighboring village by boats. They sang while rowing.

4. Duga Station, which is a horizon radar station. It used to be called Russian Woodpecker. It had never reached its full capacity.

5. Prypiat (read more in our story A Return to the Exclusion Zone). The ghost-town existed for only 16 years before the Chornobyl Nuclear Power plant accident. Nowadays it is a popular tourist attraction.

6. The Shatsk Lakes. Svitiaz, Shatsk, and Pulmo. It is a group of over 30 lakes between the Prypiat River and the Western Buh River.

7. Polissia narrow-gauge (read more in our story The Amber Way). Antonivka-Zarichne route. This is one of the three operating passenger narrow-gauge with a length of 106 km.

Poltavshchyna

8. Pottery museum (more details in our story Potters Family that Changed Opishne). It was founded by the oldest dynasty of potters in Ukraine.

9. Local History Museum in Poltava. It is one of the first buildings in Ukrainian architectural modernism.

10. Hassidic Judaism centre in Hadiach. One of the biggest pilgrimage locations for Hasidic Jews.

11. Velyki Sorochyntsi. It is one of the most famous Ukrainian villages. Every summer it hosts the biggest fair in Ukraine.

Tavria

12. Kinburn Spit. It is a sandspit that separates Dnipro-Buh Estuary from the Black Sea.

13. Salt production in Heroiske. The Zaporizhian Cossacks were the first ones to produce salt in Heroiske back in the 16th century.

14. Dzharylhach Island. It is the biggest uninhabited island in Ukraine, which preserved its unique flora and fauna.

15. Adzhyhol Lighthouse. It is the highest lighthouse in Ukraine, located in the middle of Dnipro Estuary.

16. Oleshky Sands. It is a sand massif and the second biggest desert in Central and Eastern Europe.

17. Biloberezhzhia Sviatoslava. It is a national park consisting of many lakes, sand dunes, and numerous bird species.

Podniprovia and Zaporizhzhia

18. Khortytsia (read more in our story Khortytsia. A Reserve in the Middle of the City). The restored Zaporizhian Cossack capital, Zaporizhian Sich, is located on this island.

19. Islands in the middle of the city. A variety of birds are nesting on wild reserved islands near the Dnipro Hydroelectric Power Station.

20. Merefa-Kherson bridge. The biggest arch bridge in Europe at the time of construction.

21. Kryvyi Rih subway. A high-speed tram is used instead of subway trains.

22. The quarries of Kryvbas (Kryvyi Rih Iron Ore Basin). It is the biggest iron ore basin in Ukraine and a centre for industrial tourism.

23. Popov’s Manor House. It is the biggest castle in Eastern Ukraine that combines several 19th-century architectural styles.

The Carpathians

24. The Carpathian tram (read more in our story Mountain Narrow-Gauge Railway). It follows the route Vyhoda-Senechiv. This railway is actively used for tourism.

25. Polonynas, or meadows (read more about those who live in the meadows in our story Shepherd by Vocation). There are multiple cattle grazing spots, as cattle go high into mountains for the summer.

26. Morshyn. It is a popular resort in Prykarpattia with the Carpathian Mountains mineral water.

27. Khata-Maysternya (read more in our story). Thanks to the public initiative, an old house in the mountains was turned into a modern creative space.

28. Primeval forests. The biggest amount of old-growth beech forests on the UNESCO heritage list are in the Ukrainian Carpathian Mountains.

Sivershchyna

29. The Galagans palace in Sokyryntsi.
Sivershchyna can surprise anyone with numerous forests, parks, and preserved palaces.

30. The Hetmans’ capital Baturyn. The town became one of the centres of tourism because of the restoration of cossack era monuments.

31. The Blakytni (Blue) Lakes near the Oleshnia village. Some time ago there was a centre of pottery production, where the quarries were turned into lakes with clear waters

32. The Desna River. It’s the central vessel of Sivershchyna and one of the cleanest large rivers in Europe.

33. Kachanivka preserve park. The biggest preserved architectural complex of Neoclassicism in Ukraine.

Podillia

34. Kamianets-Podilskyi Fortress (read more about the fortress in our longread). The most famous fortification structure of Ukraine,
situated on a cape in the middle of the Smotrych canyon.

35. Motoball (see more details in out longread A Big Ball Near the Fortress) in Kamianets-Podilskyi. Motoball is a rare sport in Ukraine, though it’s very popular in Kamianets-Podilskyi.

36. Podillia narrow-gauge railway. It’s route: Haivoron-Rudnytsia. The railway is one of operating passenger narrow gauge railways; its length is 78 km long.

37. Ship-like railway station in Zhmerynka. A high capacity transportation hub. The railway station is built in the shape of a ship sailing in Odesa direction.

38. Ścibor-Marchocki’s Residence (read our longread The revival of the Mynkovetska State). Renovated residence of self-proclaimed Mynkovetska State is a venue for many festivals.

39. Town-peninsula Zalishchyky. A town on the Dnister River is located on the border of three regions — Podillia, Bukovyna, and Halychyna.

40. Submerged town of Bakota (see more details in the longread The submerged world). A big city got flooded as a result of a water storage reservoir construction on the Dnister River.

Pryazovia

41. Arabat Spit (you can read about one of the estates (“sadybas”) at Arabat Spit in our longread). Arabat Spit is a sand spit between the Azov Sea and Syvash Lake, home for the longest beach in Europe.

42. The Berdiansk Upper Lighthouse. The lighthouse was built in the 19th century on the way to Berdiansk on the Azov Sea.

43. Henichesk Lake. The lake where the kitchen salt has been extracted long since and the brine is used in medicine and cosmetology.

44. The Berdiansk Lower Lighthouse (see more details in our material Half a Century on the Lighthouse). The lighthouse assists the ships entering the Berdiansk Gulf for almost 180 years.

45. Bilosaraisk Lighthouse on the Bilosaraisk Spit. The oldest lighthouse out of five active lighthouses on the Azov Sea.

Slobozhanshchyna

46. Parkhomivka Historical and Art Museum (see more details in our longread Picasso and Malevich in Parkhomivka). One of the best village museums in Ukraine which displays the collection of the teacher Panas Luniov.

47. “Slovo” (“Word”) House in Kharkiv. The house was built for Ukrainian writers that became a symbol of Stalin’s repressions against them.

48. Derzhprom, or the State Industry Building, in Kharkiv. The first 13-story skyscraper complex in Ukraine built at the beginning of the 20th century in the constructivist style.

49. Chalk hills. The Dvorichanskyi National Park and Ukrainian steppe preserve are two huge preserves, where the massive chalk hills carve and offer a grand panoramic view from their tops.

Zakarpattia

50. Borzhava narrow-gauge railway (read in our longread Zakarpattia Narrow-Gauge Railway of the Future). The route: Vynohradiv-Khmilnyk-Irshava. Borzhava narrow-gauge railway is one of few 750 millimeters track railways still operating in Ukraine.

51. St. Miklós Castle (see more details in our materials from 2016 and 2020) in Chynadiievo. The Saint Miklós is the first castle that got rented out in Ukraine and was turned into an art centre.

52. Synevyr Lake. The largest mountain lake in Ukraine is located on the 989-meter height above the sea level.

Prychornomoria

53. Aktove Canyon. A gorge in the middle of Prychornomoria steppe created by the Mertvovod River.

54. Olbia (see more details in our longread The largest ancient Greek settlement on the Black Sea coast). It’s one of the biggest ancient Greek towns, and its remains are open for tourists.

55. The Buzkyi Hard National Park. A national park along the picturesque banks of the Southern Buh River.

56. Rapids on the Buh River. A streak of rapids and rifts on the Southern Buh River is popular for rafting. The most popular place for rafting is the Myhia village.

57. The Wild Garden in Mykolaiv. The only settlement of the Bronze Age discovered in Ukraine.

58. The biggest port. Odesa has always been the biggest Ukrainian port on the Black Sea.

59. Stanislav Cliffs (see more details in our longread Start from kayaks). In the prairie on the banks of the Dnipro–Buh Estuary, there are 40-meter cliffs, which became famous thanks to the Ukrainian band Scryabin and their musical video “Places of Happy People”.

Volyn

60.The Sculptor’s House in Lutsk (read more in our longread To build Lutsk house with chimeras for 40 years). The house and workshop of the sculptor Mykola Holovan decorated with 500 of his original sculptures.

61. The Tunnel of Love in Klevan. A green corridor formed by trees stretching along the railway line.

62. The Historical and Cultural Preserve “Samchyky” (read more in our longread The second life of Samchyky painting). By joint efforts of the local community, a palace and traditional Samchyky kind of painting were preserved

63. The Monastery of the Barefoot Carmelites in Berdychiv. One of the most famous Baroque buildings in Ukraine.

64. Fisherman’s house in Staryi Solotvyn. A picturesque fishing house stands on an island in the middle of the Kodnianka River.

65. Luge track (read more about the track in the longread). The one and the only luge track built back in the 19th century.

66. Lubart’s Castle. Lutsk Castle is one of the largest best preserved and oldest castles in Ukraine.

67. Tarakaniv Fort. A defense construction of the 19th century built near the town of Dubno to protect the railway line Lviv-Kyiv

Bukovyna

68. The Dnister ferries (see more details about the ferries in our longread). In many villages, there are ferries that connect the
banks of one of the longest rivers in Ukraine.

69. Chernivtsi University. The most famous architectural complex of Bukovyna.

70. Pamir Radar Station. A deserted former classified facility on Tomnatyk mountain turned into a shelter for travelers and tourists.

71. Khotyn fortress. The one and the only Ukrainian fortification complex located in Bukovyna.

72. Krasna Malanka (read more in the longread The revival of the carnival). The most famous celebration in the village of Krasnoilsk with a talent show-like preparation process.

Naddniprianshchyna

73. Buky Сanyon. The canyon on the Hirskyi Tikych River cut through Proterozoic granites.

74. The Lopukhins’ estate in Korsun-Shevchenkivskyi. A palace complex situated on three islands of the Ros River.

75. The Park “Oleksandria” in Bila Tserkva. The largest architecturally styled landscape park in Ukraine, founded in the 18th century.

76. Kyiv — the capital of Ukraine. One of the oldest and biggest cities in Europe.

77. Tarasova Hora. The museum complex built on the burial site of Taras Shevchenko, a great Ukrainian poet and painter, in Kaniv.

78. Kholodnyi Yar. The old-growth forest is known as a place of formation of Ukrainian emancipatory uprisings of different periods.

79. The geographical centre of Ukraine in Marianivka. A historical and geographical complex situated between the town of Shpola and the village of Matusiv.

80. The Dachowskis’ estate in Leskove village. The 19th-century architectural landmark, abandoned and unrecognized.

81. The Park “Sofiivka” in Uman. The most famous dendrological park in Ukraine.

82. Village on the dam. The unique village of Panske is situated on the largest in Ukraine Cherkasy Dam.

Halychyna

83. Bear shelter in Domazhyr (see more details in the Bears Rescued From Humans article). The shelter was created to help and rehab bears, released from circuses and traveling zoos.

84. Olesko Castle. The castle is one of the first defense constructions built in Halychyna.

85. Drohobych salt and oil. In the middle of the 19th century, Drohobych was a powerful salt-making and oil centre in Eastern Europe.

86. A rock fortress Tustan in Urych. The fortress was a defensive and administrative centre, a customs checkpoint on an important salt route to Western Europe.

87. Promprylad (find more information in the longread) in Ivano-Frankivsk. An innovative centre and a social business cluster created in the premises of the former factory.

88. Svirzh Castle. The 15th-century castle got neglected during the Soviet era when the tractor driver school was opened in it.

89. Ternopil Pond. An artificial reservoir on the Seret River is as old as the city; it used to defend the city from the Turks and the Tatars.

90. !FESTrepublic (see more details in our longread Exporting Lviv). A modern creativity centre is developing on the territory of the former glass container factory.

91. The Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky Center in Lviv. It is one of a kind modern resource and information centre of the Ukrainian Catholic University.

92. The Old Town of Lviv. The centre of Lviv is a site from the UNESCO World Heritage list; it is the one and the only city in Ukraine being listed on it.

Bessarabia

93. Akkerman Fortress in Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi. The biggest well-preserved fortress on the territory of Ukraine.

94. Rice Fields in Lisky village (find more details in the longread). Rice wet fields along the Danube delta attract birds, fish and turtles.

95. Budzhak Estuary and Serhiivka (read more about sailing school in Serhiivka in the materia Serhiivka: Sails over Reed). A wonderful place for yachting enthusiasts. Yachting competitions take place here.

96. Frumushyka-Nova (read more in Frumushyka – New Lease of Life article). There used to be a village destroyed by soviet authorities, nowadays

97. Museum of the Soviet Past in Frumushyka. There is an exhibition of monuments to communist party leaders gathered from the whole Ukraine here.

98. French wine in Shabo (read more in our longread). Christophe Lacarin creates real French wine from Ukrainian grapes.

99. Motherland of Pelicans – the Danube Preserve Park. Bessarabia is motherland to the largest population of rosy and grey pelicans. This is their starting point in the journey to Africa for the winter period.

100. Vylkove – a town on water. Vylkove inhabitants travel around using canals rather than streets and boats rather than cars.