Enjoying Kiev like a local
On this post, I’d like to share tips to explore Kiev throughout a local perspective, some suggestions of places where you’ll not see lots of tourists taking pictures/selfies/snapchats, etc.
It is my second time in Kiev and apart the touristic places, I have a special contact with local culture at the places mentioned below. As experiences are relative, you can also add suggestions on the comments if you have some recomendation about the city.
Puzata Khata
In cyrillic, “Пузата Хата”. A local, fast and not expensive food — and excellent! Everything that is typically eaten in Ukraine, you can find at Puzata Khata. Dishes like varenyky, borsch, you’ll find them all at this restaurant.
Dva Gucya
Another place to eat on a local style in Kiev is the Dva Gucya (Два Гуся in cyrillic) — which in Russian means “Two geese” — also includes all the typical Ukrainian gastronomy, excellent and cheap.
Chill at Maidan
Maidan Nezalezhnosti is the Independence Square. Although a touristic place, it’s daily frequented by locals, it’s one of the main points to meet friends while going out, chill out and talk in Kiev’s downtown. And Maidan is also a place for political and social demonstrations, as it happened during the 2014 Ukrainian Revolution.
Enjoy the view at the River Port
For me, the Dnipro River offers the best views of Kiev. Around the river, there great places to chill out, to hang out, to be you loved one, appreciate the sunset. Take a look with the pics below.
A day at Dnipro River
Kiev doesn’t have beaches, but it has a river: Dnipro River. During summer, locals go to Dnipro River to take a bath and get a tan, in addition to the park around it. The place is simply referred is “beach”.
Dnipro river is main river in the country. Its scent is in Russia, crossing Belarus and Ukraine until the Black Sea.
A ride in a matrushka
Beside the metro — largely used in Kiev — the matrushka are a common scene all over Ukraine. Those microbuses that connect the suburbs to downtown and cross many neighborhoods around the city. You’ll probably be the only foreigner inside while taking a matrushka.
Stay at a hostel in the suburbs
This tip is for those travelers who don’t mind to be out of the comfort zone, but it’s not the top challenge, trust. Normally, such hostels don’t have a good infrastructure as they are low cost. Expect to see only shower, oven to cook, table to eat and that’s all; you have to provide your own stuffs to cook, for example.
It’s interesting to sense how local workers and families live their daily life.
If you have more tips to enjoy Kiev like a local, your comment is welcome!
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