The State Agency for Tourism Development of Ukraine plans to launch a trip on the Dnepr from Kyiv to Kaniv in the near future.
Ukraine as a tourist destination arguably has an enormous potential for attracting more visitors than the country does currently. Even the Cold War remnants of Chernobyl and the Strategic Missile Forces Museum are not drawing in huge numbers of tourists, though they are fairly unique on an international level.
At the same time, the pluralism in tourism is not really developed in Ukraine. Naturally, a lot of different people with different interests can find something that suits them in Ukraine. Whether or not they want culture, history, nature, bars, food or all of them, there is something for everyone and for every budget. The infrastructure around it is just poor.
However, the State Agency for Tourism Development of Ukraine has intentions of ridding Ukraine of these challenges. In a near future, for example, they plan on launching a test run of the Kyiv-Kaniv river route along the Dnepr, reports Interfax-Ukraine.
“According to the plan, it will be September 19. We will interview people: how much they are ready to pay for it, how comfortable they are. We recruited very different people in focus groups: both young people and those who work in large companies. This is the first stage to make detailed calculations and make a state program for the resumption of river transport,” she said during a conversation with reporters on Friday.
Kaniv is the city where the famous Ukrainian poet and writer Taras Shevchenko is buried. In 2019, more people visited Karniv than Chernobyl, according to the State Agency.
What else to do?
The Kyiv-Karniv route is not open for visitors yet, but there are still plenty of things to do in and around Kyiv. One of them is Pyrohovo Museum, which Ukraine Nu visited recently. At the museum, which is more a complex of old buildings, curators have gathered 300 significant buildings and monuments from all regions of Ukraine, the oldest of which dates back to a village house from 1587.
If walking in Pyrohovo doesn’t sound interesting to you, Kyiv offers plenty of other options. We are at the end of the Summer, and it will soon be the last chance to comfortably play chess in Shevchenko Park, which is an informal cultural institution that has lasted for decades.
The former president Viktor Yanukovich, who was ousted by the 2014 Maidan Revolution, left behind an enormous palace. Today, the palace is called The Museum of Corruption, and is open for visitors. Expect to spend an entire day there.
In central Kyiv, there is a also another palace to visit. Mariinsky Palace is open for visitors again. The palace is located close to the Parliament of Ukraine within walking distance of the two metro stops Arsenalna and Kreshatyk.
If the weather is good, there is a good walk to be had in the Marinsky Park, down to the Parkovy Expo Center and from there through the forest to Friendship of Nations Arch. Go across the bridge, enjoy the view of Podil and the left bank of the Dniper, and venture through the park to Sct. Andrews Church and Andrivskiy Descent, where you can either dine at Kanapa, one of Kyiv’s most famous restaurants, or go down the road to Kontraktova Plosha.
