Lviv Travel Guide - Lviv in 2 Days

Lviv was the loveliest, sweetest part of our Ukraine trip! We loved every corner of it and it went beyond our expectations, so even if it's not in your Ukraine plans, we say give it a chance, even just for a weekend.

The city's name is Lwów or Lvov for the Poles, Lemberg for the Germans, and before that, Leopolis!

Lviv was the sweet break of our 5-day trip, between Odessa and Kiev, to which we gave a full 2 days and 1 night. Since we were there on 24 August, declared Ukraine's Independence Day, we saw the city at its most flamboyant. Now let's write it up in detail.

How Many Days for Lviv?

As we said, we set aside two days for Lviv right in the middle of our trip. We explored it with great pleasure; when you come as a couple or as a family you can enjoy the city in at least two days, and you won't get bored over a longer time either.

In fact, we'd recommend that big groups of friends stay more than two days and spend plenty of time.

When to Go to Lviv?

We think winter photos are as lovely as spring and summer ones. We can also recommend the summer days we experienced: however hot it is during the day, Lviv summers offer a cool escape in the evenings.

In winter, snowy views below zero will accompany your trip, and you'll truly appreciate the hot chocolate at Lviv Handmade Chocolate.

Where to Stay in Lviv?

There are lots of options for accommodation in Lviv, called Ukraine's tourism capital. Depending on how many of you there are, it's up to you to choose a hotel, hostel or Airbnb flat.

But we can recommend the Jam Hotel, which stands out on value for money and which you could choose just for its perfect location within walking distance of everything, because we both tried it and loved it. Besides the high ratings and popularity of the hotel, which we guess was renovated recently, its good prices also attracted us. As I said before, its location is perfect. It takes 5 minutes to walk to Rynok Square and the Opera building.

Although we didn't see their lovely jams at breakfast, when we left the hotel they didn't forget the nice touch of giving us each a mini jar of jam as a gift. :)

Getting Around in Lviv

Airport

As we described in detail in our Ukraine post, there are direct flights from Istanbul to Lviv too. From Turkey, Turkish Airlines and Ukraine International Airlines fly this route.

Getting to Lviv by train

We came from Odessa to Lviv on a wonderful train like a time machine, travelling overnight. All the splendour and colours of Soviet Russia were preserved on the train. If you have the time, we strongly recommend setting off on this train, which you can still experience.

From the carpets to the curtains, it amazed us! With details this lovely, the journey was enjoyable too, of course. The train we boarded around 9 in the evening was at Lviv central train station around 10 in the morning.

We paid XX UAH for this loveliest compartment of the train, one of the private 2-person compartments. You can also travel in couchette compartments.

Getting around the city

As always, our priority for getting around the city in Lviv too is the metro! But in this city you'll see old minibuses and trams as if you'd boarded a time machine. You must have internet, because it's hard to find a route map with all of them. With internet you should find out the minibus or tram line number for the direction you're going.

All public transport tickets are 5UAH, and transfers within 1 hour are free. Whether tram or minibus, be ready for the jolts :)

As for taxis in Ukraine, there are warnings to watch out for being ripped off, but if you find an honest one you can travel very economically. By economical, let's say fares that may surprise you when you convert them to Turkish lira.

Anyone who likes can also use the Uber app like us; prices fixed in advance by credit card are both guaranteed and reliable. It's also a reason to choose it because most drivers don't speak other languages!

What Budget Do You Need for Lviv? - Is Lviv Expensive?

1₺, when we travelled in August 2018, was 4.80 Ukrainian Hryvnia (UAH). As we mentioned above, public transport tickets in this city are 5 UAH, less than 1 TL.

Even though we ate and drank at tourist spots and nice places, the bills were ordinary compared with Istanbul. It used to be even cheaper, but given the rise in exchange rates, and considering the number of Turkish tourists we saw, Lviv is still an affordable place to travel. At the very least, you can't call it expensive!

What Comes to Mind When You Think of Ukraine

• Most people from the Black Sea region saying Ukranya!
• The once-famous footballer Shevchenko
• Especially in Lviv, the delicious coffee, one of the flavours you mustn't leave without tasting.
• Blonde, light-eyed: the people of Ukraine
• The Ukrainian flag: the endless plains that help us understand where it comes from. Especially the Kherson region
• In Lviv, on a par with the one in Vienna, the Ukrainian National Opera House
• We don't really remember it, but the Chernobyl nuclear disaster
• The recent Orange Revolution
• In Ukraine, taxi drivers are even worse than ours. Don't forget to use UBER instead of taxis!
• The farming nation Ukraine! Third in the world in barley exports, fourth in corn and fifth in wheat.
• Ukraine's well-known crazy nightlife

Places to Visit in Lviv

There's no end to writing and telling about the places to visit in Lviv. We'll briefly tell you about the places we managed to see.

Opera House

The Opera House is in the city centre, at the top of the list of things to see in Lviv. We were lucky to coincide with the season opening, and caught the first performance and the Opera opening cocktail. We also saw the inside of the building and enjoyed it.

We'd bought 2 tickets for the opera premiere on 23 August 2018. At the back of the house prices start from 80 hryvnia, and there are tickets up to 600 hryvnia. For tickets you can visit this site and book your seat early by paying online.

It was a full 2-hour performance by the Ukrainian State Orchestra, accompanied again by state artists: "When The Fern Blooms". Written in the mid-1970s by the composer Yevhen Stankovych, the work was first staged at the Lviv Opera and Ballet in December 2017. Once again with a premiere, we excitedly joined the audience for the first curtain of the season.

The sets, lighting, costumes and the care the audience took were wonderful. If you have time, now that you've come to Ukraine, we say take a look at the programme to hear Ukrainian folk music in this atmosphere. Matinees usually start at 18:00.

Just a small warning: of course there's a dress code at performances like these, friends. Please let's take care with our clothes when going to watch opera or ballet. We saw Turks come to the performance in leggings and sports T-shirts, and we were a little embarrassed!

The story of the Opera building is something else too; here it is: it was first built on top of the Poltva river in Lviv. Over time the river's waters filled up under the stage and the building was put at risk, and at the end of the 19th century a design competition was launched to bring the Lviv Opera up to European standards.

Many European architects took part in the competition, and the winner, with a design planned on concrete foundations that would be a first in Europe, was the Polish architect Zygmunt Gorgolewski, who also designed the Kaiser Wilhelm bridge in Berlin. The architect died in 1903, and his remains are in the Lychakiv cemetery in the city. The week we went there was a special invitation, since it was also the season opening. Here are the colourful pictures...

Rynok Square

We often stop by Rynok Square, considered the centre of the city, within walking distance of our hotel. We see the city's heartbeat. The square around the town hall is surrounded by concept cafés and museums. Not to mention the street musicians and artists. Pictures from the square, lively and bustling at every hour we walked around, with photos of the architecture influenced by French and Italian architecture...

24 August, that is today, has gone down in history as the day Ukraine declared its independence. This year the country is again celebrating its 27th year of independence with excitement.
Even though it's recent history, the story of independence, which happened before we were even born, goes like this: on 24 August 1991 the parliament of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, part of the Soviet Union, declared the country's independence, and in the referendum held on 1 December 1991, 90 percent of those who took part voted for independence.

Since Ukraine gained this independence without going to war, the task of instilling national consciousness in the Ukrainian people again fell to the state. To increase love of country, "Love Ukraine!" banners were hung everywhere. Over time the citizens began to embrace their country, and of course today we see flags everywhere and anthems being played!

High Castle

For those who want to take in the whole city and see the view, as always we recommend the castles. You can reach this castle in Lviv with a walk of about 20 minutes.

Entry is free to look at the city from 413 metres up. The lovely viewing terrace of Vysokyi Zamok Park is worth seeing if you have time.

Yard of Lost Toys

We couldn't pass without seeing the sweet toy museum, whose story you can read in many places. And once there's a swing too, that's it!

This street, brought to life with toy donations by people who saw that a few old toys had been left there, is now a tourist spot.

Lychakiv Cemetery

The cemetery, with monumental tombs from the 18th century, is set on a huge area of nearly 400 thousand graves. It's very close to the city centre; you can get off right in front of it on tram 7.

Entry is 20 UAH, 10 UAH for students. We walk a little and, without getting too caught up in the mood, go back to our tour.

Potocki Palace - Art Museum

The Potocki Palace, now used as an Art Museum, waves at you with colourful umbrellas you'll notice the moment you enter the street, before you've even turned the corner.

The palace, which belonged to the Potockis, a Polish-Lithuanian aristocratic family, is very close to Rynok Square on a pleasant shopping street. Entry to the French-influenced building, which at one time even hosted weddings, and its exhibitions is 20 UAH today.

Pharmacy Museum

Perhaps one of the best moves Lviv made when joining tourism is these museums. There are many museums around Rynok Square. Entry is usually around 10-20 UAH. A great way to pass time and learn about Ukraine.

First we chose the pharmacy museum, whose entrance is still used as a pharmacy. Entry is 20 UAH. There isn't much explanation in English, but we enjoyed finishing our tour.

Right opposite there were many museums, like the Glass Museum, the Museum of Ukrainian History and Art, and next to it the Post Office Museum, which we looked for but couldn't find. :)

Palazzo Bandinelli

While looking for the Post Office Museum we noticed this place and wanted to visit. The Museum of Historic Artworks, a branch of the Lviv History Museum, is displayed in Bandinelli's house, built on Rynok Square in the 17th-century Renaissance period.

We really liked both the building and the works inside. It was also very funny that middle-aged ladies stood in every room like guards and directed you as you walked round the house :)

Latin Cathedral

The bustle of Rynok Square continued towards the Latin Cathedral. While watching the street artists, we suddenly found ourselves in front of it. Even if you don't like visiting churches, you can have a lovely time in this festive area around it.

The cathedral, a combination of Gothic, Baroque and Renaissance architecture, is quite different from the others. The stained glass inside and the decoration on the ceiling are gorgeous too. In every wing you can see a different detail, and it's packed compared with most churches we've seen.

Armenian Cathedral

There's not much to say about the Armenian Cathedral, which enchanted us more inside than outside.

In its history dating back to the 13th century it has been through many restorations; it was given its present form under the influence of Ukrainian folk art, with respect for its Armenian and Galician roots.

Dominican Church

With this cheerful photo we also finish our church and cathedral tour. :)

Stryiski Park

Get ready for huge parks with thousands of trees! We'd call it a wonderful forest park. While we thought they owed these beauties to Russian influence, we saw that its history is even older. Its history goes back to the 1300s; we'd love you to see those old trees.

Ivan Franko Park

We had a very pleasant time in Ivan Franko Park, full of 300-year-old pine trees. We invite you too to spend time in this park within walking distance of the city centre.

After the Lviv travel guide comes our post on where to eat what in Lviv...