Tourists often ask where to go and what to see in Lviv, where to eat deliciously or drink coffee or admire the view of the city. Of course, the employees of the Tourist Information Center know the answer. Undoubtedly, they can be called Lviv experts.
On Independence Day, the TIC team shares their routes and favourite locations. Choose the most interesting route and enjoy your journey through Lviv.
My name is Yana.
I am the chief specialist of the Lviv Tourist Information Center and a tour guide. In my free time, I like to walk around the city and discover its hidden corners.
One of my favourite areas in Lviv is Novyi Svit, the route from the Academic Gymnasium to the villa of Jozef Franz.
The Academic Gymnasium is on 14 S. Bandery street. It was the first educational institution of this type in Lviv, where teachers taught in Ukrainian.
It is difficult to overestimate its importance in the context of Ukraine gaining independence because it was here that a layer of educated youth was formed, which later began to fight for our statehood.
Among the famous graduates of the gymnasium were Y. Konovalets, Y. Petrushevych, R. Shukhevych, P. Franko, etc.
Further, the route runs along Hlyboka street, which inherited its name from the pond of the Dominican Filvarka, which was there. Paintings on the ceilings above the stairwell have been preserved in house number 10. And the two connected courtyards of the Neo-Gothic tenement house at number 14 are simply a magical place!
On Yaponska street, our attention is drawn to building 7 - the "Biblos" factory. The facade is decorated with sculptures of Venus and Mercury so that the enterprise would do well in art and commerce.
The intersection of Kyivska, Konovaltsia, and Rusovykh streets forms a Piatykutna (pentagonal) square. The house on the corner of the Konovaltsia and Kyivska streets was built in honour of the 80th anniversary of the November Uprising.
On the facade from the side of Konovaltsia street, you can see the symbols of the lands that were part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth: the coat of arms of Rus, Lithuania and a trace of the coat of arms on which was the Polish Eagle.
Konovaltsia street, from Piatykutna square to the intersection with Melnyka street - is an incredibly cosy place where you can hide from the usual city bustle.
Exquisite buildings, somewhat hidden from the prying eye, contain many stories.
However, the brightest architectural gem here is Jozef Franz's villa, or the Palace of the Gypsum Kings, located on the corner of Konovaltsia and Melnyka streets.
My name is Sofiia.
I am an employee of the Lviv Tourist Information Center.
Today, you and I will take a little walk around Lviv and get to know its atmospheric and Instagrammable districts - old Kastelivka and Frantsivka.
I warn you - we will walk a lot. So let's go!
📍 Citadel
Today it is a quiet park with well-maintained paths and often abandoned nooks and crannies. Bastion towers, barracks and the remains of other buildings have been preserved on the territory.
📍 Nechui-Levytskoho, Kotliarevskoho, Chuprynky streets
No matter where you stand or in which direction you look, there are old villas; that you want to photograph, catch every detail, and study all the elements.
📍 Botanical Garden of the National Forestry University
A large staircase leads to the botanical garden from Chuprynky street. Next, we will walk in the garden, rest on one of the benches and a pleasant picture in front of our eyes.
📍 Ivan Trush Art and Memorial Museum
The museum building is the house where Ivan Trush lived with his family. In the museum, you can view the artist's work and his paintings on various subjects.
📍 Piskovi Ozera (Sand lakes)
The park around the lakes is neat and well-kept. We can choose a place for a picnic right on the shore of the lake and watch the ducks.
That's the end of our route. You can get to the centre from Konovaltsia street by tram number 2.
My name is Natalia, and I made a short route through the locations of the Frankivskyi district.
It is ideal to get away from the whirlwind of the central streets and immerse yourself in the peace between the trees and the monuments of modernism.
📍 Let's start with Piskovi Ozera park - a small recreation area just 20 minutes from the city centre with picturesque lakes and green grass.
📍 Let's walk a little along Kulparkivska street, and we have to find another park - around the psychiatric hospital. Yes, not the most obvious area for walks, but very interesting - here you can find a water tower built based on an innovative concrete structure at that time.
📍 We leave the park, go forward along Kulparkivska street, and further turn to Volodymyra Velykoho street; here, on the way to the next location, you can see as many as two mosaics, one of which is well known to all Lviv residents - "Sea and Ocean".
📍 Ahead of us is the third park on our route - Horikhovyi Hai. Cosy and calm - a great place to come here with a book or a small picnic with friends.
📍 Lviv Film Center is located in the middle of the Horikhovyi Hai. It is a revitalized modernist building that has restored its function as a cinema, so you can finish the route by watching a movie.
My name is Yevhen.
I am not from Lviv, but I spent a third of my life in Lviv. Studying in the Faculty of History; and guide courses, I got to know Lviv better, and now I will share several atmospheric locations.
📍 Stryiskyi Park
I love this place because every day, I walk home from work through the park. Every time I try to lay the route in a new way, I constantly pass by the Kilinski monument and artificial castle ruins.
📍 Dungeon of the Jesuit church
To get to know Lviv, it is not necessary to go on long excursions. You can go down into the dungeons for two hours and learn the whole truth about the city here.
📍 Snizhna Street
Snizhna is a quiet and cosy street with its atmosphere. A person with a good imagination will feel here as if in the Middle Ages, and an inattentive traveller may trip over the cobblestones and fall. On one side of the street is Rynok Square, and on the other - is Kniazhyi (Princely) Lviv and the city's oldest churches: the Church of Nicholas and the Church of John the Baptist.
📍 Shevchenkivskyi Hai
It is a beautiful and cosy place: fresh air, authentic wooden buildings, looking like which you are transported to the Carpathians. The figure of Taras Shevchenko at the entrance adds to the atmosphere. Looking at it, visitors have the opportunity to clarify how many times he has been here.
I am Diana, an employee of the Tourist Information Center. I was born in Lviv, so many of my locations are associated with different periods in my life.
Only in Lviv do I feel this homely cosiness and comfort, and I am sure that everyone who gets to know this city will be able to feel it. I want to tell you about several locations that are special to me in my favourite city.
📍 Heavenly Hundred Heroes Memorial is my place of rest. Here I often walk my dog, enjoy a panoramic view of the city centre or just relax on a bench. A memorial is a special place in Lviv; I am very impressed by the modern style in which it is designed.
📍 Armenian courtyard
Every time I leave work, I pass through the Armenian courtyard to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city for at least a few minutes and enjoy the silence and beautiful architecture.
📍 Restaurant Cloud no. 7 is one of my favourite restaurants in the centre of Lviv. I often have lunch here because the restaurant offers an incredible panoramic view of the city.
📍 The House of Scientists is a former casino, a building of extraordinary beauty in the neo-baroque style. When I was a child, my parents took me here to folk dances. Every time I pass by, I feel nostalgic.
📍 Ivan Franko Park - I spent my student years here. As a student of Lviv National University, I spent a lot of time in this park. Here we wrote summaries, prepared for exams and sometimes skipped a classes.
My name is Yaroslava.
I have been working at the Lviv Tourist Information Center for more than a year. I am originally from Podillia, from Kamianets-Podilskyi, but I spent my student years in Lviv. From that time, I found "my" places, which I still love to visit today.
My route runs from Pekarska Street to Znesinnia Park.
📍 Pekarska Street
Ever since I was a student, after classes, I liked to walk along this street with my friends. Such measuredness and melancholy, especially in autumn... There is something in it!
There is a cosy park near the buildings of the Medical University - a good place for meetings with a cup of coffee.
📍 Shevchenkivskyi Hai
I love this place. Authenticity and harmony with nature are incredibly attractive. I like to come for various master classes: sculpting from clay, painting pysanky (Easter eggs) or listening to the melodies of folk musical instruments.
📍 Znesinnia Park
Here, natural wildness and mysteriousness embrace. The park is different from the others and rather resembles a forest. You can walk along the ecological paths or go down to a small lake.
📍 Home of rescued animals
If you move from the open-air museum along one road, there will be an animal shelter. Both domestic and wild and exotic animals live here. From time to time, my friends and I visit this place and bring fodder and necessary things. You can volunteer if you wish.
