I shall be visiting Kiev, Ukraine to watch a UEFA Champions League
match between Dynamo Kiev and Manchester United on a midweek somwhere
between September and December (the draw has only just been announced
so i cannot give a clear date at the moment except that it will be
midweek and for around 2-3 days) and i was wondering if anybody could
help answer a few of my questions.
1) The game will be moved from Lobanovsky Dynamo Stadium to the
Olimpiysky National Sports Complex (also known as Olympic Stadium,
Republican Stadium or Central Stadium) and i was wondering what the
neighbourhood around the ground is like? Is there any hotels /
hostels / bars / resturants near the venue and can you recommend any
in particular?
2) What is the public transport like in the City. What is the nearest
railway/subway station to the ground and is it easy to find?
3) Is there any places in the Country you recommend visiting on a
short break of 2-3 days?
4) Do the Kiev fans have any notorious hooligans or ultras that attend
games?
5) The stadium will host the final of Euro 2012 and recently held the
Eurovision Song Contest (in 2005 when Helena Paparizou won) so is the
City being redeveloped?
6) What TV stations are available in the Ukraine that will possibly be
shown in hotels?
Many Thanks.
As the name implies, this is close to the center of the downtown
so it is a nice area.
Best bars would be on Chreshatik street and Plosha Lva Toltogo which is
a walking distance from stadium. There are several hotels around it, see
the travel guide below.
>
> 2) What is the public transport like in the City. What is the nearest
> railway/subway station to the ground and is it easy to find?
There is a great subway (station right close to the stadium) and lots of
small buses that go anywhere usually with 10-15 min interval.
>
> 3) Is there any places in the Country you recommend visiting on a
> short break of 2-3 days?
Check out http://wikitravel.org/en/Kiev
I think Kiev itself will cover 2-3 days. Lavra, Sofia are things too
see, Andriyivskyi Uzviz is a lively market with a lot of stuff on
a very beautifully street winding down the hills from remarcable
Andriyivska Chirch towards Dnepr river. Hydropark is an island
in the middle of dnepr with entertainment, beaches and great view on the
right side of the city.
>
> 4) Do the Kiev fans have any notorious hooligans or ultras that attend
> games?
Not as notorios as the british, but can sometimes be intertaining.
>
> 5) The stadium will host the final of Euro 2012 and recently held the
> Eurovision Song Contest (in 2005 when Helena Paparizou won) so is the
> City being redeveloped?
Not yet, but there is some construction going on close to it that is
unrelated.
>
> 6) What TV stations are available in the Ukraine that will possibly be
> shown in hotels?
No idea... get out of the hotel, you will find a lot to do on the
streets around.
Regards,
Evgenij
>
> Many Thanks.
>
I have been in Kiev a few months ago and I was surprised to see how many
expensive cars are in the streets. Mnay more than you see in a normal
european town.
I agree Kiev itself will need two or three days to be visited.. it is a
very nice town far from the idea we have in the old EU.
I agree subways are easy to find and cheap.. but taxi with meter are also
cheap.. and minibuses are good.. but you will need a good knwoledge of
russian to go by..
Kiev is a nice european town. you will find there everything you will find
in any town in europe
streets are very nice to walk. and shops are very rich and expensive ( In
the centre)
prices for restaurants are cheap.. hotels a little more expensive than one
would expect..
a cruise on the river is a must.
there are no organized tours of the town..
to be exact. there is one that starts from the train station but it is only
in russian and costs a couple of Euro
cigarettes are cheap.. they cost lees than 1 eur for a package.. ( but they
are different... )
Thanks for the help i really appreiciate it.
You should assume that everything is written in Cyrillic script, not Latin,
and far fewer people will speak any English than in most big European
cities. Be prepared. There is no concept of customer service as in western
Europe. And people often assume that western men are there to meet easy
Russian women.
Otherwise, the natives are friendly and it's a very interesting place to
visit!
yes you are right it will be very difficult to move around and find somebody
that speaks english..
but otherwise the town is modern and friendly
I found the people very friendly
Of course. hotels are a little bit cold and tend to cash as many dollars
from you as possible ( starting from Taxi...) but take the taxis on the
streets and it will be ok.
I guess there is no criminality.. streets are full of people and very nice
to walk in.
in the restaurants service is OK.
portions tend to be a little small. but the bill is reasonable
Thanks for the info.
Quite possibly.