Kiev Off the Beaten Path Tips by arantha

The place I want to describe is a small craft gallery/shop run by local artist, who want to spread and make more popular their artefacts and local tradition. Among their products you can find everything: cloathig, earrings, pottery, toys...
Visiting places like that it's the best way to meet locals and get to know better the real traditional craft, not only that one shown in museums or being sold on always touristy souvenir markets. In that place I was able to speak with the real artists, who love what they do.
Anyway, it was quite unusual for them to meet foreign person (it's really off the beaten path) and I was asked to put my name in their guest book and write some opinions about their art. They also wanted to take some pictures with me (am I not the one who should be asking for that?)
Anyway, it was nice experience to speak with all those people and get to know them (Ukrainians) better... :) This is the thing I really LOVE during my travels!

I found this place by accident (looking for a toilet ;-), so I don't know the proper address, but it's a small building just next to the Kiev Pechersk Lavra, on the street leading to the Church of All Saints (which is the north-west gate to Lavra)

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Park Vichnoyi Slavy (Eternal Glory Park) is located near the Kiev-Pecherska Lavra.
Inside you can see the Monument to the Unknown Soldier. It's a nice place for a walk, with a fabulous view of the Left Bank and Lavra.

To get there take a tube to the station called Dnipro

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The Mother Motherland statue is a memorial of the Great Patriotic War in Kiev. The statue itself is 62m tall of the whole 102m with the pedestal (450t!). It's similar to that ones located in Kaliningrad and Volgograd. It's a beautiful socrealistic relic and I recommand it to every amateur of soviet gems ;)

It's located in the Pechers'ky Landshaftny Park (which is a bit soviet itself), behind the Kyiv Pechers'k Lavra

Take the trolleybus #20 or a tube (to Dnipro) and walk south

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Mariyinsky Palace is a bautiful Baroque tsar's residence built in the 18th century for Empress Elizabeth.

Unfortunatelly it's closed to the public, as it's a representative building for Ukrainian authorities. To try to get inside, you may ask for the permission in the Kiev Historical Museum (tel:2934909).

Address: 5 Hrushevs'koho St.
Directions: Mariyinsky Park (take the tube to Arsenalna and go north), behind the Parliament building

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Verkhovna Rada, The Parliament building has been built in the socrealistic style in the 30's. Maybe it's not very pretty itself, but it's good to know where the headquarters of the country you're in is located ;)
Visiting Mariyinsky Park, have a look on the fantastic view over the Dnieper!

Mariyinsky Park, 5 Hrushevs'koho St.

Take a tube to Arsenalna and go north

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National Opera building has been built in 1897-1901 and it's still in use. It's not 'a must', but it's just a nice building to pay the attention to, if you are strolling around this area.

Directions:The Khmelnyckoho str. and Volodymyrska str. crossroads

Check the performances in the Kiev Opera House

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Website: http://www.opera.com.ua/index_en.html