A EURO 2012 Dipropetrovsk Tour Guide
The city of Dnipropetrovs’k is situated on the River Dnipro in East-Central Ukraine and is one of the biggest Ukrainian cities with population of over one million citizens. Dnipropetrovs’k started out as a fortress in the middle of 16th century and grew into a town in 1776 which was established by the Russian Prince Potemkin by order of Catherine II. Dnipropetrovs’k is a major center of the steel, space building and high-tech industries, machine-building and metallurgy. These days, the city is a trade, scientific, educational, financial as well as an industrial center of Eastern and Central Ukraine. The city boasts as many as 11 universities, academies and institutes.
Besides watching your football team play during EURO 2012 you will have plenty of time to walk around town and see many interesting things and places it has to offer. Start your tour at the heart of Dnipropetrovs’k - the central streets of the city. Its major artery was named after the German communist Karl Marx and is a very beautiful, long and wide parkway that stretches from east to west through the central part of Dnipropetrovs’k. The main square is called Zhovtneva ploshcha where majestic Cathedral was founded by order of Katherine II in 1787. Besides Cathedral, there are also other remarkable buildings on the square like the Museum of History, Diorama "Battle for the Dnieper River (World War II)", and a beautiful park where you can have a rest and relax. If you will keep on walking towards the Dnipro River, you will arrive to the large Taras Shevchenko Park and to the Monastyrskiy Island which is one of the favorite tourist locations in the city. The thing is that in the IX century Byzantian monks based a monastery here which was destroyed by Mongol-Tatars in the XIII century. So, if you would like to get a glimpse on a history, then you should definitely go there. Unfortunately, due to the Second World War the “old town” was almost completely destroyed by the fascists and does not exist in Dnipropetrovs’k anymore. However all of the Central Avenue as well as some street-blocks on the main hill and sections near Shevchenka and Globy parks have been untouched for as long as 150 years.
One of the biggest natural marvels of Dnipropetrovs’k is the Dnipro River. It is a wonderful creation of nature that keeps the air fresh and the climate mild during winter and summer. The river can be seen from many points as well as from any of the 7 hills. Soviet epoch has left its footprint on the architecture as then there was no need to build huge skyscrapers. Business offices and company headquarters were located near their main factories and away from downtown, so during the years of independence all new office buildings are being built in the same architectural style as the old ones.
If you would like to do some shopping, then Karl Marx Prospekt is an excellent place to go, because there are plenty of shops, boutiques and cafes of different shapes and sizes there for different income levels and if you got tired of shopping, you can just walk into the nearest café and get a cup of coffee or a tea. The major department store or so called CUM is also located on this street, so you can go there too. However, if you want to buy some souvenirs, then you should go to the Exhibition which is on the boulevard right across from CUM.
Dnepropetrovsk is also famous for its theaters like the Shevchenko Musical Drama Theater, the Gorky Russian Drama Theater, the State Academic Opera and Ballet House, the Theater for children and Youth, the Theater of One actor and the Puppet Theater. Despite the fact that Dnipropetrovs’k is one of the largest industrial cities, it is surprisingly green with numerous parks and alleys located throughout the city. Today the center of the city is where all the architectural and historical monuments are like the former Grigory Potemkin’s Palace which was transformed into the Palace of Culture, the City Hall, monuments to Alexander Pushkin, Bogdan Khmelnytsky, Taras Shevchenko and St. Michael’s church. However, the major architectural marvel that attracts thousands of tourists is the Transfiguration Cathedral. It was founded in 1786 by Prince Potemkin by order of Catherine the Great. The initial plan was to surpass The St. Peter & Paul’s Cathedral in Rome, but it didn’t happen. Nevertheless, it is very big – it has 12 Communion tables and two side-altars of Great Martyr Catherine and St. Joseph. As you can see, there are many places to go and things to do while in Dnipropetrovs’k, so if you have a few spare hours before the next football game, you can feel free to walk around, get a meal or a cup of coffee and have a great time while enjoying your stay in this truly magnificent city.
A EURO 2012 Odesa Tour Guide
Odesa is not only one of the largest commercial ports in the country, but also known as the Southern Capital of Ukraine. It is a very unique and special city on the Black Sea coast with an impressive architecture and vivid folklore. Even though it is relatively new (Odesa was founded in 1794 by Empress Catherine the Great), the city keeps alive the spirit of the unbelievable freedom. There are many reasons to see Odesa and if you have come to watch your favorite football team play, you will still have plenty of time to travel around town and see many different interesting things and places.
One of the most interesting places to visit while in Odesa is the old town itself. It is so, because the city was once the Russian Empire’s trade center. Besides that, it served as an artistic as well as intellectual center before the revolution. The old city though is clean and feels very cozy and safe to wander around numerous parks and tree lined avenues. One of the biggest pearls of the old town is the Opera house and even if you don’t like opera, you will still have a great time while getting the feel for the architecture.
Odesa offers many places of interest as it has more than a dozen of different museums which you can visit in your spare time. One of the most preferred by tourists is the Museum of Western and Eastern Art where you can see paintings by the world known artists like Aivazovsky and Caravaggio. Besides that you can go to the Literature museum, Maritime museum, Archaeology museum and a Picture gallery which features a huge collection of paintings. There is one other museum that is worth attention - Museum of the cinema. It offers more than 10,000 works from the invention of cinema, to the postmodern to digital and avant-gardes.
If you are not in a hurry, then you can take a stroll along the Deribasivska street which has a very colorful pedestrian part especially in the evening. Then you can go for a walk along the Primorsky Boulevard which offers excellent views to the sea and the seaport and is one of the favorite tourist locations. The walkway is rimmed with sycamore and chestnut trees and is bookended by an old stock exchange building at one side and the palace on the other side. There you will find a monument to Duke de Rechelieu, one of Odesa’s founders and if you will keep on walking, you will get to the famous Potemkin Steps - a giant stairway consisting of 192 steps that links the city center and the seaport. Use the funicular if you don’t want to climb the stairs and walk on to a Cathrene Square with the monument to Catherine the Great erected there. If you would like to have some leisure time, have a meal or do some shopping, then you should go to Yekaterininska Street. On every step of the way you will see a great deal of various restaurants, cafes, night clubs, boutiques and shopping malls.
Odesa is well known for its beaches which are located at the eastern edge of the city. Majority of them are close to the city center and are preferred by tourists and local population, so if you would like to enjoy some sun bathing or to take a swim in the Black Sea, you can go to the beach. Even though you can go to any beach you want, many tourists prefer Arcadia, because it offers many restaurants, bars, night clubs and other entertainment centers and even though it is a little bit farther from the city center, it can be easily accessed.
If you want to experience something unique and extraordinary, then you can plunge into the refined atmosphere of Odesa’s aristocratic mansions like the Tolstoy Palace with its sophisticated furniture and interior decorations, marvelous Gagarin Palace now housing Literature Museum or the Grotto which is one of the hidden underground sections of the Pototski Palace that was used to arrange for high society secret rendez-vous.
Odesa’s main artery is called Deribasivska in honor of the city’s first mayor, Osip Deribas. The street is mainly comprised of the pedestrian area very much favored by the tourists and is adjacent to colorful and picturesque Municipal Garden. If you don’t feel like walking, you can always grab a seat at a cozy restaurant, a bar or buy some gifts at one of the numerous retail outlets. Deribasivska features many places of interest like the statues of male and female lions, the monument to the 12th chair from the famous book and the monument to Russian actor and singer Leonid Utiosov. As you can see, there are many fascinating places to see in Odesa, so if you haven’t decided where you want to travel, then Odesa should be very high on your travel list.
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A EURO 2012 Kharkiv Tour Guide
Ukraine is a magnificent country that attracts millions of tourists from various countries each year. It is not a secret that EURO 2012 will be held in Ukraine and Poland, so if you are a football fan, then this tour guide will be of great assistance in providing you with useful information about some of the places of interest you should visit and things you should know when traveling to Ukraine.
In Ukraine EURO 2012 will be held in Kyiv, Kharkiv, L’viv, Odesa, Donets’k and Dnipropetrovs’k. This article will be focused on providing you with interesting and useful information about Kharkiv. It is the second largest city in Ukraine after Kiev and is an industrial, cultural and educational megalopolis with a population of over 1.5 million citizens. Kharkiv is situated in the north-eastern part of Ukraine and has temperate continental climate with mild winter and warm summer. The city itself is quite big as it is located on 300 square kilometers and offers a well developed mass transportation system that includes buses, trams, trolley buses, subway and, of course, taxi which makes any part of the city accessible. Besides being one of the biggest Ukrainian cities, Kharkiv is also one of the greenest cities in the country as it has more then 12000 hectares of alleys, parks and gardens. It is hard to believe, but Kharkiv was a capital of Ukraine since 1917 up until 1934.
Kharkiv is a lot more than just a business center, because of its ever-present industrial side and modern entertaining side. The city is filled with numerous museums, restaurants and night clubs to keep everyone entertained until dawn. If you would like to have a trip of a lifetime, then look no further than Kharkiv. Besides watching your favorite football team playing you can also explore green parks, indulge in some shopping or enjoy a variety of marvelous architectural monuments and historical locations.
When you decide to take a break from football battles you can stroll around the city with your camera and appreciate its modern appearance which is characterized by a mixture of old and modern structures and places of interest. You can start with visiting the oldest building in Kharkiv - Protection of the Virgin Monastery. It represents a brilliant reflection of the Ukrainian Baroque era of the 17th century together with Catherine's Palace and the Assumption Cathedral which you should also visit. After that you can take a look at some of the newer buildings that withstood the Second World War like the University Building.
Besides sightseeing you can also go in for some art, because there are many museums and galleries which you can to visit in Kharkiv. The city offers tourists one of the biggest in Ukraine Historical Museum with an astonishing collection of archaeological finds, numismatic and ethnographic items, paintings, banners, postcards, decorations, photos and historical documents. Besides that Kharkiv facilitates one of the oldest and richest Ukrainian Fine Arts Museums – place that boasts works by famous Ukrainian, Russian as well as some international artists. If you would like to see something unusual, then you can visit a sample of contemporary art – the Statue of Kissing Lovers on Pushkins’ka Street as it is considered to be one of the strangest and most mysterious statues in the world.
Being to Kharkiv and not seeing its main square called Svoboda (Liberty) Square means not seeing anything, because it is a unique and historic square of Kharkiv as well as the largest square in Europe. Then you should visit the Mirror Stream Fountain that was built in 1947 to commemorate the Soviet victory in the Second World War. It is located on Sums’ka street opposite to the Opera Theater and is delicately illuminated in the evening. After visiting these places it would be wise to take a little break in the tree shade and Taras Shevchenko Garden is a perfect place for this. It was established in 1804, and is the oldest greenbelt in the city. This garden facilitates a unique alley of chestnut trees spanning from Taras Shevchenko Monument to the university. There are more than 15 thousand beautiful and ancient trees and bushes there as well as a group of giant oaks that are more than 200 years old. Not up until recent times Taras Shevchenko Monument that is located in the garden was one of the tallest bronze sculptures in the Soviet Union, reaching 16 meters in height. This monument is also very interesting, because its platform consists of sixteen smaller statues featuring characters from Shevchenko’s books and paintings.
If you are still looking for accommodations in Kharkiv then one of these hotels will satisfy your needs: Cosmopolite deluxe hotel, Kyivskiy hotel, National Hotel, Mir Hotel, Druzhba hotel, Rosinka hotel, Kharkiv hotel and Pokrovskiy hotel. As you can see there are many places to go and many things to see in Kharkiv, so if you still haven’t figured out which city to go to during EURO 2012, then Kharkiv should be very high on your priority list.
EURO 2012 Donetsk Tour Guide
Donetsk started out as a small miner’s settlement, but since that time it has grown into one of the biggest cities in Ukraine and a major administrative center with advanced industry, science and culture. The city was called Donetsk after the Donets River which flows there. These days, there are more than 40 coal pits within the city limits and coking, steel-making and iron-smelting plants which make Donetsk one of the biggest metallurgical centers of Ukraine. Donetsk can rightly be called a cultural, scientific and a business center. In 1970 UNESCO has recognized the city of Donetsk as the most planted of the industrial cities in the whole world.
It is wrong to assume that there are no places of interest in a city like Donetsk and that only businessmen are welcomed here, but, as a matter of fact, anyone, who comes to this city will be welcomed with a warm Ukrainian hospitality. Donetsk is a relatively young city with good quality modern hotels, restaurants and casinos. When traveling to the city, tourists have to keep in mind that one of its characteristic features is the abundance of typical socialist style monuments like a symbolic monument to a miner, classic monument to Taras Shevchenko or the monument to the state and Bolshevik party leader Artyom. In recent years appeared some new monuments dedicated to the Olympic Champion and a world record holder in pole vaulting Sergey Bubka, a copy of the Tsar Canon, a column of Archangel Michael, monument to Ukrainian singer Anatoly Solovyanenko as well as monuments to the city founder John Hughes and to the popular contemporary singer Josif Kobson.
Even if you have come to Donetsk mainly to watch your favorite football team play, you will still have plenty of time to relax and see many interesting places the city has to offer. Donetsk has a wide network of entertainment, cultural and shopping centers like the "Golden Ring" and "Donetsk City”, where you can not only shop around, but also relax in a cafe or watch a movie at a state of the art cinema. If you prefer active sports and would like to chill out with your friends from the warm climate, then you can visit an artificial skating rink "Marabushta." It is located in the traffic circle and has a large area where you can hone your skating skills by getting yourself a professional instructor. If you are traveling with your children, then you can take them to an amusement park "Gorodok" which offers a wide selection of modern entertainment services like an amusement park, a cafe, an ice rink, video games and a lot more.
No matter where you are from, one of the must see places which you have to visit in Donetsk is a Planetarium. The building has modern equipment like 3D projectors, "BarcoReality SIM 5R," hardware and software complex "In Space System" as well as professional digital audio and visual systems. The software includes an astronomical real-time stimulator "SkyExplorer" and high-definition video players "ViPlayer HD". Another must see in Donetsk is one of its biggest marvels - a stadium "Donbass Arena." The stadium can seat 50 thousand people and can be considered as a real hospitality industry with a convenient entrance, huge parking lot for the football fans as well as for people with disabilities, VIP parking area, 3 classes of restaurants known as "Gold", "Platinum" and " Brilliant "; as much as 53 fast food restaurants, a fan cafe, a fitness club, gift shop and, of course, a Museum of the History of Football Club “Shakhtar”. The facade of the stadium is made of glass and is ring shaped to provide for an excellent air circulation. There is a magnificent park and a fountain in the shape of a ball beside the stadium where you can enjoy some quiet time if you are tired of watching a football game.
If you would like to get the feel for the city, then you can visit Solovyanenko’s Opera and Ballet Theater, an Independence Square, a Shopping mall "Donetsk City," a Regional sports complex "Olympic," a Sport complex "Victoria," Tsar Pushka and Tsar Kolokol, a Museum of History and development of the railway, Pushkin Boulevard, Panorama of the Donetsk metallurgical plant, Shcherbakov Park and Park of forged sculptures. Besides being an entertainment, business and industrial center, Donetsk is a highly religious city where all major religious communities are represented – Roman Catholic, Ukrainian Orthodox, Greek Catholic, protestant, Jewish and Islamic. It doesn’t matter what country and what continent you came from, you will have a great time in Donetsk watching football, relaxing, sightseeing or just walking around the city. It is certain that once you have come here, you will keep on coming back over and over again.
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